Off Line For a Bit

Sorry about not posting material.  I had a heart attack and am just getting back in the grove.

No history, Not over weight. I run 5 days a week. Eat well.... Ah, well.  And it was a big one - I gather that only about 1% survive more than 4 hours....   I guess there are more blogs I need to write before I can sign-off!

More soon.....  !


Bob

;D

Winnie The Pooh Cel and Richards' Background

Rob Richards recently posted some great backgrounds from Winnie the Pooh.Since our first cel was a Winnie the Pooh piece, I took note...

One of the backgrounds had a number of "hunny pots" in the background. I decided to super our first Winnie cel on the background and loved the result!

Richards Background

Our First Winnie Cel

Composite Image

Thanks, Rob!

Hollywood Photo Autographed By Film Greats

This was one of those things you come across and buy just because it is so very cool!  Since the Oscars are coming up, I thought you might enjoy seeing this great "Hollywood" sign autographed by many of the Hollywood greats....

George Burns, Buddy Ebsen, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy, Gene Kelly, Lillian Gish, Billy Wilder, Dean Martin, Jessica Tandy, Hume Crowyn, Lauren Bacall, Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis

----- DATABASE NOTES -----

Autographed “Hollywood” sign photo (circa 1991).  An 8x10 black and white image of the famous "Hollywood" sign, featuring over one dozen signatures: George Burns, Buddy Ebsen, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy, Gene Kelly, Lillian Gish, Billy Wilder, Dean Martin, Jessica Tandy, Hume Crowyn, Lauren Bacall, Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis. Condition: Excellent.  Note: The “Hollywood” sign was originally part of a promotion for a new subdivision and later became the symbol for the movie industry.  SeqID-0817  8/2/2005

Vintage Disney Signed Photo Up At Auction Feb. 25-27

From February 25-27, Heritage Galleries will be auctioning my signed Disney picture that was part of the Ingeborg Willy Scrapbook.  Since there are a number of "fake" Walt Disney signed items out there, Heritage had the piece authenticated.  Late last year, Heritage auctioned off a number of my non-animation and space artifact items.

Follow this link to the Heritage Gallery site

Here's the item that up for auction....

Over A Quarter-Million Hits!!!

Over 237,000 hits to the blog!  Amazing!  When I decided to start posting images from our collection of animation art I thought there would be a small group of individuals interested in some of the items we had collected over the past twenty-plus years. I never expected to meet fantastic people from all over the globe. In addition, contacts via the blog have led to artwork from our collection appearing in a number of new animation related books.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the check out the blog.  I appreciate it...!

Bob  ;D

Question About Disney Artist Richard Case

I received the following email and wondered if anyone could supply some additional information...

Hello Robert:

My father in law Richard Case recently passed away at 94.  We have been trying to find any information on Richard Case's early years with Disney Studios back in 1939-1940.  He worked on the backgrounds for cartoon title illustrations, the Ugly Duckling and Fantasia among others.  Is there any data base of early Disney employee's where we could search for information on Richard Case that you may know about?  So far after extensive web searching I am still coming up short.  

We have found an Ugly Duckling Book he had and a group of slides from his cartoon title illustrations among his things.  The bulk of his Disney work was stolen or misplaced in a house move.  We did recently get an email from someone in Colorado who purchased a porky pig drawing signed by Richard Case from an antique shop.  

Any help you can give us would be appreciated. 

Thanks Robert.

John King

If anyone has additional information, please post a comment here and I'll pass it along to Mr. King.

If you have an interest in seeing some of Richard Case's later abstract work, here is the link.

Bob   ;-D

Computer Is Back !!!

Finally!  After "losing" my computer somewhere in the repair facility, my laptop finally found its way home...

More posts as soon as I check out the computer....

Bob  ;D

New Business Blog

For those of you interested in business development or starting a new business, you might want to check out the new blog  "Rich Niche Group" started by Ken Balog.

When Ken started to work for my company, I was impressed with his creativity and knowledge of the "consultative sale" process.  While Ken and I have not worked together for over 10 years, I was honored that he would kick off his new blog by interviewing me.

"Good luck, Ken"....!

New French Collector and His Blog

I just received a nice email from Mathias in France concerning his new blog of animation artwork he has been collecting.


http://collectiondessindanimation.blogspot.com/

I was amazed to see that a number of his pieces are very similar to my own!

While the blog is in French, it is well worth checking out....

Thanks, Mathias!

"Fantasia" -- Upcoming Posts

OK...

The next group of postings will be from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.

We have a number of items and it will take me a couple of days to convert the images for web use.

"Keep watching this space..."

Bob ;D

Back to Work....

Well, we're back from Disney World....

A great time, as usual...

Spent most of the time in Animal Kingdom taking photos of all the animals and taking the Backlot Tours...

I'll bet back to posting more art shortly...

And thanks for your notes!

Bob

Gone Again...

Well, back from a great National Geographic photo workshop in Santa Fe...

Now, we're off for a week down at Disney World... Should be a great time (as always).

