Book review: Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World

Special contribution from Astronomy magazine illustrator, Roen Kelly

Very seldom do I get a request to write for the magazine. Smart move on management’s part. However, it just so happened a book of paintings arrived at the Astronomy offices. The book, Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World, showcases the paintings of Alan Bean. Who better to review the book but one of the staff artists?

The book is unique in that, as many of you know, Alan Bean was an astronaut. He is famous for piloting the lunar module on Apollo 12 and is the fourth man to have set foot on the Moon. At the age of 49, during the time he was training for a space shuttle mission, Bean decided to leave the space program. Why? Because he wanted to pursue his artistic talents full time. Twenty-eight years later, a body of glorious paintings fills the pages of this book.

It is fascinating to me because I illustrate pictures for Astronomy magazine all day but must rely on my imagination and references to depict scenes. Here is a person who went to space, walked on the Moon and has the ability to paint about the experience.

The book is divided in sections. Essays on Bean’s art from art critic Donald Kuspit, writer William L. Fox and museum director Louis A. Zona appear at the beginning. The book chronologically depicts Bean’s paintings from the Apollo missions from the time they were painted, 1982 to 2008. Quotes by famous writers, scientists, and visionaries appear in juxtaposition to Bean’s paintings. Afterward, Gene Kranz, Apollo flight director, describes what it was like to be a part of the space program during the time of the Apollo missions. At the end of the book are Bean’s indexed notes on his featured paintings.

Some of the paintings are didactic in nature, recording astronauts using tools and equipment. Other works are romantic and somewhat conceptual. For example, an astronaut is shown, with one foot on Earth, reaching out to grasp an object in space. The book’s reproductions pick up the expressive use of brush strokes. Large transparent footprints and craters appear on some of the paintings, as if the scenes were painted right on the surface of the Moon.

You can view a sampling of Alan Bean’s paintings online by going to www.alanbeangallery.com.