Guy Deel: His novel art made West come alive
Monday, December 26, 2005
Guy Deel's brush depicted the cowboys, good guys and gunslingers of lead-slinging literature.
The artist who illustrated the covers of hundreds of Western novels died Dec. 13, 2005 at age 72 in Cambria, Calif., of complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Deel was born July 7, 1933, in Tuxedo, Texas about 50 miles north of Abilene TX. His grandparents were ranchers, and his father worked as a cowboy before the family moved to Irving in 1939.
Mr. Deel graduated from Irving High in 1950. At 17, he attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., on a scholarship.
Following art school, Mr. Deel served in the U.S. Army, where he designed recruiting posters at an Army installation on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. While in New York, he picked up freelance art assignments for magazines such as Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest.
When the magazine market began to dry up for illustrators, Mr. Deel turned to the book market. That's when he headed to California.
A prolific illustrator, Mr. Deel produced artwork for more than 250 book covers, most for western novels by authors such as Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton and Gary McCarthy. He also created covers for 15 Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The illustrations were created as oil paintings that Mr. Deel allowed publishers to reproduce but not to keep.
Lynne Deel, Mr. Deel's wife, said that his fondness for depiction of the American West was part of his heritage.
"His whole family was sort of cowboy folks," Mrs. Deel said. "He always had an affinity for the West. He spent much of his youth on family farms and ranches."
Mrs. Deel said that Mr. Deel's hallmark was historical accuracy in his paintings.
"If the time period called for a specific gun, that was the gun. The horse's tack would be right for the period," Mrs. Deel said. "He was a very accurate historian."
In terms of scale, Mr. Deel's most epic work is a 130-foot mural painted for the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles. The "Spirits of the West" mural takes up three walls of one level of the museum and depicts the story of the American West.
Mr. Deel also worked in advertising and film. He received a silver medal award in 1963 from the Dallas-Fort Worth Art Directors Club for advertising illustrations he did for retailer Neiman-Marcus. In 1974, his documentary film Artists at Work was screened at the USA Film Festival in Dallas.
Mr. Deel later worked with Walt Disney artists on several animated productions. His credits include The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Fantasia 2000.
In 2001, Mr. Deel's old hometown of Irving commissioned him to re-create in a painting the 1903 land auction that was the birth of the city. The painting was unveiled at the city's centennial celebration.
Mrs. Deel said that her husband was no brooding artist. He was a happy man who enjoyed the life and vocation he chose.
"He never made a dime doing anything but painting," Mrs. Deel said. "He enjoyed life. He brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Deel is survived by a brother, James Deel of Houston; two sisters, Louise Gill and Bunis Marykwas, both of Irving; a son, Christopher Deel of Agora Hills, Calif.; a daughter, Kimberly Deel of Westlake, Calif.; and one grandson.
________________________________________________________
Additional information provided by Dennis Alan Deel (#46590424).
Monday, December 26, 2005
Guy Deel's brush depicted the cowboys, good guys and gunslingers of lead-slinging literature.
The artist who illustrated the covers of hundreds of Western novels died Dec. 13, 2005 at age 72 in Cambria, Calif., of complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Deel was born July 7, 1933, in Tuxedo, Texas about 50 miles north of Abilene TX. His grandparents were ranchers, and his father worked as a cowboy before the family moved to Irving in 1939.
Mr. Deel graduated from Irving High in 1950. At 17, he attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., on a scholarship.
Following art school, Mr. Deel served in the U.S. Army, where he designed recruiting posters at an Army installation on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. While in New York, he picked up freelance art assignments for magazines such as Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest.
When the magazine market began to dry up for illustrators, Mr. Deel turned to the book market. That's when he headed to California.
A prolific illustrator, Mr. Deel produced artwork for more than 250 book covers, most for western novels by authors such as Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton and Gary McCarthy. He also created covers for 15 Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The illustrations were created as oil paintings that Mr. Deel allowed publishers to reproduce but not to keep.
Lynne Deel, Mr. Deel's wife, said that his fondness for depiction of the American West was part of his heritage.
"His whole family was sort of cowboy folks," Mrs. Deel said. "He always had an affinity for the West. He spent much of his youth on family farms and ranches."
Mrs. Deel said that Mr. Deel's hallmark was historical accuracy in his paintings.
"If the time period called for a specific gun, that was the gun. The horse's tack would be right for the period," Mrs. Deel said. "He was a very accurate historian."
In terms of scale, Mr. Deel's most epic work is a 130-foot mural painted for the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles. The "Spirits of the West" mural takes up three walls of one level of the museum and depicts the story of the American West.
Mr. Deel also worked in advertising and film. He received a silver medal award in 1963 from the Dallas-Fort Worth Art Directors Club for advertising illustrations he did for retailer Neiman-Marcus. In 1974, his documentary film Artists at Work was screened at the USA Film Festival in Dallas.
Mr. Deel later worked with Walt Disney artists on several animated productions. His credits include The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Fantasia 2000.
In 2001, Mr. Deel's old hometown of Irving commissioned him to re-create in a painting the 1903 land auction that was the birth of the city. The painting was unveiled at the city's centennial celebration.
Mrs. Deel said that her husband was no brooding artist. He was a happy man who enjoyed the life and vocation he chose.
"He never made a dime doing anything but painting," Mrs. Deel said. "He enjoyed life. He brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Deel is survived by a brother, James Deel of Houston; two sisters, Louise Gill and Bunis Marykwas, both of Irving; a son, Christopher Deel of Agora Hills, Calif.; a daughter, Kimberly Deel of Westlake, Calif.; and one grandson.
________________________________________________________
Additional information provided by Dennis Alan Deel (#46590424).
