Rockwell began his work for the Saturday Evening Post at the age of 22. His method of work for the Post was a combination of old and new techniques. He used a traditional easel with oils, watercolors, etc. He painted in a studio, also a traditional method, but the 'new' technique was more involved. Before Rockwell's works could be released, they were processed by modern equipment (being cameras and four-color presses). Rockwell, while painting the covers, had a lot to keep in mind. Most of the paintings were created on canvas several times the size of the actual Post cover. Because of this, Rockwell had to visualize how his work would look once reduced to the proper size. Perhaps Rockwell's greatest talent was in his ability to create work that would 'jump out' at the public. His covers drew the public's attention immediately, as soon as the magazine was published. In fact, the Saturday Evening Post would often increase the number of magazines being published when they knew that Rockwell would be illustrating the cover. By the end of his career, Rockwell had painted 318 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Perhaps the hardest part of Rockwell's task was to create a cover that would please all viewers. Covers aimed to interest "farmers and doctors, librarians and sailors, brokers and barbers" all over America. Such a talent took genius planning and creativity. Norman Rockwell, luckily, possessed both these traits.
