This is an illustration done by my grandfather - Keith Ward - for a children's book entitled Reynard the Fox by Harry J. Owens. Published in 1945 some claim the illustrations were inspiration for Disney's Robin Hood, I'm inclined to agree. He was one of the most versatile artists, a true rennaissance man, and my teacher and Sifu. His versatility and range denied him public fame because he couldn't be pigeon-holed like other illustrators of his era, but he was a very modest man and would not have cared for too much adulation. His love was his art. He told me once that if he lived for a million years he doubted he would ever stop learning. All I learned as an artist I essentially learned from him. Art school was a waste, I can admit that now. What I didn't acquire from his instruction directly I absorbed through osmosis. What I know subsequently came from the application of his wisdom and years of experimentation and hard work. If you want to learn how to paint find the best illustrator out there and beg them to let you sit in the corner as they work, gently cajole them to throw you the odd tidbit as it comes to mind, to vocalize thoughts as they arise...this is how you'll learn. Illustrators are the best technicians, you will learn all you need to know about painting from the tiniest vocalized morsels emanating from amidst the extraordinarily noisy workings of their brilliant minds.
