Joe Ciardiello (born 1953) is an American illustrator. He works primarily in pen and ink on water color paper He has received awards from the Society of Illustrators. His father, Joseph A. Ciardiello was the youngest of four boys. He operated a dental practice in Staten Island, but also had a lifelong interest in drawing. Other instructors at Parsons included Bernie D'Andrea, Lorraine Fox and Maurice Sendak.

Illustration career

Getting started

Ciardiello's work first appeared in print in 1974 during his senior year in college, in Crawdaddy Magazine, whose offices were a few blocks from Parsons and which Rolling Stone credited with being the first serious journal dedicated to rock and roll. The illustration was a black and white depiction of Lenny Bruce. which lead to 23 illustrated volumes, including the first in the series T-BONE WALKER The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings (1995) and the last in that series, CAPITOL BLUES #23: VARIOUS ARTISTS Chicago Blues Masters Volume Three (1997).

In 1999, Ciardiello had a one-man exhibition of his works Portraits of Blues and Other Images at the Museum of American Illustration, which is housed by the Society of Illustrators, New York City.

In 2016, Ciardiello won the Hamilton King Award, which is the highest award the Society of Illustrators can bestow to a member. The award was presented on behalf of Ciardiello's work illustrating the book On The Snap by Brian Case.

In 2019, Fantagraphics published Ciardiello's A Fistful of Drawings, a collection produced over the previous five years inspired by Westerns.

Working process

When doing portraiture Ciardiello will gather as many photographs of his subject as possible. After this, he either draws sketches on tracing paper, which he places on a light box where the drawing is transferred to paper; alternately he will frequently go directly to a finished drawing in pen and ink, without preliminary sketches.

Personal life

Ciardiello lives in New Jersey with his wife artist Susan Blubaugh. He contributes original works for auction to support charities including the Drawing Dreams Foundation, The Printing Center of New Jersey and veterans charities.

Ciardiello plays drums with the bands Kane Trio and The Half-Tones. The Half-Tones is an all-illustrator band consisting of Barry Blitt, Richard A. Goldberg, Hal Mayforth, Robert Saunders, Michael Sloan, and James Steinberg.

Selected illustrations

  • The Long, Strange Trip of Dock Ellis, ESPN
  • Reimagining the California Condor, Audubon Magazine
  • Portrait of David Hockney, SIC Magazine (Silver Medal Society of Illustrators)
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 24th Annual Induction (program cover)
  • Portrait of Eric Clapton, Playboy Japan

Book illustration

  • Brief Lives by John Aubrey, The Folio Society
  • Like Jazz The Spanfeller Press, 1992
  • 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard, William Morrow 2007
  • The Devil's Sinkhole by Bill Wittliff, University of Texas Press, 2016
  • Black White & Blues, by Joe Ciardiello, Strike Three Press 2011
  • On The Snap by Brian Case, Caught by the River Press, 2015

;Putnam Editions

  • Theodore Roosevelt by Sibyl Hancock, 1978
  • The Great Houdini by Anne Edwards, 1977
  • Buffalo Bill by Eden Vale Stevens, 1976

;Franklin Library Editions

These books, re-published from the original texts, were illustrated by Ciardiello:

  • The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, 1979
  • Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates, 1980
  • Nostromo: a tale of the seaboard by Joseph Conrad, 1981

;World's Best Reading Series, Reader's Digest, 1990-1999

These books, re-published from the original texts, were illustrated by Ciardiello and distributed by the publisher to a mail order book club:

  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain, 1984
  • Around the World in 80 Days, Jules Verne, 1988
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville, 1989
  • Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Jules Verne, 1990
  • The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson. 1992
  • The Celebrated Jumping Frog and Other Stories, Mark Twain, 1992
  • Heart of the West, O. Henry, 1993
  • Bellefleur, Joyce Carol Oates

Bibliography

  • A Fistful of Drawings, 2019

Compilations and annuals

Ciardiello has been represented in many books and art annuals, including:

  • The Illustrator in America, 1860-2000, Society of Illustrators, 2001, by Walt Reed
  • 100 Illustrators, Taschen 2013, edited by Steven Heller
  • Illustrations Now edited by Julius Wiedemann, Taschen 2005

Awards and honors

  • Hamilton King Award, Society of Illustrators, 2016
  • Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, 1993
  • Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, 2000, for portrait of William Burroughs
  • Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, 2006
  • Merit Award, Society of Publication Designers, 2008 (with Jonny Hannah)
  • Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators, 2012 for portrait of David Hockney
  • Best Illustration, Nevada Press Association, 2010
  • 2014 Excellence in Journalism, Milwaukee Press Club, 2014
  • Bronze Medal, 3X3 ProShow, 2012

References