I wanted to pay tribute to the late KENNY ROGERS, who passed away Friday. Richard Amsel did a portrait of Rogers for the singer's 1982 album, LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND. I had tried within the last two years to reach out to Rogers' team to see if he could be available to interview for the film, but I wasn't aware of his health issues. My thoughts go out to his family, friends, and generations of admirers. In researching the album art, which is very evocative of Amsel's first poster of Harrison Ford in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, I found that the artist completed not one but two different portraits of Rogers. The first, textless image here was from a professional photographic transparency taken m
I bought another one of Amsel's original works about six months ago, and had been meaning to write about it ever since: Amsel's unused artwork for the film RYAN'S DAUGHTER (1970). I'd seen this artwork online for a number of years, and it's an interesting composition. My only real reservations are 1.) The awkward tree branch and leaves that form Sarah Miles' left eye, and 2.) The dominance of the color pink...especially when green should be more prominent! The movie is set in Ireland, after all... But why carp? Every piece I acquire is a treasure to me, and runs circles around anything I could ever hope to do. For those unfamiliar with the film -- a loose reinterpretation of MADAME BOVARY,
