Ralph McQuarrie... RIP

As an artist, Ralph was one of my favorites. Although I never met him, I did get to see his original works at his art exhibit at CV. Seeing his paint strokes truly inspired me to be the best I can be. Thank you Ralph for your contributions.
 
He's the key to the original SW universe. His concept paintings still take me back to my seat when I seven.

Thank you Ralph! I love you.

Mike
 
That is really bad news.

He had such an impact on me, especially as a kid. I have his twin suns picture in my home. His art changed the world. It is not only iconic, but set the bar for films that hasn't been matched since. What a special man that touched so many.

My condolences to his family and friends.

There is a special place for him in all of us and I would bet somewhere else too.
 
Re: RIP Ralph McQuarrie

Agreed. Holding is art at Gene's was MAGIC. I just wished I could have, at some point, met the man to thank him for the inspiration.
 
I only met RM once.

Apropos of his art, I happened to mention that the designs in Star Wars had really resonated with my dad, who had served aboard an escort carrier during WW II.

Having just ordered a print from McQuarrie moments prior, he had my mailing address. Two or three weeks later I received the print I ordered -- along with an extra print; the one of a fighter pilot racing across the tarmac of the secret rebel base. McQuarrie wrote: "This painting was inspired by guys like your dad."

Extraordinary.
 
Last edited:
darth_myeek said:
He's the key to the original SW universe. His concept paintings still take me back to my seat when I seven.

Thank you Ralph! I love you.

Mike
Click to expand...

i feel exactly the same way. As a seven year old, McQuarrie's paintings were all that I had to obsess over when trying to feed the insatiable appetite for more after the movie left the theater. I remember seeing the Star Wars portfolio for the first time at a neighbors house and thinking that these pictures looked even better than the film that was fading in my memory. Seeing the stormtrooper with the lightsaber, vader's early helmet, the early Y-wing gave me as a child the first idea of the 'behind the scenes' that went into film making even existed.

Because there was no internet, or even VHS i would just stare at Mcquarrie's work, lost in the rich details, living in his environments, just wanting to see more.

My empire strikes back sketchbook remains to this day in a section of my bookshelf that i will B-line towards in the event my house is burning down. It was this sketchbook, that made me realize it wasn't actually star wars that i was in love with, it was McQuarrie's work. It is also one of the main reasons, i didn't like the prequels. When I heard Doug Chiang say on the 'making of featurette for TPM' that as a kid he thought that McQuarries ships 'looked wrong' i was appalled and offended.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without Mcquarrie having graced our world with his presence. I am truly saddened with his passing. Thank you mr. mcquarrie for your gift; thank you for fueling my imagination.
 
This truly is saddening.

I don't know much about his work before Star Wars but his work on Star Wars made him legendary in the eyes of the fans and very few people had such an influence on the way the films looked. Without him we would not have had the characters as they are today.

As a young fan back then his images were extraordinary and still reasonate with me today 30 years later.

RIP RMcQ
 
As soon as I read the words about his passing, it hurt. I genuinely hurt inside. I will always be inspired by his visions on canvas. it's often that my mind wanders as I picture a reality based on his art. I can just hear the desolate winds on his paintings of a barren tatooine.

Goodbye Ralph. I wish I'd met you
 
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