Artist Research - Antonio Lopez

 Antonio Lopez

*Antonio Lopez in Jardin du Luxemburg 1971*

Antonio Lopez was a Puerto Rican, high-end fashion illustrator who's work appeared in Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and The New York Times which called him a "Major fashion illustrator".

Lopez was born on the 11th of February 1943 and died on the 17th of March ,1987, due to aid related complications. In response to his tragic death, Baraz and Vue magazine publisher Hossein Farmani raised fund for the AIDS research, care and education through photography auctions. He attended the Art and Design Highschool, Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Traphagen School of Fashion. However, he dropped out of college in the mid-60s to work for Women's Daily Wear publication. 

His art consists of photography and mainly Fashion Illustration. The love for diversity is portrayed clearly in his work , by working with Pat Cleveland, Tina Chow, Grace Jones etc. "I'm like a sponge - I absorb everything". - Antonio L. 1986. Lopez was raised in Harlem where he used to watch exotic films full of orientalism, which influenced him greatly.

Antonio Lopez, American Vogue Patterns 1, 1975.

Lopez worked with a wide variation of media such as: pencil, pen, ink, charcoal, watercolour, and polaroid film. He uses thin lines and vivid colours as that was the art style/trend in the 60s-80s. Most of his drawings were done with real life models in front of him and that's how he created a unique look and added movement to his drawings which was a new thing as most fashion illustration consisted of stick figure looking models with clothes drawn on, but his work was different and exactly what the fashion world needed.

Personally, I love his use of mixed media as it shows his creativity as a person in the art field. In this particular piece, he created texture using feather-like strokes to convey the softness of the hood which is great when it comes to fashion marketing and letting customers have a good idea of the look. The colour pallet consists of cool tone, tertiary colours which brings the whole theme together . The intense pop of red on the cheeks and lips is a beautiful detail that really contrasts with the blue colour scheme. Again, strong use of colour was extremely popular especially in the late 70s. He truly catches the essence of style in art.

"I think fashion is art...I really insist on quality"- Antonio L. You can see the details in his work from composition, to facial expressions and his use of colour. I find it so inspiring as it makes me want to try everything within my work! This piece of work is very expressive and full of life. It makes me feel like I'm looking at a sunset in the frosty mountains due to his colour placement for e.g the slight tint of blue and yellow shaded on the woman's forehead. 

Overall, I think his work is legendry as his creativity invited so many people in and contributed to most high-fashion brands at a young age , helping them with contemporary ideas and movements. 

"His illustrations and photographs capture the beautiful people who are part of celebrity folklore."- Cyril Foiret (trendland.com)

the Guardian. 2020. Antonio Lopez: The Fashion Illustrator Who Revolutionised The Industry. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/oct/08/antonio-lopez-the-fashion-illustrator-who-revolutionised-the-industry> [Accessed 10 December 2020].

www.theantoniolopezbook.com. 2020. The Antonio Lopez Book. [online] Available at: <https://www.theantoniolopezbook.com/images/index.html> [Accessed 10 December 2020].

TRENDLAND | Online Trend News. 2020. Antonio Lopez Fashion Illustration. [online] Available at: <https://trendland.com/antonio-lopez-fashion-illustration/> [Accessed 10 December 2020].

Youtube.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwq_zQQ2BgU> [Accessed 10 December 2020].