Secret Still

Recently I was watching a lot of the old cartoons that I grew up on. I can’t stress enough how much I love cartoons, I always have and I always will. My future children will get tired of watching them way before I do, and so I will probably miss out on many of their milestone moments. Sorry, kids, but if daddy has to choose between watching your first awkward steps or Tex Avery’s House of the Future, it’s gonna be Tex, no contest. Maybe try walking in front of the TV so I can see both. Oddly though, I never really got into any of the Betty Boops or other shorts right around the birth of cartoons, but that kind of character is now my favorite to see. Maybe it’s because of the juxtaposition in how far animation has come since those crescent moon-eyed, black-and-white, rubber-armed weirdos popped up on a screen. NY artist Joe Scarano keeps that style alive in a way that makes me want to sit down with a bowl of sugary cereal and a beer some Saturday morning. These are the characters that used to smoke cigars and hound ladies in strange monochrome worlds where anything was possible. Keep those clown-mouthed oddities coming, Joe, so people like me can put off growing up a little longer.

Joe Scarano

Secret Still BFF Israel Sanchez (previously mentioned) hit me with some electronic correspondence this morning about a great event he’s a part of down in LA. It’s a combination movie screening and art auction based around 80’s kid’s movies. The event launches on November 10th with the beginning of the art auction and culminates with the end of the auction on the 15th when the crew of artists involved will be screening “The Goonies” and having a raffle. The whole event benefits Donors Choose, a charity that buys art supplies for school classrooms. The auction goes down here, and the screening is at The Rialto in South Pasadena. There’s a big list of great artists involved, and I know that you love you some Goonies, so mark your calendars and help out.

Israel’s Blog

This is not normally the realm of subject that I post about, but Drawn! led me to the blog of Oswald Iten this morning where I became engrossed for over an hour. Iten is going through the movie 101 Dalmatians (animated, not the live-action abomination) frame by frame and analyzing the use of color in the film. It’s a seriously in-depth look at color theory and composition in 101 Dalmatians, and boils down to lessons you might never have learned without shelling out some major dough. I’ve watched this film plenty of times in the past, and have noticed a small number of points that Iten talks about, but most of his discussion is miraculously eye-opening. I’m gonna have to drop Dalmatians in to my Netflix queue immediately, and then spend some quality time pouring through it. And another weekend is lost.

Color in 101 Dalmations

I’m not gonna tell you again how much I love kid’s books and the styles of illustration that go along with them. You know. I will tell you that Mark Bodnar has a style reminiscent of the kid’s book style. Reminiscent because this is the kind of work that illustrations in kid’s books talk about after you’ve gone to bed. They sit around and mention to each other how great it would’ve been to be born as a Mark Bodnar piece. Each painting is beautifully rendered, with a light and shadow like something out of a Brueghel the Elder painting. It’s also obvious that he’s got a real understanding of cartoons as a medium, where the character’s body language and expression is so well understood that dialog is secondary. I am not even kidding, this guy is in my top ten, and has been for a long time. Fortunately for me, he’s got a new print out with Letter Pressed. There’s only 75 of them suckers, so try not to snatch ‘em all up before I can scrape together the requisite funding. And his blog mentions something about a cartoon with Cartoon Network (I think it’s Stan Bayou), but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of that one. Keep your eyes open, and focused directly on Mark. I mean, don’t stare him down or anything. That’s just rude.

Mark Bodnar

I ran across Andrew Wilson’s post-it pets a while back and I still haven’t managed to see them all. Not for lack of trying though. There are just too many to get through for an active surfer like myself. Looking at them sort of feels like playing Pokemon or something. Gotta catch ‘em all. I have no idea how to play Pokemon. Can you tell?

Andrew Wilson

I’m sure that most of you watched Ren and Stimpy when you were younger, or maybe you watched it yesterday, but you were younger yesterday, too. Regardless of your youth you have enjoyed the work of Glenn Barr. Barr’s style is that nod to mod that’s dripping with swing. It’s burlesque and charicaturish and smacks of hedonism. The whole portfolio seems to have a pipe in it’s mouth, a scotch in hand, and a stained, silk smoking jacket barely covering it’s shame. It’s a dirty wink and a lude smile. It’s great.

Glenn Barr
Bjork - I Miss You, by Glenn Barr

Don’t have enough TV to watch in pissed off silence with your family? Thank Allah I’m here for you.

101 Classic Christmas Videos. There is even some Hannuakah stuff thrown in there. A smidgen.

50 Greatest Cartoons. Non-holiday related, but fucking fantastic. I love cartoons almost as much as I love cake.