Rob Adams a Painter's Blog painter's progress

September 16, 2011

On Fame and a Sad Loss

Filed under: Art History,Drawing — Rob Adams @ 10:50 am

A slightly different post this time. My great friend for many years John Hilder died after battling with cancer for several years. He was a wonderful artist so I thought I would make this post an appreciation of his talents, and a contemplation on the artists lot. I first met John in the early nineties when he was head designer for Madame Tussauds. He had washed up in that role after being a theatre designer and painter. When I first saw his drawings I was amazed at the energy and character they had. A John Hilder drawing always looked to be about to burst from the page and colonise the surrounding area! He had a wonderfully supple and distinctive line that I can’t deny I envied him mightily. Like many truly talented people John was humble and extremely appreciative of the efforts of others.

So here is a man that designed attractions that literally millions of people have enjoyed and are still enjoying, yet when I Google him even with the name of the company he worked for not one reference is to be found. This post is not a complaint of injustice, but more of a contemplation of the fate of many many anonymous artists who have laboured away for a lifetime unnoticed. Every time I see an illustration used in a newspaper or magazine with the name of the picture library as credit and the artist that created it unnamed I can’t deny I feel saddened and a little annoyed. As John and I often joked, there is always someone more ambitious, better dressed, cool and corporate ready to take the credit for your work!

One thing that drew my particular admiration for him was the way that whatever the job he was involved in, be it a huge development like Madame Tussauds New York, or a hamburger stand in Alton Towers, he always put his heart and soul into it. I never, in all my years of working with him, saw him do a half hearted job. Because of his history in the theatre he also had much experience of how the things he designed would actually be built, and he liked to follow a project through to completion. Sadly that was a role increasingly denied him as the years went by. The route up the greasy pole in companies is one that runs from doing it yourself to telling others what to do. With artists and designers this would mean that you started drawing and then put your pencils away and spent your time managing others. But for truly talented people like John Hilder drawing is their life blood, inextricably embedded in their thought process, he never could have, or would have wished to, give it up and have others to do it a his behest. So as the years went by John saw his assistants promoted above him and though he was generous hearted and genuinely pleased for others success, I know he felt increasingly undervalued and sidelined. The computer age was not a welcome one for John, he had very poor eyesight and had to work large. I once came in one morning to find him working on a wonderful drawing of a dancing hippo fully 10 ft high! It was on many sheets laid out on the floor a scale of 1 to 1! Increasingly, however, the requirement was for A3 drawings which was for him like asking him to draw on a postage stamp. The trend in design was alas very strongly towards computers and away from drawing boards, a change that I personally found fascinating, but I know John felt no connection with. Nowadays in the studio where he churned out his wonderful drawings on A0 sheets of paper there is not  a single drawing board left. The baby in my opinion has been well and truly thrown out with the bathwater.

Sadly John was eventually forced to leave his position, as ill health and increasing creative isolation took its toll. He soon set about reinventing himself and was producing illustrated maps for Petworth House and working on a beautifully illustrated children’s book linked to Kew Gardens. He would I feel have always found plenty of clients wanting his wonderful drawings and paintings, but alas his health grew increasingly poor. Nonetheless he continued drawing almost up to the end.

So enough sad contemplation, here are a few of John’s drawings. You can only get a rough idea of the effect on a computer screen the originals are usually a good yard across! The landscape orientation images can be clicked for a larger image. All images are copyright to the Tussauds Group and Merlin Entertainments. The photo at the end is thanks to Garfaith Pang.

 

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wind in the willows, drawing, John Hilder

This was for a Wind in the Willows attraction.

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Rabbit, drawing, John Hider

John was wonderful at characters.

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Ratty, wind in the willows, John Hilder, drawing

Another drawing this time a profile for the sculptors to work from.

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Mole, boat, John Hilder, drawing, pencil

Here is an early development sketch, John always used Charisma pencils on layout paper and would draw many layers before he was satisfied.

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Wind in the willows, John Hilder, drawing

Another design guide for the sculptors all John’s drawings were covered with annotations, often quirky and funny.

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ducks, drawing, John Hilder

I always feel it’s a pity John never got the opportunity to work in animated features, he would I feel have been wonderful at it.

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wild wood, drawing, John Hilder

This was a project I know he enjoyed hugely, I have too few of his “finished” drawings.

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badger, wind in the willows, John Hilder, drawing

This is one of my favourites, the originals alas are all in tubes in an office basement and will I suspect never see the light of day again. They will eventually be thrown away in some clear out I fear.

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Squirrel, drawing, John Hilder

Another character, these choices are actually John’s because we raided the basement on one of his last days and photographed all we could of his many years of work. Only a small amount of which he had done over twenty years that still survived.

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Projector, drawing, John Hilder

John was equally good with mechanical subjects here is an elevation of a design for a projector… one that oddly also makes tea!

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Machine, drawing John Hilder

 Here is a close up of one of his “technical” drawings. His drawings were always beautiful but also practical and achievable.

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Facade, drawing, John Hilder

John’s knowledge of architecture and design was extensive and he always researched everything to get the details right. His versions though always added extra doses of exuberance!

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Monroe, drawing, John Hilder

A rare full colour painting. This was a guide for a scenic artist for a project in Las Vegas.

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Moley, rowing, Riverbank, drawing, John Hilder

So farewell to John. I hope this small appreciation allows a few more people to enjoy his work.

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John Hilder

Here is the man himself considering his next line.

8 Comments

  1. Lovely work, and I see what you mean by exuberance. Duly enjoyed. Thank you.

    Comment by a chris — September 16, 2011 @ 1:54 pm

  2. Marvellous post. Fascinating work. In this country we don’t seem to value this type of work as much as say, the Americans.

    Comment by Mick Carney — September 16, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

  3. Alive, larger than life and about to leap out from the paper is what comes to mind. Thank you for posting these Rob, and the resume of his life and work. I also had googled him with much disappointment.

    Comment by Kathy Harris — September 17, 2011 @ 5:39 pm

  4. I am proud to say I worked with John, he has inspired me all through my career. A creative genius, a supremely talented and true gentleman.
    Thank you John, so many owe you so much, me included. Even more have enjoyed so much pleasure from your work and wit. You will be greatly missed.

    Comment by Matthew Ringland — September 26, 2011 @ 2:52 pm

  5. Dear Rob – This is a wonderful resume of John’s work. Thank you for this. He was my mother’s brother, and he and Lynda came to stay with us. I particularly like his animal drawings – did the illustrated children’s book ever get published?
    Kind regards Sally Lee

    Comment by Sally Lee — April 8, 2012 @ 5:20 pm

  6. Hi Sally, Glad you like the post, only a small cross section of his huge output. The children’s book was alas left incomplete so I am finishing the last few that he left drawn but not painted. When I am done it should hopefully be published, I will tell you when it is, I expect next year.
    Best
    Rob

    Comment by admin — April 8, 2012 @ 5:40 pm

  7. Hi,
    I worked with John after I left school where i was an apprentice carpenter at the Thorndike Theatre Leatherhead. I will always remember his design for a play called French with out Tears for its architectural detail and fantastic technical drawings, such talent they are not producing people of his ilk anymore.
    I think I still have the program from 1973.

    Regards,
    Nigel

    Comment by Nigel Mathias — May 21, 2013 @ 11:34 am

  8. Hi Nigel, yes John was a joy to work with, a style all of his own and a terrific eye for telling detail.
    Rob

    Comment by admin — May 21, 2013 @ 11:43 am

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