A Tex Avery tribute

Animation director, Tex Avery (1901-1980), is, has been, and always will be one of my strongest influences. His contribution to the animation art form is undeniable and he is credited as the second most influential animation director, after of course Walt Disney.  His cartoons present a level of hysteria greatly imitated, but yet to be paralleled (in my opinion). Two notable feature films that pay tribute to his legacy are 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' (1988) and 'The Mask' (1994). 

After infusing his brand of humor into the Looney Tunes lexicon at Warner Brothers, he relocated to MGM where he really let loose.  This painting is influenced by some of his cartoons from this period (such as the Wolf & Red cartoons, 'Red Hot Riding Hood' (1943), 'Swing Shift Cinderella' (1945), 'Little Rural Riding Hood' (1949) and also features the characters Droopy and the Cop from 'Who Killed Who?' (1943)).

The Wolf (Avery never gave him an official name) and his lustful, ogling, chasing, harassing, kidnapping and overall violations of consent ways, are behavioral traits that will get you arrested in the real world pretty quickly. In the cartoons, the Wolf is the personification of unrestrained lust and here he has met his due consequences. (Sobering, isn't it?*)      

To be honest, there was some ambivalence on my end if I should paint this image. I comprehend some women experience harassment on a frequent basis and I'm not insinuating their unwanted receptions are comedic. There are also places in the world where variations of abuse are still not met with any lawful intervention. Yet, I'm compelled to share images that highlight my influences and that doesn't always involve generic paintings locked in an unobtrusive realm. With serious topics, my concern is always the line between addressing and exploiting. How did I do? You tell me.

For one week every September, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, becomes the center of the animation world with the Ottawa InternationalAnimation Festival (this year, September 20-24). The painting is for an art show unofficially aligned with the festival, celebrating Saturday morning cartoons and animation love! Big thanks to Joel MacKenzie and the team at JamFilled for putting the exhibition together! You can see all the works in person at Oz Kafe starting TONIGHT, Wednesday, September 20th. The show will remain up for a month. Click here for the facebook event info.

'Taming The Wolf'

acrylic on wood panel

10"x8" (image)

11.75"x9.75" (including frame)

$ Look, you work hard and you deserve to celebrate your life with original art that speaks to you. If this painting appeals to your tastes, contact me, and we'll bring it into alignment for you. Acquiring art doesn't have to be complicated.

*Also an Avery reference. In many of his cartoons, he would embed signs that spoke directly to the audience such as: 'Spooky, isn't it?', 'Noisy, isn't it?', 'Exciting, isn't it?'...

Persistance of Vision

 WouldLOVE to see this documentary at some point. If you've NEVER SEEN The Thief and the Cobbler (also known as The Princess and the Cobbler) - it is a seriously underrated gem!

For more art documentaries, check out my list of personal recommendations here.

refrence sculptures - Gift of Folly

I was tidying up my studio and came across these sculptures I made while I was working on the painting 'Gift of Folly'. Making small sculptures to assist in the drawing process has become common practice for me now. 

The anvil was so I could draw anvils in multiple angles. 

The bulldog character is a reference to the antagonist from the Tex Avery directed cartoon Bad Luck Blackie* - ONE OF THE GREATEST cartoons ever made!

 

*Just to clarify the title, it is a not a racial cartoon. The title refers to the main character, a black cat, who defends a kitten by bringing bad luck to the bulldog character by crossing his path and causing objects - including an anvil - to fall on him from the sky.

'Bride of Boopenstein' - original tonal drawing

New drawing for sale on my online store. The final original drawing and tonal study for the painting cartoon monster painting, 'Bride of Boopenstein' is available here.

Other works available here: http://jonodoironstudio.storenvy.com/
 

"Special delivery. Directly from me to you - no middleman! I AM the king!" - Yakko, Animaniacs

Bride of Boopenstein

Here is the whole painting I created for Slushbox Gallery's NERDCORE III group show that opened on Saturday. It was a fun challenge to create a painting with just black and white. It is a tribute to two of my favorite things to paint: cartoons and monsters. The cartoons are all from the era before color, some of the characters are rather obscure. The frame is custom as well

'Bride of Boopenstein'
acrylic on masonite, custom frame
10"x12" (image) 18"x20" (including frame)

 You can see all the works from the show here.

THAT LAUGH! - more laughter

I've been concentrating all my efforts on the 'THAT LAUGH!' #painting once again since I finished my piece for the skateboard art show next Saturday. Here is more of the daunting detail:

Ren & Stimpy animation cel!!!

 I've ALWASYS wanted to own an animation cel - and now I do! This past weekend at the MontrealComic-Con, I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Camp: Co-Creator and Creative Director on the Ren & Stimpy Show  (among many other animated projects he has contributed his talent to).  Bob was a true gentlemen, quite willing to share his enthusiasm from the show to myself and other fans. Among them, he disclosed an interesting story behind my favorite R &S episode, 'Haunted House'.

The cel I purchased is from the episode 'Stimpy's Fan Club' from the second season. I recognized where the cel was from immediately. Bob (and the woman he shared his table with whom I gather to be his wife or partner) expressed they both secretly wanted to keep it. I assured them it was going to someone who will very genuinely enjoy it.     

In the episode, Ren's jealousy of Stimpy's fan letters (and suppression after Stimpy recruits him to reply to his letters) drives him toward madness while Stimpy sleeps soundly. The scene is dark and reminiscent of (and quite possibly influenced by) Macbeth's monologue after killing King Duncan from Shakespeare's play: Macbeth.  

The Ren & Stimpy Show was noted for it's off model continuity. Ren briefly has five digit anatomical hands for emphasis. The line is: "With these hands..." 

The back of the cel. On cels,  the character outlines were traced or printed on the front and painted on the back (so you wouldn't see brush strokes). This is actually a two cel setup - Ren's hands and body are on two separate layers. The background is a colored photocopy, not the original painted background.

Signed by Bob Camp. RS - 303 is a label for Ren & Stimpy (the show) and  303 is the scene number.

A-4 (arms 4th drawing), R-2 (Ren, second drawing) and BG - 114 is the where the BackGround appeared in the episode.

Certificate of authenticity.

The exact frame I now proudly own as it was shot and broadcast. On the DVD, the frame occurs 13 minutes into the episode.