Greg Preston
Greg Preston | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gregory Mark Preston June 2, 1960 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, writer |
| Notable work | The Artist Within |
| Spouse | Sharon Sampsel (m. 1986) |
| Website | sampselpreston |
Gregory Mark Preston (born June 2, 1960) is an American photographer and writer, known for his portraiture of artists within their creative spaces.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Preston was first exposed to comic books at age eight and was immediately drawn to the visuals. At age thirteen, Preston was reintroduced to comics by a friend and from that point on he was hooked.[2]
For college, Preston enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for his first two years as a fine arts major, thinking he wanted to be an illustrator, but really his desire was to be comic book artist.[2] An instructor's advice that Preston seek out a more serious art school with commercial sensibilities, led him to enroll in a community college for graphic design.[2]
Preston bought his first camera, an Olympus OM-1, during that third year of studies, to shoot reference photos for his illustrations, and found his passion.[2]
After graduating with a degree in graphic design, Preston then moved to Los Angeles to study photography at the Art Center College of Design.[2] In school, Preston began shooting with Nikon and Hasselblad cameras; and his favorite photographer influences were Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Albert Watson, Mark Seliger, and Andrew Eccles.[3]
Preston met Sharon Sampsel at the Art Center, graduating in 1986, and the couple married the same year.
Career
[edit]Preston would go on to find work as commercial advertising photographer, specializing in hotel, resort, hospitality, weddings, portrait, editorial, food, and architectural photography.[4] Preston and his wife opened their Las Vegas-based photography studio, Sampsel Preston Photography, on April 1, 1988.[1][5]
Preston's love of the illustration and fantasy art – and a suggestion from cartoonist Scott Shaw – brought about the idea for Preston's project of portraits of artists within their studios.[2] The fifteen-year-long project brought together 101 cartoonists, comic book artists, and animators into an award-winning book of black-and-white portraits whose subjects include Frank Miller, Al Hirschfeld, Joe Barbera, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Moebius, Walt and Louise Simonson.[2] The Artist Within: Portraits of Cartoonists, Comic Book Artists, Animators and Others (ISBN 978-1593075613) was published by Dark Horse Books in 2007.[2]
After the success of his first book, Preston crowdfunded the companion book. Launched in March 2017, the Kickstarter campaign received funding of $30,624.[6] The Artist Within: Behind the Lines: Book 2 (ISBN 978-0692917565) was published in November 2017, and features both black-and-white and color portraits of more than one hundred artists, including Drew Struzan, Jack Kirby, Mark English, Keith Knight, Syd Mead, Steranko, Ron English, Glen Keane.[7][3][8]
Preston's portraits from The Artist Within project have been seen during the Academy Awards and the Eisner Awards.[9] Preston's The Artist Within portrait of artist Marie Severin was used by publications including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Newsday to announce her death.[10][11][12]
In past years, Preston has also been the official portrait photographer at events, including Spectrum Fantastic Art Live in Kansas City;[13] and CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, California;[1] setting up a pop-up studio to take portraits of the guest artists in attendance.
Preston has been an invited speaker at various venues. In 2011, he was a guest speaker the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers convention in London, to speak about being a hotel and resort photographer.[8][14] He has also spoken about his The Artist Within project before audiences at the CTN Animation Expo,[15] Loyola Marymount University,[16] and at the Art Center College of Design.[17]
Bibliography
[edit]- 2007 The Artist Within: Portraits of Cartoonists, Comic Book Artists, Animators and Others ISBN 978-1593075613
- 2017 The Artist Within: Behind the Lines: Book 2 ISBN 978-0692917565
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Greg Preston – Profile – CTN animation eXpo". ctnanimationexpo.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Keller, Katherine. "The Artist Behind the Artist Within: Greg Preston". sequentialtart.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ a b Blitz, Stephen. "FOG! Chats With Photographer Greg Preston, About His 'The Artist Within: Book 2' Kickstarter". forcesofgeek.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Greg Preston". 500px.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Samsel Preston Photography". samselprestonphotography.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "The Artist Within, Photographic Portraits Of Artists: Book 2". kickstarter.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Greg Preston Talks The Artist Within Book 2". tripwiremagazine.co.uk. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ a b Dooley, Michael. "Picturing Famous Comics Artists and Animators, at Ease". printmag.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Greg Preston Comic Obsession: Portraits of 100+ Top Artists at Work". epickmagazine.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Sims, David (August 31, 2018). "Remembering the Woman Who Changed Marvel Comics". The Atlantic. Boston, MA. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Cavna, Michael (August 31, 2018). "Hall of Fame artist Marie Severin, 89, was a beloved and irrepressible comics pioneer". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Schudel, Matt (September 1, 2018). "Marie Severin, versatile Hall of Fame comic-book illustrator, dies at 89". Newsday. Long Island, Ny. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Preston, Greg. "Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2015-New Portraits". sampselprestonphotography.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Preston, Greg. "Making a Living in Sin City". swpp.co.uk. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "More of Greg Preston and Michael Dooley: Artist Within Book 2". Retrieved June 14, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "KaleidoLA Speaker Series: Greg Preston, Commercial Photographer, Sampsel & Preston Photography". cal.lmu.edu. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Greg Preston at Art Center Tonight!". si-la.org. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
External links
[edit]- sampselpreston
.com, website for Sampsel Preston Photography
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1960 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male artists
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American photographers
- 21st-century American male artists
- 21st-century American male writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American photographers
- American advertising people
- American art writers
- American fine art photographers
- American male non-fiction writers
- American portrait photographers
- American architectural photographers
- ArtCenter College of Design alumni
- Artists from Las Vegas
- Food photographers
- Photographers from Los Angeles
- Photographers from Nevada
- Travel photographers
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni
- Wedding photographers
- Writers from Las Vegas
- Writers from Los Angeles