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Portrait of Joseph Conrad, Etching, 8/20 | Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman is a man of many talents, the most recognizable being illustration, painting, printmaking and writing. I first saw his work in the pages of Discover Magazine back in 1991 or so. He provided the illustrations that went along with an article about a French tainted blood scandal (those of you who are familiar with his work will immediately see how fitting it was). I immediately fell in love with his style, memorized his name and have followed him ever since. A few years ago, thanks to my finace, I became the proud owner of a limited edition etched portrait of Joseph Conrad, one of only 20 that he created and my first piece of “real” art.

This past weekend a very good friend of Ralph’s died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Hunter S. Thompson was found in his Aspen compound by his son Juan. I didn’t find out about it until Monday morning and the first place I went to look for more information was Ralph’s website. It’s one thing to hear the story from a media outlet or a fan, but it is altogether different when you hear it from a very close, and equally gonzo friend.

P.S. If anyone has a copy of the issue of Discover magazine that I’m talking about, I’d be interested in getting my hands on it.

22 Feb 2005 |