Born in Welland, Ontario, Allan Mardon, official National Basketball Association artist for the 1977 Official Fine Art Sports Collection of lithographics issued by Circle Gallery, Ltd., studied at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. He did his postgraduate work at the Edinburgh School of Art in Scotland and at the Slade School of Fine Art, University of London. Mardon, who has designed graphics for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., also spent time as an animator for the National Film Board of Canada in Ottowa. His work has appeared on the cover of Time magazine, frequently in Sports Illustrated, as well as in McCalls and Redbook. His most recent Time covers include the Shah of Iran as well as portraits of the premier of Spain and the President of Greece. Thirteen years ago he moved to Connecticut and, during these years, his reputation as a reportorial artist has grown. He is one of 40 artists represented in a show of Time magazine covers now touring the Middle East and he was one of five artists exhibiting sport paintings recently at the General Electric Gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut. Mardon feels a painter can capture the color and essence of a sports event in greater depth than a photographer, although he snaps pictures to help him remember the highlights of a fast paced game. From these and quick sketches he makes at game time, he creates a picture from the painterly viewpoint. He works in inks, pencils, dyes with a little bit of oil here and there. Mardon's work can be found in the collections of Canadian Artists in the Toronto Art Gallery, in 200 years of American Illustration in the Society of Illustrators and in the private collections of Ann Folger, Fairfax, Inc., Edward Ney, Daniel Forbes and Dr. A. Whitney, to name a few. Among his favorite series for Sports Illustrated are White Water Canoeing, Falcons, and Mountain Climbing. He recently completed several limited edition lithographs for Circle Gallery, Ltd., including an action piece, Fishing and Pheasants in the Fields. |
