The Garden As of Early April

 

 Here’s the garden as of April 7th. A winter wonderland! Typical New England spring weather. Ugh. 

Japanese Graphic Designer and Poster Artist Kazumasa Nagai 1929 - 2026

 

Very sad to simultaneously learn of a great graphic designer just as his death is announced. He is new to me. Here are some images from his legacy. Just amazing work and a long life well lived. 

 

 From the Poster/Blog Facebook page:

KAZUMASA NAGAI [1929–2026]

Kazumasa Nagai (Japanese: 永井 一正; April 20, 1929, Osaka, Japan – February 23, 2026) was a renowned Japanese graphic designer and poster artist, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern graphic design in Japan.

Born in Osaka, Nagai became a central figure in shaping postwar Japanese visual culture. His work is distinguished by bold, simplified forms, vivid colors, and a strong sense of symbolism. He is especially known for his iconic poster designs, many of which feature stylized animals and abstract compositions that reflect both traditional Japanese aesthetics and modernist influences.

Throughout his career, Nagai explored themes such as nature, life, and environmental awareness. His ability to communicate complex ideas through minimal visual language made his work influential both in Japan and internationally.

Nagai was also an active member of the design community and contributed to the development of Japanese design institutions. Over the decades, he received numerous prestigious awards and honors, earning global recognition for his contributions to graphic design.

His legacy continues to inspire designers worldwide, and his work remains a key reference point in the history of contemporary graphic art.

works by Kazumasa Nagai:

https://www.ndc.co.jp/en/projects/kazumasa-nagai-life/
https://umma.umich.edu/.../kazumasa-nagai-design-life.../
https://a-g-i.org/user/kazumasanagai/

 

 

Mad About DC

This is fun, and maybe the first time that Mad Magazine has gotten an actual commercial for a special issue. 

Family Circle Magazine November 23, 1945

 

Family Circle was one of those magazines that seemed like a mainstay during the 20th century. Everyone I knew had a couple of Family Circles in or near the kitchen. I picked a couple of wartime issues up at the Two Brothers used bookstore in Freeport, Maine. These are fun to look at, and while maybe not very heavy on the cartoon side of things, they are packed with illustration and it's like looking at another world. Enjoy!

This is the November 23, 1945 issue and it's copyrighted 1945 by The Family Circle Magazine, Inc.  Child star Margaret O'Brien poses as a cheerful kid pilgrim next to a very ugly turkey. 

These two don't look like a very happy couple.

Dave Huffine draws for Wheaties:

Illustrator Inga Stephens Pratt Clark "(1906–1970) was an American artist and book illustrator, who, with her husband Fletcher Pratt, was at the center of a circle of New York literary figures during the 20th century."

You might want to have some new recipes from 1945:

Jefferson Machamer for Folger's:

Who is that creepy mascot scrubbing and wearing the tartan?

Spooky column header.

Oleomargarine is so creepy looking.

- This has been an edited version of a blog entry that originally appeared on October 5, 2020,

Hermann Huppen 1938 - 2026

 

 

Belgian comics creator Hermann passed away on March 22nd. He was 97 years old. He had had a two year battle with cancer.

 

 

 

Lambiek:

 

"Hermann Huppen, who signed with solely his first name, was one of the most popular Belgian artists. He took evening art courses at the Saint-Gilles in Brussels, and started out working as an interior designer, participating in the Expo 58, among other projects. He also worked in Montreal and New York for a short period. It was his brother-in-law Philippe Vandooren (the future editor-in-chief of Spirou) who introduced him to the field of comics. Vandooren assigned him to do a short story for the boy scout magazine Plein-Feu, of which he was the editor at the time. By 1964, Hermann joined the art studios of Michel Greg. During the same period, he illustrated some stories in the series 'Les Belles Histoires de l'Oncle Paul' for Spirou magazine.

"With Greg as his scriptwriter, Hermann broke through with the adventure series 'Bernard Prince' in Tintin in 1966. While continuing this series, he also did some independent stories, as well as the first episodes of the 'Jugurtha' series (written by Jean-Luc Vernal). In 1969, he started on a second series with Greg, the western 'Comanche'. More dramatic and hard-boiled than for instance 'Blueberry' and 'Jerry Spring', 'Comanche' ranks among the best series in the genre. After ten years, Hermann canceled his collaboration with Greg to begin series of his own.

"Hermann's first solo comic was the 'Jeremiah' series, which he initially created for the German publisher Koralle. This grim post-apocalyptic fantasy was an instant hit and remains Hermann's most famous work."

 

Comicsbeat:

"European comics was rocked this past week following the news that Belgian comics auteur Hermann had died March 22, age 87, following a two year battle with cancer. The news went beyond specialised comics outlets, being widely reported in national newspapers across France, Belgium, and beyond. The Brussels Book Fair held a special tribute on March 29, and a ceremony for fans and mourners will take place April 1.

"His former publishers Dupuis and Lombard delivered the news, with Le Lombard saying,

"'It is with pain and sadness that Le Lombard regrets to announce the death of Hermann. A pillar of European comics…Le Lombard extend their heartfelt condolences to Hermann’s family, friends, and loved ones, especially his wife and his son Yves H., who was also his scriptwriter and closest collaborator. More broadly, the world of comics and all lovers of the 9th art have just lost a truly great author.'"

Glen Baxter 1944 - 2026

Glen Baxter, whose cartoons were seen in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and other publications, died on March 29, 2026. The cause was carcinomatosis. He was 82.

From The Times:

"A minor surrealist and major seller of greetings cards, the artist Glen Baxter believed that 'drawing is a form of electricity connecting one thing to another, sometimes, and hopefully, in surprising ways.' As such, he long had a strange preoccupation with tweed, one of the many artefacts redolent of Empire that he was to turn to account.

"With his work appearing in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and the Independent on Sunday, he found a worldwide market from the Eighties onwards for such captioned drawings as two tweedy men tied to posts in front of another: 'There, as usual, was Edelson, delivering his post-structuralist analysis of the modern novel to the privileged few.'

"Elsewhere, on a tennis lawn, the caption apprises the viewer of a fraught situation, for 'Gladys had not realised that Virginia was unable to accept defeat gracefully.' Across the net is a figure now covered in a black mask and sporting an axe. 'Baxter’s drawings are a delicious stew of pulp adventure novels, highbrow high jinks, and outright absurdity: lonesome cowboys confront the latest in modern art, brave men tremble before moussaka, schoolgirls hoard hashish, and the world’s fruits are in constant peril. Wimples abound,' said The New York Review of Books."

Throwing Out Beloved Art Supplies

Going through a large pile of my used Pigma Micron pens. Most are ready to be tossed out, but I have to force myself to do it. A couple date back to 2011 (I write on the pen when I first used it.), so it’s high time I get rid of them. #SpringCleaning

 

 

I do have a separate box full of unused and gently used art supplies that’s bound for DIY Craft and Thrift, a creative reuse store that takes and distributes old art supplies:https://www.diycraftandthrift.com/