If you are down there, look us up at the Grand Floridian...

Later

Bob ;D

*** A "PAUSE" IN BLOGGING ***

Starting this Sunday (July 12th), I will be off-line for a week...

I'm taking our daughter down to Santa Fe for a week-long photography workshop hosted by National Geographic. Should be fun to learn more about National Geographic's philosophy toward photo-journalistic shooting...

See you when we get back!

Bob... ;D

"Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder" - I think I have it!

My sister sent me this quote. I'm not sure who authored it, but it certainly has the "ring of truth." Frankly, after reading it I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry....

--------------------

A.A.A.D.D.
KNOW THE SYMPTOMS – PLEASE READ!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.: Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests itself:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water. I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do…

At the end of the day:

• the car isn't washed,
• the bills aren't paid,
• there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter,
• the flowers don't have enough water,
• there is still only one check in my check book,
• I can't find the remote,
• I can't find my glasses, and
  
• I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really, really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it…


But first I'll check my e-mail....

"Little Lulu" - Information Needed

I received the following today and thought someone out there might have some ideas as to the film or other information...

Hello,

I was looking for some info on this piece of animation art. I believe it's from a title sequence. Any ideas??

Thanks,

Elliott

----- ADDING TO THE SALE ----- : Photo Signed by Walt Disney

Well, the folks from Heritage Auctions were at the house yesterday going over the Comic Art and Artifacts from the Space Program that I'll be putting up. One of the items that I decided to add to the items that will auctioned off is the photograph that Walt Disney gave to Ingeborg Willy in 1937, the woman from the Pen & Ink Department responsible for the wonderful Scrapbook I often cite here. It's a great shot of Walt in what is sometimes called a "Hollywood Pose."

Walt's Signed Photo For Ingeborg Willy

We put the photo is a very elegant frame that gives some great "weight" to the shot. Sorry about the color shift to blue. The scan above is color-correct...

----- Selling Comic Art -----

We've decided to sell our collection of Comic Art. The auction house will be picking up the art next week. If there is an item of interest, please email me at rcowan@mywdo.com by Monday.

Here are some items of note and the estimated hammer price: One of the earliest known Flash Gordon (60-90k); Little Nemo (30-60k); Peanuts (18-35k); Superman (8-12k); Prince Valiant (3-5k); Mandrake (3-8k); Tiny Tim (2-5k); Snow White (1-5k); Newlyweds (1-3k); Tarzan (1-3k); Cinderella (1-2k).

Alex Raymond "Flash Gordon" (1935)

From “Flash Gordon” Sunday strip by Alex Raymond (1935). A pen & ink Sunday section and the matching color printed page. One of the oldest known “Flash Gordon” strips remaining. Characters include: Witch Queen, Flash Gordon, Khan, Dale, Zug, Azura - Queen of Magic, “Syk” [Item, pen & ink: 19”W x 29”H; Frame: 27”W x 37”H; Item, color page: 10”W x 14”H; Framed: 16”W x 21”H] Acquired 2004. SeqID-1265 Updated: 8/7/2005

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Windsor McCay "Little Nemo" (1906)

From “Little Nemo” (1906). From “Little Nemo” (1906) by Windsor McCay. An early pen & ink strip produced only 14 months after the strip's introduction. After 1909, McCay became districted by other projects and the quality of the strip weakened. The strip is unusual in that it has Little Nemo and in Princess in every panel of the page. In addition, this strip includes an "Eternal Theme" -- Santa Claus in his Toyland with his Elves, lists of 'good boys and girls' and getting ready to depart for his annual Christmas deliveries. [Image: 2 @ 22”W x 16”H; Frame: 30”w x 38”H] Acquired 2004. SeqID-1267 Updated: 7/26/2005

Seller’s Comments: The first thing you want from an original McCay is an early Sunday Page -- you know the early artwork is 'pure' McCay. After 1909 it generally starts to get a little weaker. This is only 14 months into the Strip. The other thing you want is graphics -- this has that as well and big time. That full top panel with the Sleigh and Reindeer is just amazing, as is the artwork in every panel on this (almost) 100 year old Sunday page. Look at the bottom panel -- incredible detail. This strip has 'Little Nemo' and the 'Princess' in every panel of the page. Plus, it has something more that I know you'll appreciate -- an Eternal Theme -- ''Santa Claus'' in his Toyland with his Elves and lists of 'good boys and girls' and getting ready to fly-off to do his annual Christmas deliveries. And a great image of 'Santa' and of both of 'Nemo's' Parents. It's a "KEY" page.

