Oh my. We've lost another grand master of illustration. Leo Dillon, one half of the amazing art couple Leo and Dianne Dillon, recently passed away. News here.
I've been enamored with their work ever since I got my hands on an old copy of Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch. And even more amazing is the story behind their art and their relationship. They met in college and their relationship started competitively, each trying to outdo the other. Leo was African American and Diane was white. What started out as competition became a serious relationship during a time when intolerance was widespread. Their fusion found its way into their art, mixing deftly into each others' styles. In an interview, they propsed the idea of having a third artist in their midst -- one being Leo, another Diane and the third was the amalgam of both being neither but also being both.
On May 28, 2012, Harlan Ellison reported on his website a phone call from Diane announcing Leo's death at 79 years from lung cancer two days prior.
From Mr. Harlan Ellison's website:
"Diane just called. Saturday, he died. Saturday. Tumor on the collapsed lung, he never regained consciousness. I'm more than a pretty miserable piece of shit right now. Half my soul for fifty years went with him. Please remember Leo & Diane."
R.I.P. Mr Dillon. Thank you for the inspiration.
Visit the Dillon's site here.
Pictures taken without permission from http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/ and http://leo-and-diane-dillon.blogspot.com/