Hockney: A Graphic Life

by Simon Elliott

Follow the journey of David Hockney's exceptional life in a unique graphic novel format.

From his childhood in Bradford and early years making it as an artist, to his sun-drenched Los Angeles period, his triumphal return to the UK and his recent iPad drawings that proudly exclaim that ‘spring cannot be cancelled’ , this charming biography traces the captivating life and times of David Hockney . Drawn entirely on an iPad in a fun, fully illustrated style – and in homage to Hockney's own iPad drawings – this is a colourful , thought-provoking and joyous story of one of the world's best-loved artists .

Genres: Graphic Novels, Art, Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che devo dire? Non conoscevo Hockney, ora sì. E desidero molto andare a una sua mostra

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a vibrant and richly illustrated retrospective of David Hockney’s life and work. It traces the evolution of his art alongside key moments in his personal journey, highlighting how his experiences shaped his creative output over the decades.

Beautifully produced and visually stunning, the book showcases the full spectrum of Hockney’s artistic exploration—from his early work to his bold embrace of new technologies. One of the most fascinating aspects is how, even in his later years, Hockney remained curious and inventive, experimenting with digital tools like the iPad and iPhone to create large-scale works using custom apps.

Even if you're only vaguely familiar with Hockney—perhaps from headlines about the record-breaking sale of one of his paintings—this retrospective provides an interesting introduction to the artist’s evolving style.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a BLAST of colour and queer creative joy--much needed in the middle of winter and in the world as it is.

Elliott is very clear on the genius of Hockney--which is is his curiosity, his relentless need to interpret and capture the world around him. Whether that is spring unfolding one hour to the next or a person growing older over many years. It must be quite the thing to have Hockney pay you his creative attention.

Elliott also doesn't closet Hockney or shy away from the complexities of his character and the challenges gay people faced then and now--it was powerful to see how this connected to Hockney's work and his drive to make work.

I loved the look of this book I wasn't always clear which of the illustrations came from who and would have welcomed some more clarity on that.

This was a reading departure for me and one I am glad I made. Delightful and inspiring!

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highlighted biography of the artist. The illustrations are both inspired by and try to capture Hockney's work. Knowing the author is a fan (you can tell by their writing style), most things are skewed towards Hockney in a positive manner. Yet, you do see some of the confidence/arrogance and talent/lack-thereof (depending on your personal opinion) in a fairly even presentation. Overall, fun, interesting, educational (I knew a little bit from a picture book I had read), but also not dry. A conversational narrative allows the subject to be presented in an accessible manner. 

[tony dillard jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2018, David Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with 2 Figures) sold at auction for a record $90.3 million dollars. The sale inspired writer and illustrator Simon Elliot to research Hockney's life and to study his art for this graphic novel biography. Up until reading this book, my only experience with the British artist Hockney was a Jeopardy! question involving his series of pop art paintings of ever growing in size splashes in a pool. What can I say, the guy likes water.

Growing up in England during World War II and becoming interested in art during the country's massive reconstruction from the Nazi airstrikes meant that Hockney had to be creative with the materials he could use to express his creativity. Many important items, such as paper, were heavily rationed. As a lad, Hockney had to use the margins of books, scrap materials, even the walls of his house to create his first works. This inspired many of Hockney's earliest professional paintings and etchings to be of mixed mediums.

Over time, Hockney diversified his use of a collage technique in his paintings to spill over into prints, photography, stage and set design and more. Hockney also turned his love of art into a passion for art history, publishing works devoted to his idol Pablo Picasso among others. Openly homosexual in a time when being gay was a criminal offense in England, some of Hockney's art was considered cheeky if not vulgar. Yet the artist's most controversial work might be a theory that postulates that many of the great artists of the 1400-1600s used a lighting device called a camera obscura which essentially allowed those masters of art to capture the still lifes they painted not from visual perspective but copied off from a projected image.

Simon Elliot's book is full of recreations of Hockney's works with other images superimposed to reflect the many influences that inspired the artist's work. His personal life is also captured in depth. But there are so many lovers, partners, family members and associates in this book, some sort of diagram is needed to be able to keep up with them all.

David Hockney is considered by many to be a major player in the pop culture movement. At age 86, he's one of the last living icons of that era. Yet do not think for a minute that Hockney is stuck in the past with his newest works. Since the coming of the 21st century, Hockney has embraced technology, creating massive digital works on his iPad, measuring several hundred meters in length. I think it's safe to argue that without the strides Hockney made in creating digital exhibits that could be viewed simultaneously across the globe, you would not have projects like the Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience.

