The BIZ: What do you guys think of Simon Bisley's art? 0

[Real Elijah Snow]

Simon is awesome.

 

He painted this for me at Stephen and Bill's Tampa show.

 

 

And I finally got a nice Lobo page at the price I wanted to pay recently.

 

Also, about that F' off thing that was mentioned several posts back..I'm sure he was just messing around. He's a good dude. He may just come off as gruff to people who are overly sensitive. I wasn't there obviously, but I'd bet he was just kidding.

Or maybe he was serious. He drinks a lot. I tell people to F off all the time when I'm drinking. Some people just need to grow a pair.

 

[alxjhnsn]

He's a little coarse and a hard drinker, but, in my experience, he's a good guy. The F-word is a big part of his speech at times, that's true.

[Koa]

I'm a little hesitant to weigh in with this opinion, in case Simon is listening, but oh well. To me, his current work does not bear comparison to the prime period illustrated in the initial posts. As an artist myself (not comics), I'm sort of fascinated with (and terrified by) incidences of what appears to be drastic decline in an artist's gift. Not the more common gradual loss of freshness that we see in lots of artists as they keep grinding out the same sort of pictures on unrelenting deadlines, but the few cases in which it just seems like a gift has been taken away, almost overnight. Bernie Wrightson has been much discussed and himself has, at least to some extent, acknowledged the tragedy, which is what it is. In the contemporary art realm, Masami Teraoka is an artist who appears to have "lost his hand", producing work with the same formal ambition but a complete loss of the pleasure of elegant drawing. It seems to me a rare but real and terrible circumstance.

 

 

Same here, no disrespect to Simon intended only wanted t have a discussion about the changes he's made over the years. I know that each new phase of life brings out different aspects of an artists personality.

 

I wonder sometimes, when I see stuff like the DK3 cover if Simon has lost it as you mention has happened to other artists, Then I see stuff like this done in the last few years that while the style is quite different than "vintage" BIZ of the 90's the painting a lot smoother, more realism to the faces, a shift in color palett has a high quality to it. I notice his better stuff these days is still done for Kevin Eastman and it makes me wonder, if the fees being paid by publishers/patrons for commissioned work aren't as competitive as they were in the 90's or Eastman and if that accounts for the shift in BIZ's work more than his abilities.

 

 

 

 

[Sharkey]

I always liked Bisley's comic art and painted art - I have a couple vintage Lobo pieces (including a page from the Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special). I like his older paintings better than some of the more recent ones but that's probably because I'm more accustomed to his style from the 1990s.

 

Biz Gallery on CAF

 

 

[Bronty]

I like his older paintings better than some of the more recent ones

 

 

The thing about the new pieces, even when they are really good like the one above, is that they've lost the depth and three dimensionality they had.

 

Look at how flat the female leg above looks. It almost looks like a paper cut out.

 

The male face is very nicely three dimensional, but I mention this to raise a point. Even in the better newer paintings I am often seeing areas where the figure looks flat as a board.

 

On the 'fallen angel' (?) piece three above, the lower half of the female body looks, again, much too flat. The top half looks OK

 

Still 100x better than most, but not like the old.

[vodou]

I like his older paintings better than some of the more recent ones

 

 

The thing about the new pieces, even when they are really good like the one above, is that they've lost the depth and three dimensionality they had.

I agree. Not sure (I'm not Biz!) but it may be that he's playing more with focal point, drawing your eye (attention) to a specific object and then flattening out the (meant to be) out of focus areas? Maybe this, maybe not so effective (or we're all used to "everything in focus" from the old days) or maybe it's something else? I dunno. Just a guess.

[Matches_Malone]

Another example of Biz mutated style.

Simon painted the original Death Dealer in 1995 , then he was commissioned to rework the painting in 2007.

 

I was the former owner of this piece..the later version. There were some elements that attracted me to it, but there is something missing that the original version captured. This will sound silly because I cant explain it, but I always felt that the later version lacked honesty.

 

 

[Bronty]

well, in this case, I'm not sure if that's a stylistic thing or something born from the fact that its a recreation of prior work. (?). When I look at the later one I have the sense he was just looking at the earlier one and working from that, resulting in an image that's subtly off.

 

Look at the left leg. On both paintings its in the same position. Arms? Head? All in the same position.

