Thursday, May 23, 2013

More on Jack Davis, My Favorite Cartoonist

I have talked about Jack Davis in an earlier blog  but I watched an interview with him by Gary Groth at Strand Books in New York and I was reminded all over again of his greatness and his humility.
Here is the interview, click on the image...



                                               Here's a blog about Jack's Monster Art
                                                       
                                                             

Monday, May 20, 2013

Moleskine Goes Public?

Yes, Moleskine, the European makers of those expensive little pocket sketchbooks and other diaries has gone public. Read about it in the Wall Street Journal.

                                   Here's a page from my little 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch sketchbook

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Have you seen this car?  It's spectacular!

Here's an article on Yahoo! Autos Canada

Friday, May 10, 2013

Momiji Gardens in Vancouver, BC

I got the chance to visit Vancouver, BC last week and scored a new "Profile Picture" in the beautiful Momiji (Japanese Maple)  Gardens located on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds.  Ruth York was the photographer in both cases...(Thank you :)

Old profile

New Profile (My hair has grown a bit!)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Texture in Alan Bean's Space Paintings

I saw this gigantic painting by Artist/Astronaut Alan Bean at NASA.  I was blown away by the spectacle of it.

Check out the video interview with him posted on Youtube.



Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Halloween Tree on DVD

I'm so happy to see that Ray Bradbury's "The Halloween Tree" animated special is now available on DVD. I have two VHS copies that I have watched many times.  I am told that Ray wrote the story as a  response to his disappointment in the children's special "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown".  "The Halloween Tree" tells the story of Halloween's rich history and of a group of young friends who celebrate it in a special way.
Ray Bradbury narrates the movie and his warm tenor voice adds a wonderful tone to the film.
I often play the video in the background when I work on Halloween themed paintings just to hear the comfortable sound of Ray's voice.
the backgrounds are beautiful autumnal compositions in watercolor.


                                 Here's one of the more dramatic backgrounds from the film


                                                   The Halloween Tree DVD cover

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Ray Bradbury's Halloween Tree

A friend of mine who was close to Ray Bradbury told me that Ray bought a set of oil paints and basically sat down and painted this famous, the first "Halloween Tree" with no prior practice or training.


                                                                   Ray Bradbury