Hockney is as unique a graphic novel as the man himself. This is not a typical graphic novel in which the artist's life is depicted through panels of sequential art. Each page and two-page splashes are collages of a certain period of time in Hockney's life. There's very little dialogue. Mostly it's one or two sentence long quotes added with paragraph long narratives. This book is experimental, edgy and underground just like Hockney. At one point, two pages have the exact same narrative, word for word. I couldn't tell if that was a printing error or an intentional reflection of one of Hockney's early protest pieces.

This work also contains some images and adult situations that do not make this an all ages read. For one interested in learning about art history, especially modern art of the last 65 years, this graphic biography is for students aged in the upper teens or older.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I saw this as having nothing in the way of speech bubbles and very little as regards direct quotes or speech, and assumed it to be an annoyingly wordy graphic novel. It wasn't. I saw it as exuberantly coloured, as a book about Hockney had to be – it was just that. I read it as a piece designed to give us all the major ins and outs of his love life and his career, and his aspiration to bring colour and joy and to dismiss those disparaging beauty in art – and we got a lot of that, beyond the beauty. I didn't find this containing it – but then I don't see it in the clumsiness and overt mercantile qualities of Hockney anyway. He and his mother seem to disparage a readymade bit of rope from someone – and Hockney then makes several hundred of this in a couple of months, and a few hundred of those, and a series of the other to glut the market. Yes he grew up in paper rationing days, but the profligacy – on canvas, photography paper and iPads – is kind of just accepted here.

So this isn't exactly a critical book – in either sense, really. It's the kind of generalist biography to frustrate Hockney aficionados, as they will know this and more. It's the kind of book that makes demands of the reader only in keeping up with the men involved – much of the last few decades it would appear to be a household of three or four of them – but nothing else will ever struggle to be readable. It's certainly the kind of volume that will never find an inferior work, a bad idea, a misconceived life choice. It will talk of Hockney's smoking, his Monroe-inspired blonde choice, his art (and art – and art) all without a single smidge of a raised nose or eyebrow. So what it has to hang on is the creator's visuals, and they certainly are in keeping, and on point. To the Hockney art student this will drip with reference and obliging homage. It very much is the kind of book Hockney would want. Whether it's the kind of book the average browser actually would need is something I still doubt. But it can easily be imagined a lot worse than this, so three and a half stars seems the obligatory rating.

[Mary BookHounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hockney: A Graphic Life (BioGraphics)

I am so thrilled with this book on the life of David Hockney. I saw one of his pool paintings in the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum along with several other paintings he did in the surrounding areas. I fell in love with his style and then I found his dachshund series and have been a fan of his work ever since. This book covers his life in an easy-to-follow manner in a graphic novel form. This is an excellent way to get the best of both worlds by seeing his work and how it reflected his life.

This book is so well done and my only quibble is that all of Hockney's art is reformatted into the graphic style of the book instead of the artist's true style but it is a nice homage to his work. This is one of those books that you can pick any part of the book and read a chapter and then move on without having to read it in order.

[Tosan Kraneis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully drawn piece of art depicting the life of David Hockney, an absolute must read for every Hockney fan and strong recommendation for anyone interested in the art world and graphic novels!!! Simon Elliot manages to convey a joy and love for life that can also be found in Hockney‘s art work.

[Caz Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous read, I learnt a great deal aout David Hockney. Such a vibrant book and page turner - I'm also thrilled I got to meet the Author Simon Elliott, who is also a colourful and lovely human! I had my book signed :)

[MV Isip · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed this a lot! the full page illustrations were amazing. great intro to who might be my favorite artist now — love how he embraced new media and gets inspired by all sorts of things 🥰

every page was an invitation to look up references & artwork. excited to re-read it!

[keffling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful vibrant illustrations, fabulous read overall!

[Chloe Planques · Rating 5 out of 5]

« Notre regard comporte une composante psychologique. La façon dont nous voyons le monde dépend de notre humeur, de nos émotions, de notre connaissance du sujet, et d'une myriode d'autres facteurs. »

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated graphic biography of the wonderful artist David Hockey.

[Sophia Bote · Rating 3 out of 5]

gorgeous illustrations. i can really relate to the author as a fellow hockney lover. some small typos detracted from the book, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Upasana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored working through this lovely graphic bio! I enjoyed Elliott’s love and respect for his subject. A few editing issues but otherwise totally enjoyable!