 |
Scott Gustafson’s art is filled with characters, myths and fables many of us met in our childhoods. "Pegasus and the Muses" is an enchanting interpretation of a Greek legend. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, was the first to discover the winged stallion Pegasus, who was the son of Medusa and Poseidon. Athena tamed the horse and gave him to the Muses of Mt. Helicon as a gift. In his excitement at meeting the Muses, Pegasus struck the side of the mountain with his hooves, which caused water to well up and form a spring that would become known as the Hippocrene. Springs were sacred sources of inspiration for those who sought help from the Muses. If they were truly fortunate, perhaps they would also be allowed to soar through the clouds on the Muses’ beloved pet, Pegasus.
As the flying horse of the Muses, Pegasus is a symbol of high-flying poetic imagination. Following in Gustafson’s tradition of "The Maiden and the Unicorn" and "The Pirate and the Mermaid," the artist’s "Pegasus and the Muses" will undoubtedly inspire flights of fancy for collectors young and old.
|
|
|
Storytelling through pictures has always held a certain fascination for Scott
Gustafson; be they the moving images in animated cartoons, or the epic
illustrations of N. C. Wyeth. Upon entering the Chicago Academy of Fine Art,
Scott was 99% sure that he wanted to become an animator, but it was that 1%
that ultimately drew him more and more into the world of stretched canvas and
oil paint. "As an animator, "Gustafson says, "your contribution to a given
film is, by necessity, limited to whatever character you've been assigned. But
as an illustrator, you're responsible for locations, sets, costumes, props,
lighting and character designs, not to mention the overall mood and emotion of
a given painting. It's about the best job there is."
Over the nearly twenty-five years that span his career, he has had the
opportunity to fulfill commissions for a number of varied clients and
publishers such as Celestial Seasonings, Playboy magazine, Saturday Evening
Post, The Bradford Exchange, DreamWorks and The Greenwich Workshop. His
illustrated books include The Night Before Christmas, Peter Pan, Nutcracker,
as well as two original titles, Animal Orchestra and Alphabet Soup. His newest
release, Classic Fairy Tales, was recently awarded a Chesley award for best
interior book illustrations from the Association of Science Fiction and
Fantasy Artists and is currently in its third printing.
|
|
