reynold brown | why my complacency got a kick up the backside tonight

Having the TV to myself tonight was a novelty. Usually, I’m a take-it-or-leave-it watcher, with t’other half’s goggle eyes hogging the proceedings, but tonight the remote was all mine. I stumbled across a documentary on Sky Arts about Reynold Brown, an artist whose commercial illustrations are now part of cult legend.

Reynold Brown? Never heard of him, I thought as I sunk into the sofa. That lack of recognition, as I subsequently came to learn, was part of the life of Brown and it pained me that I’d been as complacent as the majority of others in taking time to look beyond the instant association of his work with popular culture to the image creator. By doing so, I’d reinforced the flippancy of compartmentalising some of the more well-known commercial illustration and taking the person behind the work for granted. I’d be quite surprised if you’re over thirty and haven’t seen any of his work.

The lack of recognition eventually saw Brown becoming disillusioned with the commercial art world, and he sought refuge in his comfort zone painting the things that he really wanted to. Cruelly, at the time he was focussed on his personal painting preferences he suffered a stroke which affected his dominant left-hand side, leaving him to adapt to painting with his unfamiliar right. His refusal to surrender to his plight was one of the most endearing qualities to me, as it did have some considerable effect on the end result of his work.

He died in 1991, leaving an unfinished painting sitting on his easel. I think there’s a lot to be learned from his determination and passion for his work.

So, who is Reynold Brown? Does a work of his come to mind without the need for external prompts? Maybe you’ll recognise one of these:

I won’t forget his name, now. It really shouldn’t have taken a documentary for me to find out what it was, and the fault lies with me for that.