Art of Disney by Feild

From the book The Art of Walt Disney by Robert Feild, 1942. Don't have a copy myself, but they're out there i'm sure. This is one of the best books on Disney animation for a non animator, because it has several examples of the Process; layout drawings, what appear to be samll thumbnail layouts, what we'd term "workbook" drawings now, I guess...also examples of the Elements of Design and other abstract ideas , presented in an accessable and well drawn manner.

Al Parker Show in Stockbridge, Mass.

Ok, this is old news now; I was driving through Massachusetts (you don't realixe what a strange name that is until you write it out) back in June and stopped by at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, http://www.nrm.org. Always worth a visit no matter what, but by happy coincidence , there was a major show of work by Al Parker, illustrator and doyen of slick sophisticated 50s gouache paintings.

No photography allowed but i made some quick sketches of a few pieces just for memory's sake. If i can find the finals I 'll post them foe comparison.





There was a great catalogue, available from the Museum bookshop. I bought three.

On until October 28th.

They had three of the museum's galleries set aside for this; after slaking your thirst on the Rockwells on display, you move into a completely different yet completely contemporary world. A world of cool-as-cucumber women and girls, some petulant , some languid, some in paroxysms of laughter, all rendered in crisp, deft strokes of paint. I love looking at originals, you learn so much about how they work. In fact, one portion of the show is devoted to things Parker did as part of the process, ie, a painting with pencil notes telling the printers to shoot the art to bump up the contrast so that certain portions will drop out and become part of the white of the page.

These guys don't date. There is a freshness to the technique that still just goes Zing! I have a copy of Step by Step magazine from the eighties that has some of the same pieces.

Time

For Calligraphy Tuesday, only moments gone! Time, indeed!
Words by W. H. Auden and Omar Khyam....

Singapore!

I meant to do some entries while I was still there, but I just returned from a surprise trip to Singapore, land of Terry and the Pirates and Modern Tiger of Asian Countries That Are Poised To Kick Our Butts. I was there last summer for the months of July and August doing teaching and guest lecturing for Nan Yang Polytechnic in their Visual Arts Program. Made alot of new friends and had a blast. Much is being written about the present and imminent state of affiars re; aniamtion in the Asian countries; suffice to say that there are exciting thing s happening there, perhaps at the expense of some more rain forest or a few civic rights, but Singapore seems to be making it work. There are certainly exciting prospects at the moment for any whom are looking to do some travelling and experiencing other cultiures and combining that with work experience. If one is going to get involved in the global marketplace, it's as good a place as any.
This time it was Sheridan College that called; they wanted me on a team they were sending to explore the feasibilityof setting up a campus there to supply the burgeoning aniamtion industry. Don't know how much I can say here, but it's a hard possibility and there will be more opportunity in the near future.
In the meantime, Singapore is still an enticing place and is full of mystery and romance, for all its sparkling skyscapers and modern buildings, shiny cars, well heeled shopaholics, there are exciting places to see, every kind of Asian food to be sampled, weather hot enough to wilt metal and arms wide open to any with an open mind. And they're not going away anytime soon.

Here are some pics from the recent trip.