 

Now, on both paintings, find the middle of the chest and follow that down to what would be the bellybutton area on both. On the first one its where it should be. On the second one, its facing the viewer, or at least, that's what it seems like. The whole pose ends up looking contorted and awkward as a result (or, considerably more awkward as honestly I think the first one is a touch awkward too).

 

Gone are the bulging biceps, skin tone is now deathly pale. This doesn't look like a guy that can so convincingly "deal death" any more.

 

Nitpicks, I suppose, as in some ways I like the later one better, but overall it feels like he's tracing over his old work somewhat. Understandable in a recreation, but its not something the first one suffers from.

 

 

[Overthetopinc]

Also something to consider is looking at a Biz on a computer screen and seeing one in the flesh are two different experiances. As for the Fallen Angel its amazing. In the pic you cant see all the lace threading in her garb. Even the piercings in her leg are skulls which one could overlook. It is very impressive in person and I am not just saying that because I own it,. A lot of pieces when seen in the flesh will knock your socks off.

[Bronty]

I'm sure you're right about that. Pen and I I work is much easier to judge from a scan; it's all generally the same size, and it's all black and white, there's little to surprise you. Paintings are all sorts of sizes and colors and so on in real life. Would love to see some of your pieces one day

[chrisco37]

Love 90's Bisley Lobo. The Lobo Xmas page I picked up over the summer is my favorite piece in my OA collection. Hardcore nostalgia for that book and the first mini.

 

Didn't like his variant cover to DK3.

 

 

[faust1103]

I like classic Biz (Slaine, Judgement on Gotham).

 

But compare those to the recent "Tower Chronicles".

The DKIII cover isn't too good looking either

 

If I wouldn't know better I would think it was done by a different artist.

It just feels that he doesn't care anymore.

[Matches_Malone]

Same here. Not a fan of the DKIII cover. However I did like his rendition of Deathstroke for DC New 52. Issue #1. I know not everybody liked it.

 

 

 

[Koa]

Biz is King. Credentials 1988-2000. After that hit or miss but never the same as from those years!

 

I know you collect lots of vintage BIZ, do you think all the lesser stuff post 2000 is/will hurt Simon's reputation among collectors? BIZ has been doing some high profile gaming related stuff and when I see it i cringe, because I wonder if this newer stuff is wiping away the BIZ those of us who collected him in the 90's know.

 

 

[Overthetopinc]

Hello Koa,

Interesting question. My honest opinion is not at all. Many artists have lost their touch as some people have pointed out in this thread. Now that is not to say that if you give Simon a enough cash or piece he really can get into you want get a very solid example but we all know he is not producing the same work as the pre-2000 era. I actually think it will be no different then when I talk to Wrightson collectors and they say bah to his 60's stuff and bah to most of his post 90 stuff. But cmon is anyone going to give a you know what about that stuff when they see a Frankenstein plate. The Biz tribe feels the same way. He could start doing stick figures for covers and it will never change what he accomplished from 1988-2000. You know don't forget what he accomplished. All British comicdom cloned his style within a year. Some still do it till this day. He went from painting motorcycles to being a rock star in less then two years. I have to chuckle to myself about how many people are walking around with Bisley paintings tattooed on them. I think if its good enough for people to wear on their bodies for life its good enough to assume he will always be respected as one of the greats by many. I know a lot of people on this message board are not to familiar with the Biz but let me tell ya I bought the shirt that says Biz tribe and its true. Their is a tribe of us out there and many of us think he is one of the most talented living artists today. His fan base is incredible. And Simon fly's all over the world only to go right to a convention and do sketches for free for fans. Never promotes anything. Always there sketching away. Great Guy..Great Personality....and one of the best damn artists that comicdom has ever known. Believe me there are many people all over the world who will agree whole heartedly with those sentiments. So will his reputation be ruined...?......Not at all. It will just make people appreciate the magic of his early period that much more. All artists either regress,change directions, or get redundant. Biz is not alone in this department. I just think he gets a lot of this kind of attention because he does a lot of work. Which is also why he doesn't do the best of pieces month in and month out. But he can still paint when he wants to.

-Matthew

[faust1103]

Yeah,

 

but wouldn't it be better if he produced less stuff but of higher quality?

 

Like doing a graphic novel every 1 or 2 years (like continental European artists) instead of doing monthly subpar "Tower Chronicles".

