John Blanche?

Michael Stockin said:
Helsreach is just top notch 40k for me, it just feels like 80s sci-fi to me.
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Absolutely. Plus the sideways humour of Red Dwarf, Monty python, Hitchhikers guide. As Rick priestly said it's all a bit po faced now...In his words: '... combined a dystopic and violent universe with humour – perhaps the irony was rather heavy handed and maybe the humour verges on the silly in places. " :D
 
Now that the master painter and modeller has gone to Valhalla, it ought to be put out that his work was always based on two earlier artists, Rodolphe Bresdin (d. 1885) and Dirk van Gelder (d. 1990). His companion artist in Ratspike book, Ian Miller, also seems to base his work on those artists. Some of Blanche's works were direct repaintings of earlier Grenadier artist Ray Rubin's works and classical art pieces redone as fantasy art.

The art pieces that likely helped create the "Blanche" look are seen here, here, here, here and here.
The art pieces that seem to have been the model for both Blanche and Miller can be seen here and here.

It takes a great skill to not just remodel the paintings as new fantasy pieces, but also to take the pencil drawing techniques and moody character elements and make them work so well in that new context. I like it!
 
SP-Fin said:
The art pieces that likely helped create...
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With that precis do we go all the way back (& beyond) Lascaux cave art? Although, come to think of it 'If there is an underlying oneness of all things, it does not matter where we begin... One measures a circle, beginning anywhere.' Quoting Charles Fort here to underline my own thoughts on any straight line art inspiration/copy & pretensions.
 
Eric said:
An interview I'd not seen before.
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Vindicated. John was a self-confessed anarchic rulebreaker (& wind up merchant) Hah! 😂 Thanks Eric for finding this!!! It's insightful not only of his talent - what he called his artistic personal journey & depth of knowledge but also his pysche. Top thoughts - his 'Stretched realism/ his surrealism'', recalling being in fear of the unexplained and drawing it out for relief, playing under the table as a kid with his model soldiers in his own world, embroiling himself in European art history, and kicking back on the weekend by not drawing orcs & dwarves ('that's fantasy' )... But pen & ink flow state dot-stipling, scribbling and hatching his 'voodoo forest' instead. Legend. ♥️
 
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The film it's from is currently "free" on Amazon Prime Video (UK) if you have a Prime subscription. The Voodoo Forest stuff is good, I got my copy out last night for a good look through again.
 
I'm not sure of the history, I'm not even certain they were a GW release although clearly heavily using art that would have been GW IP.
 
They released about 12 but they were a GW release, based on John's art. There were some prototypes for some males and some more females, which the odd one floats around. The John Blanche Miniatures line was one of GW's little imprints.

The main thing (apart from the price) that puts me off is 40mm scale. That said, sculptures for the range include Jes Goodwin and Kev White. I don't know how well they sold but I believe they were only on sale for a couple of years if that.
 
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