Joe Ciardiello Explained

Joe Ciardiello
Birth Place:Staten Island, New York
Field:illustration

Joe Ciardiello (born 1953) is an American illustrator. He works primarily in pen and ink on water color paper and is best known for his work as a portrait artist, for clients such as American Express, Barnes & Noble.com, Capitol Records, The Folio Society, The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian and Time.[1] He has received awards from the Society of Illustrators.

Early life and education

Ciardiello was born in 1953 in Staten Island, New York. His grandparents were Italian immigrants who settled on the Island and his parents were born there as well.[2] His father, Joseph A. Ciardiello was the youngest of four boys. He operated a dental practice in Staten Island,[3] but also had a lifelong interest in drawing.

Ciardiello attended a Catholic grammar school and was accepted into the High School of Art and Design. When Ciardiello was a senior in high school, he was setting his sights on becoming a cartoonist, until Murray Tinkelman came to the school as a guest lecturer. After hearing his lecture and looking at his drawings, Ciardiello decided that Tinkelman's approach as an illustrator offered more possibilities for him than cartooning. When he enrolled in the Parsons School of Design, it was as an illustration major. At Parsons he met his second important influence on his work, his figure drawing instructor, Jim Spanfeller through whom he learned a love of drawing in an expressive way.[4] Other instructors at Parsons included Bernie D'Andrea, Lorraine Fox and Maurice Sendak. Ciardiello graduated from Parson in 1974 and received his BFA in 1975.

Artistic influences

Apart from Tinkelman and Spanfeller, Ciardiello's early artistic influences came primarily from illustrators who were working at the time, such as Alan Cober and Leonard Baskin. Ciardiello also drew inspiration from the work of Egon Schiele, who was an early 20th century Austrian artist.[5]

Illustration career

Getting started

Ciardiello's work first appeared in print in 1974 during his senior year in college, in Crawdaddy Magazine, whose offices were a few blocks from Parsons[6] and which Rolling Stone credited with being the first serious journal dedicated to rock and roll.[7] The illustration was a black and white depiction of Lenny Bruce. Another early client who published Ciardiello was Penthouse Magazine. Scholastic Magazines was also an early client for the young artist. His first piece accepted into the Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition was in 1975.

Professional life

In the late 1980s, Ciardiello began work on a series of black and white drawings of his favorite jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and others. The drawings were compiled into a book, with poems by John Kruth, and art directed by Patrick Flynn. The book, titled Like Jazz was published in 1992.

After the publication of Like Jazz, Ciardiello began illustrating for the Capitol Blues Collection for Capitol Records,[8] which lead to 23 illustrated volumes,[9] including the first in the series T-BONE WALKER The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings (1995)[10] and the last in that series, CAPITOL BLUES #23: VARIOUS ARTISTS Chicago Blues Masters Volume Three (1997).[11]

In 1999, Ciardiello had a one-man exhibition of his works Portraits of Blues and Other Images at the Museum of American Illustration, which is housed by the Society of Illustrators, New York City.[12]

In 2016, Ciardiello won the Hamilton King Award, which is the highest award the Society of Illustrators can bestow to a member.[13] The award was presented on behalf of Ciardiello's work illustrating the book On The Snap by Brian Case.[14]

In 2019, Fantagraphics published Ciardiello's A Fistful of Drawings, a collection produced over the previous five years inspired by Westerns.[15]

Working process

When doing portraiture Ciardiello will gather as many photographs of his subject as possible. After this, he either draws sketches on tracing paper, which he places on a light box where the drawing is transferred to paper; alternately he will frequently go directly to a finished drawing in pen and ink, without preliminary sketches. Ciardiello primarily works with a Rapidograph pen, and occasionally a dip pen, on watercolor paper.[16]

Personal life

Ciardiello lives in New Jersey with his wife artist Susan Blubaugh. He contributes original works for auction to support charities including the Drawing Dreams Foundation,[17] The Printing Center of New Jersey[18] and veterans charities.[19]

Ciardiello plays drums with the bands Kane Trio and The Half-Tones.[20] The Half-Tones is an all-illustrator band consisting of Barry Blitt, Richard A. Goldberg, Hal Mayforth, Robert Saunders, Michael Sloan, and James Steinberg.[21]

Selected illustrations

Book illustration

Putnam Editions
Franklin Library EditionsThese books, re-published from the original texts, were illustrated by Ciardiello:
World's Best Reading Series, Reader's Digest, 1990-1999These books, re-published from the original texts, were illustrated by Ciardiello and distributed by the publisher to a mail order book club:

Bibliography

Compilations and annuals

Ciardiello has been represented in many books and art annuals, including:

