Ron Smith rediscovered

[Phoenix]

And if we extend the capture range of the word artist, Phil, we could come up with Willie Rushton.

As you enjoy Turner, I hope you'll make the trip to Edinburgh in January for the annual exhibition at the National Gallery on The Mound.

I've never been to Edinburgh, Paw, although I was in Glasgow for a day a couple of years ago when I had a nostalgic week in Ayr. As I recall, I bought a couple of shirts there, and by strategic use of what seemed to be a circular underground system I visited several secondhand bookshops in what I was told was the student district. It's obviously good to know that Turner has not been deterred from crossing the border. I made my first acquaintance with him because I wanted to see close up his painting The Fighting Temeraire, which is the title of a serial in The Wizard in 1940. Consequently, from an acorn an oak tree grew because I've since been to a second exhibition of his work, in the Tate Britain if I remember correctly. One painting that I find eternally fascinating is Raphael's The Madonna Of The Pinks, especially the ribbon in her hair because I cannot figure out how he painted it so realistically. On a later visit I went just to see that one painting again. It cost the National Gallery £20 million. The print I bought there cost me £20, and I paid a local firm roughly the same amount to have it framed. It is on my dining room wall so I can be amazed at the painter's skill as often as I like now.

On balance, unfortunately I think it unlikely that I will attend the exhibition you refer to, mainly because whenever I feel the need of a temporary flit from my house I tend to go in the opposite direction. Regrettably too, the exhibition of portraits by Goya at the National Gallery closes on 10 January, which is a bit too soon for my next visit to London.

[Phoenix]

Although, Phoenix, for viewing some of Monet's most stunning works, I return from time to time to the Musée Marmottan in Paris, where it is difficult to not be moved by the beauty of the works.

I can understand this perfectly, Paw. I referred earlier to El Greco's house in Toledo, where some of his paintings are on easels or leaning against walls in a bright, naturally-lit room. The paintings themselves may well be copies although they don't appear to be, and as a consequence the room I'm referring to looks like a working studio, the painter having just popped out for a wee or an alcoholic beverage.

[paw broon]

Your mention of copies reminds me that the Vermeer museum in Delft has no original Vermeer works. The copies on display are very good but at that time, because the Rijksmuseum was being renovated, we had to go to Den Haag to the Mondrian museum to see a couple of "real" Vermeers. That's where we discovered so much about Mondrian and became keen on his work.
When we are in Palma, we take the bus to Fundacio Miro where you can visit his studio and wallow in so much of his original work in the purpose built gallery, which has a wonderful view down to the coast:-
http://miro.palmademallorca.es/
(This is the Mallorquin page but I think you can switch it to English)
Of course, if you are visiting Barcelona, there is another Miro museum in the Parc de Montjuïc. A city packed with art and culture indeed.
Sorry, we're getting somewhat off-topic here but it's been good fun.

[Phoenix]

Sorry, we're getting somewhat off-topic here but it's been good fun.

Well it's not wandered all that far from Ron Smith, and in any case I'm hoping that soon someone will grasp the nettle of what I take to be his eyesight problem. You are right though, Paw, when you comment on the pleasurable aspect of wandering slightly off topic. An equivalent in the real world would perhaps be going for a stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon along some country path you have not encountered before, and coming upon a country pub shortly after thinking you could just go a couple of jars.

[Kashgar]

Ron was the artist responsible for all of the football strips published by Thomsons in the 1950's, all three of them. 'Limp-along Leslie' in the Wizard and the two strips featuring the goalkeeper Lanky Hutton in Adventure 'The Red Rovers' and 'The Guinea-Pig Goalie'.

if we remove from the issue my serious disappointment that The Red Rovers and The Guinea-Pig Goalie were not in text form as the previous serials about Lanky Hutton and Redstoke Rovers had been, plus the fact that in each case the story/plot was inevitably trivial and insubstantial, we are still left with many panels in both serials in which many of the characters featured are quite simply too tall. For many years I have assumed that the artist, if he was drawing people as he saw them, had an eyesight problem. Discuss.

I'm sorry that Ron Smith didn't quite do it for you Derek. It is certainly true that he was still learning his, self taught, craft in the 1950's and that as a result the perspective and proportions of his work were sometimes skewed but, in his defence, he had the courage to try to accomplish dynamic perspectives in his work that made his work stand out from the crowd. He always had a draughtsman's eye for the dramatic line and his art, even in the 1950's, had an energy to it that few other artists could match. Fred Sturrock, the veteran Thomson staff artist, who drew the 'appropriate' spot illustrations for most of the football stories in Adventure that preceded the Ron Smith picture strip efforts, nor a host of his contemporaries, could have been relied on to carry the football story and stories from so many other genres into a new age. Ron Smith however could, and did, with ever more astonishing and thrilling effect.

[Phoenix]

I'm sorry that Ron Smith didn't quite do it for you Derek. It is certainly true that he was still learning his, self taught, craft in the 1950's and that as a result the perspective and proportions of his work were sometimes skewed but, in his defence, he had the courage to try to accomplish dynamic perspectives in his work that made his work stand out from the crowd. He always had a draughtsman's eye for the dramatic line and his art, even in the 1950's, had an energy to it that few other artists could match.

