Knowing about history, in general, it’s quite important, but nowadays we only focus on knowing the history of the major we are studying or working on. Art history, for example, is something that a lot of people think the only artist need to know, when in fact it’s very important to have at least some knowledge on that since it represents the culture and tradition of a particular country.
To help people remember it better art painting better, Carlos Gromo has found a way to present them in a more original way. by transforming old paintings into Disney characters. We reached out to Carlos to ask him more about the work he does.
Scroll down below to see his amazing work and learn more about it through the interview we did together.< More info: Instagram | Facebook | Disney as paintings. John Arthur Lomax – A musical interlude “Since I was very young, I have always loved to draw Disney movie characters. I never thought about the repercussion that my versions of art paintings could have when I showed them for the first time. This project came about after I finished my Fine Arts degree because, as an artist, I realized that many people didn’t know many of the paintings in the history of art and I thought I could present them in a more original way. I had been a long time with several finished illustrations without showing them to the public, only some family and friends had seen them, but honestly, I had not considered showing them to the public until one day, I decided to do it and shared them. The support and the repercussion that those first illustrations I had made had was so great that it encouraged me to continue showing that project in a more serious way. In this way, I began to see how thanks to those comparisons, I would also help to make known many works of art and artists from different periods that, in many cases, were not so common for the public,” shared the artist with Earthwonders. < 2. Based on: Pierre Auguste Cot – The Storm (1880) 3. Based on: John William Waterhouse – Sketch of Circe “the Sorceress” (1911) “Honestly from the viewer’s point of view, when I upload my illustrations on social networks it might seem easy to get to the same idea. Actually, there is a very long research work behind each illustration and especially in the search for images that may be interesting to me, regardless of the character that I may or may not do later. Maybe the most complicated thing is to find works that I find interesting to version, a work of art that is visually interesting and finds similarity with the story or that physically there is a resemblance with a character that I would like to use. At other times, I may not have much resemblance to the character, but if you do a little more research on the work, many times I make the decision based on the theme or the scene depicted in the painting,” explained Carlos. 4. Based on: Henry Meynell Rheam – The Fairy Wood (1903) To achieve the final results, the artist says there’s a long process of work beforehand. He’s constantly looking at images of paintings because they are something of interest to him. Often times, Carlos find paintings or works that interest him with actions as simple as using social networks and he always keeps them if he likes to use them in the future. “Once I have the work chosen, I decide which character I would like to include in that version. Although sometimes I have the idea pretty much decided, when I don’t, I usually go back to it in a few days until I’m sure if that idea is interesting to do or not. The most important part is when I start to plan the drawing and make little sketches to compose the image and then, I make the final line art correctly for illustration. 5. Based on: Edmund Blair Leighton – ”The End of The Song” (1902) 6. Based on: Grant Wood “American Gothic” (1930) 7. Based on: John Everett Millais – Ophelia (1852) 8. Based on: John William Waterhouse “The Soul of the Rose” (1908) 9. Based on: Lawrence Alma Tadema “The Favourite Poet” (1888) 10. 11. Henrietta Rae – Hylas and the Water Nymphs (1910) 12. Based on: Gustav Klimt “The Kiss” (1907) 13. Based on: Pierre Auguste Cot “Spring” (1873) 14. Based on: Michael and Inessa Garmash “Precious Moments” 15. Based on: William Waterhouse “A tale from Decameron” (1916) 16. Based on: John Simmons “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1870) 17. Based on: Fausto Carrying “Young Girl Carrying a Pumpkin” (1889) 18. Based on: William Adolphe Bouguereau “At the Edge of the Brook” (1875) 19. Based on: Auguste Toulmouche “Vanity” (1870) 20. Based on: Edmund Blair Leighton “The Accolade” (1901)
To create that resemblance the artist does a lot of research to find the character that matches the painting the best. He shares his work on his Instagram, where now counts over 41k follower. His work is quite successful and his project was very well welcomed by the audience.
I think my favorite part of the whole work process is when I apply the first spots of color and lights because at that moment is when you see a preview of what the image will be once finished.”