Guy Deel: His novel art made West come alive
Monday, December 26, 2005
Guy Deel's brush depicted the cowboys, good guys and gunslingers of lead-slinging literature.
The artist who illustrated the covers of hundreds of Western novels died Dec. 13, 2005 at age 72 in Cambria, Calif., of complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Deel was born July 7, 1933, in Tuxedo, Texas about 50 miles north of Abilene TX. His grandparents were ranchers, and his father worked as a cowboy before the family moved to Irving in 1939.
Mr. Deel graduated from Irving High in 1950. At 17, he attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., on a scholarship.
Following art school, Mr. Deel served in the U.S. Army, where he designed recruiting posters at an Army installation on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. While in New York, he picked up freelance art assignments for magazines such as Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest.
When the magazine market began to dry up for illustrators, Mr. Deel turned to the book market. That's when he headed to California.
A prolific illustrator, Mr. Deel produced artwork for more than 250 book covers, most for western novels by authors such as Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton and Gary McCarthy. He also created covers for 15 Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The illustrations were created as oil paintings that Mr. Deel allowed publishers to reproduce but not to keep.
Lynne Deel, Mr. Deel's wife, said that his fondness for depiction of the American West was part of his heritage.
"His whole family was sort of cowboy folks," Mrs. Deel said. "He always had an affinity for the West. He spent much of his youth on family farms and ranches."
Mrs. Deel said that Mr. Deel's hallmark was historical accuracy in his paintings.
"If the time period called for a specific gun, that was the gun. The horse's tack would be right for the period," Mrs. Deel said. "He was a very accurate historian."
In terms of scale, Mr. Deel's most epic work is a 130-foot mural painted for the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles. The "Spirits of the West" mural takes up three walls of one level of the museum and depicts the story of the American West.
Mr. Deel also worked in advertising and film. He received a silver medal award in 1963 from the Dallas-Fort Worth Art Directors Club for advertising illustrations he did for retailer Neiman-Marcus. In 1974, his documentary film Artists at Work was screened at the USA Film Festival in Dallas.
Mr. Deel later worked with Walt Disney artists on several animated productions. His credits include The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Fantasia 2000.
In 2001, Mr. Deel's old hometown of Irving commissioned him to re-create in a painting the 1903 land auction that was the birth of the city. The painting was unveiled at the city's centennial celebration.
Mrs. Deel said that her husband was no brooding artist. He was a happy man who enjoyed the life and vocation he chose.
"He never made a dime doing anything but painting," Mrs. Deel said. "He enjoyed life. He brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Deel is survived by a brother, James Deel of Houston; two sisters, Louise Gill and Bunis Marykwas, both of Irving; a son, Christopher Deel of Agora Hills, Calif.; a daughter, Kimberly Deel of Westlake, Calif.; and one grandson.
________________________________________________________
Additional information provided by Dennis Alan Deel (#46590424).
Monday, December 26, 2005
Guy Deel's brush depicted the cowboys, good guys and gunslingers of lead-slinging literature.
The artist who illustrated the covers of hundreds of Western novels died Dec. 13, 2005 at age 72 in Cambria, Calif., of complications of Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Deel was born July 7, 1933, in Tuxedo, Texas about 50 miles north of Abilene TX. His grandparents were ranchers, and his father worked as a cowboy before the family moved to Irving in 1939.
Mr. Deel graduated from Irving High in 1950. At 17, he attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., on a scholarship.
Following art school, Mr. Deel served in the U.S. Army, where he designed recruiting posters at an Army installation on Governor's Island in New York Harbor. While in New York, he picked up freelance art assignments for magazines such as Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest.
When the magazine market began to dry up for illustrators, Mr. Deel turned to the book market. That's when he headed to California.
A prolific illustrator, Mr. Deel produced artwork for more than 250 book covers, most for western novels by authors such as Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton and Gary McCarthy. He also created covers for 15 Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The illustrations were created as oil paintings that Mr. Deel allowed publishers to reproduce but not to keep.
Lynne Deel, Mr. Deel's wife, said that his fondness for depiction of the American West was part of his heritage.
"His whole family was sort of cowboy folks," Mrs. Deel said. "He always had an affinity for the West. He spent much of his youth on family farms and ranches."
Mrs. Deel said that Mr. Deel's hallmark was historical accuracy in his paintings.
"If the time period called for a specific gun, that was the gun. The horse's tack would be right for the period," Mrs. Deel said. "He was a very accurate historian."
In terms of scale, Mr. Deel's most epic work is a 130-foot mural painted for the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles. The "Spirits of the West" mural takes up three walls of one level of the museum and depicts the story of the American West.
Mr. Deel also worked in advertising and film. He received a silver medal award in 1963 from the Dallas-Fort Worth Art Directors Club for advertising illustrations he did for retailer Neiman-Marcus. In 1974, his documentary film Artists at Work was screened at the USA Film Festival in Dallas.
Mr. Deel later worked with Walt Disney artists on several animated productions. His credits include The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Fantasia 2000.
In 2001, Mr. Deel's old hometown of Irving commissioned him to re-create in a painting the 1903 land auction that was the birth of the city. The painting was unveiled at the city's centennial celebration.
Mrs. Deel said that her husband was no brooding artist. He was a happy man who enjoyed the life and vocation he chose.
"He never made a dime doing anything but painting," Mrs. Deel said. "He enjoyed life. He brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Deel is survived by a brother, James Deel of Houston; two sisters, Louise Gill and Bunis Marykwas, both of Irving; a son, Christopher Deel of Agora Hills, Calif.; a daughter, Kimberly Deel of Westlake, Calif.; and one grandson.
________________________________________________________
Additional information provided by Dennis Alan Deel (#46590424).
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