A Visit to Orlando: Cinderella's Castle

 

My family and I recently visited Orlando Florida for the first time. On the day we went to Disney World, I made sure to spend some time sketching while the rest of the family waited in lines for rides. I really enjoyed the complexity of Cinderella's Castle. 

There is something wonderfully calming about slowing down and looking. In the process of drawing this I saw a mother struggling to take a selfie with her two sons. I took a small break and offered to take the photo for them. I do not think I would have noticed her struggle if I had not taken the time to just look.

If you are interested you can purchase a limited edition print of the sketch from my website here.

Aladdin Jr

Again, being inspired by simplicity, I created this illustration for The Vermont Children's Theater's production of Aladdin Jr. I am enjoying going simple.

Art exhibit opening this week!

This Friday, October 14th at 6p will be the opening of Nuts and Bolts at the Quimby Gallery. I will have the honor of exhibiting with the talented Kevin Harkey (Disney storyboard artist), Robby Gilbert (animation professor at Lyndon State College) and Andrea Poe (a truly gifted artist, animator and illustrator). This will be part of the Vermont Animation Festival going starting Thursday night and running through Saturday. More information can be found at vermontanimation.org

Bill Peet (1915-2002), Master Story Teller:

Part of my Art Manifesto is to “11. Lend whatever support you can to those creators whose work you do appreciate and enjoy, even if it's only to tell other people about the quality of work they're doing. ” As such I will occasionally be highlighting artists and art work that I appreciate.

It is always for me to find an artist that I loved as a child and realize now how much they influenced me and are still influencing me today.

I first came to know about Bill Peet from his children’s books like “Cowardly Clyde,” “Hubert’s Hair-Raising Adventure,” and “The Wingdinfdilly.” His characters seemed to be outcasts and oddities. I connected with those characters and loved the whimsical nature of the illustrations. They looked quick and sketchy but were well thought out. They captured my imagination.

Later in life I discovered he had a hand in some of the best Disney movies. He started as an in-betweener and eventually worked his way into storyboarding and character design. He significantly influenced “Dumbo,” “101 Dalmatians,” and “The Sword in the Stone. ” It was fun to discover that he based Merlin from Sword in the Stone upon his view of Walt Disney. This movie also had one of my all time favorite scenes, the wizards duel, it is just brilliant.  He worked on animated shorts as well and similar to his children’s books focused on the different and the outcast with shorts like “Lambert, the Sheepish Lion,” “Goliath II,” and a few of the many brilliant Goofy shorts like “Knight for a Day.” He left Disney during the making of “The Jungle Book” due to creative differences with Walt Disney. Disney didn’t like what Bill had done and Bill refused to change it. It is interesting to note that this was the last film both men would be involved in.

He was a master drawer and drew everything he could. It is evident from his work that he particularly enjoyed drawing animals. He had an innate ability to tell a story visually and hit the right visual notes at the right time. He created simple but memorable characters and could draw wonderfully. I am grateful for Bill Peet’s work and his influence on my life and art.