Andy Warhol: Drawings and Illustrations of the 1950s

Currently at the Portland Museum of Art there is an Andy Warhol show. I went down to see it because I only know some of his work and wanted to see if there was anything more I could learn about him as an artist. I’m not a fan of the screen printing era that includes the Campbells soup cans, but usually in a big show on an artist I’ll find at least one era that I like. And this show had it, his very early work in advertising is amazing and I’d never seen it before.

After I saw the show, I started researching more on Warhol’s early work, and found some books, most of which are out of print, but thankfully the library had one. Andy Warhol: Drawings and Illustrations of the 1950s is so great. I love this era of his work. The line quality, the off registration of the color, the repetitive nature of the work, it’s all really interesting.

So I’ve spent a week or so pouring over the book and am probably now going to look for a used copy that I can have on hand for inspiration. It’s always great to go to the museum and discover something and get inspired. Art is taking a much larger role in my life these days, and it’s been a welcome refuge to heal and think and dream.