 

 

[Overthetopinc]

Agreed but no matter how concentrated his projects may be he will never make the art he made in the 90's. It is period of time in the pages of art history never to be duplicated. I did think he did a good job on Hellblazer.

[Koa]

Hello Koa,

Interesting question. My honest opinion is not at all. Many artists have lost their touch as some people have pointed out in this thread. Now that is not to say that if you give Simon a enough cash or piece he really can get into you want get a very solid example but we all know he is not producing the same work as the pre-2000 era. I actually think it will be no different then when I talk to Wrightson collectors and they say bah to his 60's stuff and bah to most of his post 90 stuff. But cmon is anyone going to give a you know what about that stuff when they see a Frankenstein plate. The Biz tribe feels the same way. He could start doing stick figures for covers and it will never change what he accomplished from 1988-2000. You know don't forget what he accomplished. All British comicdom cloned his style within a year. Some still do it till this day. He went from painting motorcycles to being a rock star in less then two years. I have to chuckle to myself about how many people are walking around with Bisley paintings tattooed on them. I think if its good enough for people to wear on their bodies for life its good enough to assume he will always be respected as one of the greats by many. I know a lot of people on this message board are not to familiar with the Biz but let me tell ya I bought the shirt that says Biz tribe and its true. Their is a tribe of us out there and many of us think he is one of the most talented living artists today. His fan base is incredible. And Simon fly's all over the world only to go right to a convention and do sketches for free for fans. Never promotes anything. Always there sketching away. Great Guy..Great Personality....and one of the best damn artists that comicdom has ever known. Believe me there are many people all over the world who will agree whole heartedly with those sentiments. So will his reputation be ruined...?......Not at all. It will just make people appreciate the magic of his early period that much more. All artists either regress,change directions, or get redundant. Biz is not alone in this department. I just think he gets a lot of this kind of attention because he does a lot of work. Which is also why he doesn't do the best of pieces month in and month out. But he can still paint when he wants to.

-Matthew

 

Thanks for the great response Matt. You can count me as one of Simon's biggest fans as well. So many paintings he did between 88-94 still hit me as hard today as they did when I first saw them as a teenager, which is such a rare thing. Most things lose their luster, but not BIZ paintings, not for me. How many times in life can we go back to something that hit an emotional chord at 14 and still get goosebumps revisiting it 20 years later? It's hard to put on a nirvana, soundgarden or dr. dre album or watch many Stallone or Schwarzenegger movies from the 80's or 90's without cringing and wondering why I found it all so captivating but with BIZ, show me a painting from 92 and I'm right there, 14 again in awe.

 

 

I agree that he's left a body of work between 88-00 is undeniable. He was a rock star. I guess it's selfish of me to expect a talent that burns at bright as Simon's to go on forever at that same intensity,that he was able to create the body of work he did over 10-12 years, in paint is a bit of real magic in itself. It just kills me that people will see his DK3 cover and wonder what all the fuss was a about. It's like watching Jordan on his last comeback. It hurts.

 

I'm not saying i don't enjoy some of his work in the years since, some of it is very good but the flood of mediocre in that time, it's just not something I want to associate with BIZ. How I wish their were high quality art books reprinting his best work published alongside some of these newer high profile projects he does.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Koa

[koollectablz]

I don't think theres any denying that his DK3 cover is poor. And if it had been done by 'another' artist then it wouldn't have seen the light of day. It actually seems more like a convention sketch cover piece to me.

 

What he seems to have started doing is drawing around musculature with a sharpie to emphasize it rather than use tonal paints to give depth.

 

However his career pre 21st Century was exceptional. And is one of only a few artists having dealt in the fantasy/comic field that you would genuinely describe his work as 'beautiful' no matter what the subject matter.

 

Bolland is another one I'd place in that overall decline, his DK3 cover certainly isn't the best either. For the past few years I'd describe his work more akin to a good competent artist working in a Bolland style.

 

The passage of time sure has a way of levelling the playing field...

 

Unfortunately the more brilliant the artist, ultimately the more glaring the decline.

[allard]

i love bisley, and especially his old stuff....some of his recent works are not as good as before, but i Wonder if it's because he's not working on titles as popular as before (batman, lobo, ...)

 

because when you give him a good title, he does awesome work.....just check his hellblazer work a few years ago, the covers and interior art are amazing