Awards and honors

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Joe Ciardiello. illoz. 2016-09-27.
  2. Web site: Newman. Robert. Illustrator Profile - Joe Ciardiello. American Illustration. 2017-03-25.
  3. Web site: Joseph A. Ciardiello. Spaghetti Journal. 2016-09-26.
  4. Drawing Pens & Drum Sticks. U&lc. February 1986. 12. 4. 8–11. 2016-09-29.
  5. Web site: Ardiff. Neil Francis. Big Interview With Joe Ciardiello. Frail Friend. 2016-09-25.
  6. Web site: Alt Pick Interview. Alternative Pick. 2016-09-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195202/https://altpick.com/spot/ciardiello/ciardiello.php. 2017-03-28. dead.
  7. News: . 1077 . April 30, 2009 . 26 . David . Fricke . David Fricke . Rockers Reach Out to Pioneering Music Critic. Cited in Web site: rollingstone.com . April 21, 2009 . Crawdaddy Founder Paul Williams Asks for Help . https://web.archive.org/web/20090427103617/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/21/crawdaddy-founder-paul-williams-asks-for-help. April 27, 2009. dead . June 1, 2015 .
  8. Morris. Chris. Calitol Goes to the Blues Vaults. Billboard Magazine. June 3, 1995. 97. 2016-09-26.
  9. Web site: Capitol Blues Collection. Willard's Wormholes. 2016-09-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20160322144339/http://www.willardswormholes.com/archives/category/capitol-blues-series. 2016-03-22. dead.
  10. Web site: CAPITOL BLUES #1: T-BONE WALKER The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings (1995) |. May 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160505032523/http://www.willardswormholes.com/archives/278. 2016-05-05.
  11. Web site: CAPITOL BLUES #23: VARIOUS ARTISTS Chicago Blues Masters Volume Three (1997) – Includes James Cotton's Bizarre Todd Rundgren-Produced 1970 LP |. March 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160322101344/http://www.willardswormholes.com/archives/33499. 2016-03-22.
  12. Contributors. Los Angeles Magazine. January 2003. 10. 2016-08-29.
  13. Web site: Hamilton King Award. Society of Illustrators. 2017-01-28.
  14. Web site: Joe Ciardiello's Hamilton King Award. Caught by the River. 2017-01-28.
  15. Web site: Drawing Classic Old West . 2019-02-12. Heller. Steven. Print Magazine.
  16. Web site: Donnelly. Kate. Joe Ciardiello Interview. From The Desk Of. 2016-09-25.
  17. Web site: Drawing Dream Foundation. Charity Buzz. 2016-09-26.
  18. Web site: The Printing Center of New Jersey. 2016-09-29.
  19. Web site: 52 Reasons to Love A Vet. 2016-09-29.
  20. Web site: Sasor. Shirley J... From Canvas to Stage. Hunterdon County Democrat. 2016-09-29.
  21. Web site: Gallo. Irene. Society Nights. The Art Department. 8 September 2006. 2016-09-29.
  22. Web site: OTL: The Long, Strange Trip of Dock Ellis. ESPN.com.
  23. Web site: California Condor. September 16, 2016. Audubon.
  24. Web site: David Hockney for SIC Magazine (The RED Issue) by Joe Ciardiello. November 19, 2012.
  25. Web site: From canvas to stage: three local artists play the blues in Kane Trio. Shirley J. Sasor/Hunterdon County. Democrat. October 30, 2010. nj.
  26. Web site: Joe Ciardiello illustration portfolios. illoz.
  27. Web site: Brief Lives. Folio Society. 2016-09-25.
  28. Web site: Popova. Maria. 10 Rules of writing. Brain Picking. 21 August 2013. 2016-09-25.
  29. Web site: Devil's Sinkhole. University of Texas Press. 2016-09-25.
  30. Web site: Black White & Blues. Strike Three Press. 2016-09-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20161117195147/http://strikethreepress.com/services/black-white-blues/. 2016-11-17. dead.
  31. Web site: On the Snap. Caught by the River. 2016-09-25.
  32. Web site: The Great Houdini. Austin Public Library. 2017-01-28.
  33. Web site: Ciardiello. Joe. A Fistful of Drawings. Fantagraphics. 2019-01-25.
  34. Web site: TASCHEN Books: All Titles (All Themes, All Prices, Sort by best-selling titles). www.taschen.com.
  35. Web site: Hamilton King Award. Society of Illustrators. 2016-09-25.
  36. Web site: Illustrators 34. 2016-09-26.
  37. Web site: Illustrators 41. 2016-09-26.
  38. Web site: Illustrators 48. 2016-09-26.
  39. Web site: Texas Monthly. SPD. 2016-09-29.
  40. Web site: Members Open. Society of Illustrators. 2016-09-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20161023074614/http://museumofcartoonart.org/Awards-and-Competitions/Members-Open/Overview.aspx. 2016-10-23. dead.
  41. Web site: Nevada Press Association. Las Vegas Review Journal. 19 September 2010. 2016-09-26.
  42. Web site: 2014 Excellence in Journalism Awardees. Milwaukee Press Club. 20 March 2015. 2016-09-29.
  43. Web site: 3x3 ProShow Winners Announced. 3X3 Magazine. 2016-08-29.

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