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Charles Schulz "Peanuts" (1990)

From “Peanuts” (1990) by Charles Schulz. An original pen & ink done by Charles Schulz for a Sunday cartoon. Image shows Sally and Snoopy, with a general discussion of food. Signed by Charles Schulz. "Good Grief -- I almost forgot…" was the title. Copyright United Features Syndicate/Charles Schulz. [Image: 24.25"W x 17"H; Frame: 32.5”W x 25”H] SeqID-0529 7/28/2005

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Joe Shuster Signed Oversized "Superman" (1943)

From Siegel & Shuster’s “Superman” (1943) -- Pen & Ink Sunday page signed by artist Joe Shuster a few years before he became blind. Matching color printed page. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster “Superman” Sunday page. This not only has Superman, but Lois Lane, Perry White and Clark Kent in it as well. [Frame: 29”W x 37”H; Images: 2 @ 20”W x 13.5”H -- Sunday color: Frame: 16”W x 20”H; Image: 9.5”W x 13.5”H] Acquired 2004. SeqID-1147 Updated: 7/27/2005

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Harold Foster "Prince Valiant" (1958)

From “Prince Valiant” (1958) by Harold Foster. A Sunday pen and ink with brush on paper of Prince Valiant signed in the lower right panel by the artist, for the partial Sunday dated 11/16/58, with some dust soiling, blue lines to margins, some whiteout otherwise in very good to near fine condition. Bottom right hand panel has most of the main characters showing. King Arthur and Guinivere are rarely seen together. 1958, King Features Syndicate. Acquired 2000. SeqID-0700 8/3/2005

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Lee Falk & Phil Davis "Mandrake the Magician" (1944)

From “Mandrake the Magician” (1944) by Lee Falk & Phil Davis. Characters on the page: Mandrake, Sylvia, Sam Jones, Carlo (the Ringmaster), Spike, Gombo (the Giant Gorilla), and Lothar. Seller’s Notes: “Original artwork for a Mandrake Sunday page. 1944, King Features Syndicate, pen and ink with brush on paper, for the Sunday page dated 6/25/44, with slight dust soiling, blue lines to margins, some whiteout otherwise in very good condition.” [Image: 14.5”W x 22.5”H] Acquired 2000. SeqID-0699 11/11/2008

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Stanley Link "Tiny Tim" (1935) [Flash Gordon parody]

From Stanley Link’s “Tiny Tim” (1935). From Stanley Link’s “Tiny Tim” (1935). Original pen & ink Sunday page from 1935. This was a 'takeoff' by Stanley Link of “Flash Gordon” that started in mid-1934 by Alex Raymond. Originals from this early story are rare but more then that, there is that great Rocket Ship, the robots and a 'Ming' parity, ETC. Copyright July 21, 1935 Chicago Tribune. Back: Received 1935 May 27 PM 6 27; Publishing date July 21, Cut down by Link, Left art department May 27, checked L.M. Nosse [Item: 20”W x 13.5”H; Frame: 29”W x 22”H] Acquired 2004. SeqID-1181 Updated: 8/3/2005

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Contact Sheets of Items

"Lady and The Tramp" (1951) - Michael Sporn Blog

I was knocked out by the pencils of the Bella Notte scene from "Lady and The Tramp" that Michael posted on his blog. I would highly recommend that you take a moment to check it out.

Portions of the pencil group was featured on page 101 in "Too Funny For Words" by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (shown below)

Pencils from "Too Funny For Words" (click to enlarge)

In the Comments section of Michael's blog there were several references to the pencil test of the scene. I've embedded the Quicktime here...


Frank Thomas (Lady and the Tramp) from Victor Ens on Vimeo.

And here is the piece in our collection...

"Belle Notte" Sequence

There are three cels here: Lady, Tramp and the cloth table cover. The trimmed cels were applied to another cel and mounted over a Master Background from another scene in the alley. Below is the actual scene from the DVD (I have not had time to find the scene for the background in my framed piece). I should point out that there are differences in the coloring due to differences in my photo technique and the changes when capturing from a DVD.

Scene from the Disney DVD

What makes the piece work for me is that Lady and The Tramp are totally unaware of what is about to happen -- BUT WE KNOW! Every time I watch this scene I always have the same reaction as the first time I watched the film as an adult - the quiet smile that comes from the realization you know something about what is to happen before the characters in the film!


----- DATABASE NOTES -----

Thomas, Frank & Johnston, Ollie. Too Funny for Words. NY: AbbeVille Press, 1987. ISBN 0-89659-747-4. SeqID-1503. Page 101.

From “Lady and the Tramp” (1955). Lady and the Tramp “Bella Notte” setup - (1) a 22” x 10” Disney watercolor Master Production Background of the alley behind Tony’s Restaurant with (2 ) production cel of Lady, (3) production cel of Tramp and (4) very rare production cel cloth covered table. The cels have been trimmed and applied to a cover cel. [22”W x 10”H] Acquired 2004. SeqID-1142. Updated: 7/30/2005

More Cloned Disney

After I looked at the previously post from YouTube, I found another video that showed similar full-motion scenes from different films.

I was amazed at the similarities between Snow White and Robin Hood.

Cels Cloned - YouTube Video

Someone went to a lot of work to find the same cels that were repeated in the same film AND other films - identical poses with different characters! Thanks to Susan How in Singapore for sending me the link.