Thank you, Ray, for your explanation. I certainly needed something of the sort to persuade me to look again at Ron's work.

Fred Sturrock, the veteran Thomson staff artist, who drew the 'appropriate' spot illustrations for most of the football stories in Adventure that preceded the Ron Smith picture strip efforts, nor a host of his contemporaries, could have been relied on to carry the football story and stories from so many other genres into a new age.

Maybe it's because I was brought up with Fred Sturrock's work, which I have associated with the very real and lasting pleasure that I got from the many sports serials he illustrated, that other artists initially disappointed me. I did get used to most of the others eventually, of course, although it took a long time for me to warm to the portrayal of Alf Tupper in The Victor as he was completely different in The Rover.

[colcool007]

I'm sorry that Ron Smith didn't quite do it for you Derek. It is certainly true that he was still learning his, self taught, craft in the 1950's and that as a result the perspective and proportions of his work were sometimes skewed but, in his defence, he had the courage to try to accomplish dynamic perspectives in his work that made his work stand out from the crowd. He always had a draughtsman's eye for the dramatic line and his art, even in the 1950's, had an energy to it that few other artists could match. Fred Sturrock, the veteran Thomson staff artist, who drew the 'appropriate' spot illustrations for most of the football stories in Adventure that preceded the Ron Smith picture strip efforts, nor a host of his contemporaries, could have been relied on to carry the football story and stories from so many other genres into a new age. Ron Smith however could, and did, with ever more astonishing and thrilling effect.

One thing that I have noticed is that Ron always had a unique perspective on things. I always attributed this to his unique take on the world, but when I saw another artist that had been a pilot, it makes me wonder if there is something about how pilots view their world that gives them that slightly skewed take on the world. I believe the artist may have been Jim Hardie, but until I can get hold of Kirkcaldy Galleries, I cannot say with any degree of certainty.

I always believed that Ron's work had a dynamic feel that few others could match. Even when you see his work from the 1990s, it is still head and shoulders above many others. And looking at his early work from the 1950s, it fairly jumps off the page at you.

While I always enjoy the work of F A Philpott, Pete Sutherland and Ted Rawlings, there was something about Ron's work that just had that extra je ne sais quoi that excited me when I was reading many of these comics for the first time and still excites me now as I always find something new to enjoy in Ron's work.

I must admit that I am enjoying this research project far more than I expected to. And I expected to enjoy it a lot! I have found so much of his work that is new to me that it is almost as if I have been given my own personal trip in a time machine.

And kudos to Ray for all your help in creating each article.

[comixminx]

I see part I of your article is now up on DTT, Col! Great stuff, I much enjoyed it - will comment there too.

[colcool007]

And here is the link for all you Ron Smith fans

[colcool007]

Need a little help here. I am looking at this artist and trying to figure out who it is. The picture is from Hotpsur issue 453 from 22nd June 1968 and the story was The Front Line Firemen.

I have a feeling that the artist could be a staffer from that time, but I am happy to be proven right or wrong as long as I get the artist's name!

[philcom55]

I'm afraid I can't help with your Hotspur page Col - definitely one for the mighty Kashgar methinks!

The first instalment of your Ron Smith retrospective on DTB was everything I'd hoped for. Like Phoenix I've always felt there was something slightly 'odd' about the way Ron drew people - particularly his faces, which tended to wear a rather incongruous grin in the most inappropriate situations; however his skill at drawing realistic hardware coupled with a natural dynamism and an almost obsessive attention to detail more than made up for it in my opinion.

The 'Women At War' page you feature is especially nice. It's worth noting that this subject had already been covered in Ron's wonderfully innovative Beezer series about the Heroes of Paradise Road when Sally Hero joined the ATS. Looking at it today the appearance of a young Queen Elizabeth is quite startling in that it provides a remarkable sense of continuity between the present day, the 1960s when this strip was drawn, and the War itself!

[colcool007]

Thanks for the kind words Phil. It means a lot when you guys enjoy the articles as well. The next article is more the listing of synopses of the stories that Ron illustrated with an example of each one.

As I never realised how much Ron did for Hotspur Mk II, I will be breaking it into two parts. These are 1959 to 1969 and 1970 to 1980. I will not again cover the stories that were first published in the 1960s. So in each article, when I can, I will list reprint dates if I can do so.

I have got to 1968, which is why I am curious about the artist that took over The Front Line Firemen from Ron.

As I said earlier, there was always a slightly skewed take to Ron's perspective, which is why his faces were always so distinct. I think I can feel another micro-article coming on the blog...

[Kashgar]

I'm afraid I can't help with your Hotspur page Col - definitely one for the mighty Kashgar methinks!

'The Mighty Kashgar!' has a nice ring to it Phil! But it could just as easily be the mystified Kashgar on occasion.
In this instance I can however say that the artist in question is not a Thomson staff artist but a freelancer named Trevor Chorlton.

[colcool007]

I have moved onto part three of the Ron Smith index. Part two was released today. I hope you folks enjoy it.

[Kashgar]

Hi Col,

Bugle Boy not Ron Smith but Bill Mainwaring. Otherwise a superb article.