Pied Piper of Blogville

Hey, I just wanted you to know that I am blogging about animation over at the Channel Frederator Blog. So follow me over there if you like cartoons. I got quite busy all of a sudden but I will continue to post odd items here as well, when time and inclination permits.

Gouache Gal Gallery Grows

Funny how my gouache gals wear dresses and heels, which I rarely do.

I did a frantic race up and down the aisles of New York Comicon last Sunday and my favorite finds of the day were gouache-related.

Somehow I’ve never come across Animus, a beautifully produced pop-up book with images by Seonna Hong. Lovely and haunting, this little gem was published by Baby Tattoo, an innovative independent publisher.

I also bought another Baby Tattoo volume, Popping Through Pictures, a board book collection of illustrations by Amanda Visell. Interview with Amanda here. It’s interesting to find out that unlike Seonna Hong, Tim Biskup, Lynne Naylor and other animation/fine art types, Amanda tried to break into animation but never really succeeded. Seems she is doing just fine selling her paintings, sculptures, lunch boxes, toys, and other delightful offerings.

A tip of the cartoon hat to acrylic paint and other non-gouache art supplies. I’m not sure that all of this artwork is done with gouache but it does have the simple, retro 50s, flat, UPA-inspired, muted palette look that I love!

Small Statues of Boynton Beach: Part Two

I have returned from Florida and it’s time for an update on the small statues of Boynton Beach. You may remember Part One. Well, it’s confirmed: individuality and a sense of rebellion as fierce as a slight breeze continue to be expressed through the purchase of lilliputian statuettes. The newest trends? Frog, frogs, frogs! Now more than ever. Also, a rising intellectual tide lifts all lawn ornaments: angels and the aforementioned amphibians seem to be doing more reading these days. You may ask, “Won’t you run out of small statues? Can I really look forward to Parts Three, Four, and beyond?” Yes, my friends, there are still many sections of this as-yet-unidentified gated community to explore (all of them named after brands of upscale china).  And perhaps someday I will gain access to another nearly identical active senior community and document scrappy poured concrete animals in overalls and pint-sized kids with curls of mock-stone that we can only imagine in our most mundane dreams! PS: The other highlight of the trip was a visit to the nearby water reclamation project/nature preserve where we learned all about the stunningly complex and inspiring local ecosystem that has been enthusiastically obliterated due to a pressing need for golf courses and big box stores. The faux froggies weep.

Another Gouache Gal

Experiments with gouache continue. Anyone who wants to share a gouache link, please add a comment. I can’t find much in the way of step-by-steps and tutorials, except for this one showcasing rocks and many more that use transparent watercolors to render things like raindrops on roses. I am picking up how to mix a better consistency of paint (“like cream” is one description I read). This artwork was done last night on cold press watercolor paper; her complexion would improve on hot press! If you love gouache as much as I do, here are some links to my two favorite gouache artists:

MARY BLAIR: There are many example on the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive, which is a fabulous resource. Most people know about her work at Disney, but I am especially fond of her illustrations for The Golden Books. Examples can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

TIM BISKUP: Modern master with an uncontrollable imagination. See his website. Also this nice profile. He is so damn prolific!

When Life Gives You Dolphins…

…make some crazy-ass art that simultaneously enlightens the masses and causes strangers’ eyes to bleed. If you’re a fan of unicorns, angels, and retinal overstimulation, then you must check out the endless wonders that are to be found at the Artainment Links Page. Brought to you by Da Vid (why do I suspect that his given name was something like David Finkelstein?) and The Light Party (which miraculously synthesizes the Republican, Democatic, Libertarian, and Green Parties—just try that, Michael Bloomberg!) this page offers a rich resource for those who can’t get enough of sparkly goddess art, soft-core mysticism, and queasy surrealism. And did I mention dolphins? More dolphins? Tons of dolphins? Dolphins with wings? And if you act in the now, you can order your very own celestial soul portrait. (By the way, mandalas are pretty. And Alex Gray is a genius and in an entirely different category.)

[Credit: Dolphins with wings from www.jeanlucbozzoli.com, who just might send some rabid dolphins to tear me limb from limb!]

The Naked Cowboy’s Mom Loves Hummels

One day I was listening to my favorite collecting podcast, Keep Antiquing. The jovial host, Frank Farmer Loomis, was attempting to give a caller some advice about Hummels. She seemed disappointed that she was not likely to be rolling in dough if she sold her little molded munchkins. Imagine my surprise and delight when she said that she would just have to rely on her son…THE NAKED COWBOY! The Naked Cowboy’s mom was on the phone, yakking it up about her infamous offspring and his skimpy wardrobe! Of course I knew that the Naked Cowboy had family somewhere out there in the U.S.A. but I didn’t expect this oddly mundane audio encounter with his proud mom. What a serendipitous moment. I just had to share this telling glimpse into the life of Robert John Burck. Listen to it here.

In other Naked Cowboy news: He is suing a naked M&M.

Meet my friend, Muffgirl!

She’s really very nice. Not scary at all! She’s on MySpace, like most everyone else, except for those people who constantly update you on what they had for breakfast via Facebook, or the ones who are wondering where everyone went on Friendster. She has a theme song! And who is that singing? Ummm…guess! I am exclamation point crazy today! I think it’s because the WGA Strike is over!!!

 

Go here now to meet her:

MUFFGIRL MYSPACE PAGE 

Small Statues of Boynton Beach: Part One

Every winter I visit Boynton Beach, Florida. It is a world of gated communities packed with Long Island transplants and enormous chain drugstores at every intersection.  These secure and sanitized neighborhoods are not unlike the fictitious “Del Boca Vista” of Seinfeld fame. Here is a list of real community names. You can make up your own for fun, if you need a distraction, like if you’re trapped in a hermetically-sealed home with advance climate control and you can’t sleep and you’re afraid to open the window because you might set off an alarm, or you’re afraid to go outside for a walk because you might set off an alarm, and your flight back to NYC is cancelled because of a Nor’easter and you’re going out of your mind staring at a purple beanie baby in a Lucite box…this is just an example, of course. My favorite fake name is “Aisle Isles”, which sums up the aesthetic juxtaposition of abundant Costcos and faux European entrance ways with spritzing over-sized fountains. Anyway, “the communities” have many rules that restrict what you can do to your home, regarding approved paint colors and authorized shingles, so basically you should not drink to excess or you will possibly mistake your neighbor’s house for your own and attempt to enter and set off those ever-present alarms before you even get a chance to kiss someone else’s spouse (by mistake). So how do the residents of these communities express their creativity under such constraints? They battle imposed conformity and a somewhat fascistic sense of color coordination with their choice of small statues, of course. It seems there are no rules when it comes to that! So go crazy with your froggies and angels, retirees!