Work of Art

I'm not going to apologize for my spending habits. And one day, I suppose I'll have to sell my goodies to pay for retirement. But in the meantime, I get to enjoy some eye candy of a different sort.

Today, my Britto Artist Mickey arrived. He's much bigger than I expected, but he looks great in my office at work! I placed him near some concept art, and I think it works well. What do you think?

I purchased mine from my friend, Febra, over at the Gift House in Lakewood, CO. Be sure to order your special treasures from her!

Click here to go to the Gift House website. Below are the details for Artist Mickey.


Artist Mickey
Disney by Britto Collection
Dimensions: 3.5"W x 9.25"D x 8.75"H
#: 4055227
Materials: Stone Resin

My Favorite Dream

Probably a lesser-known Disney character that is still one I hold dearly is the Golden (or Singing) Harp from Disney's Fun and Fancy Free, the 1947 animation 'package' features, which was a collection of shorts. The big piece of trivia from this movie is it the last time Walt Disney himself would voice Mickey Mouse.

A few years ago, a few dear friends gave me the Walt Disney Classics Collection version of the Golden Harp. I just love her!

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine at Disneyland told me about pieces of his artwork that are being sold. When I saw his version of the Golden Harp, I knew I had found the backdrop to match the WDCC piece!

Last Day of Summer (I Hope Not!)

It's always nice to come back to the Hotel Del Coronado. It was a hot day in San Diego, so a trip to the beach was in order.

Usually on vacation, the souvenir of choice is some piece of art that's either signed or numbered. Not finding anything in Laguna Beach the day before, I stumbled upon a photographer across the street from the Del. His name is Dan McGeorge, and has some fantastic local pieces. Check out his work here!

I wish he had a picture of the image I love on his website, but because this one is similar to one I have purchased in years past, I opted for this. It's called 'Last Day of Summer'.

What's cool is he told the background of the picture. And on the back of it along with the certificate of authenticity, there was the store! Click on the picture to see a larger version of it.

 

'We're in This Together' Giclée by Manuel Hernandez

I have eyed this work for some time and I still hope to get it one day.

 

We Are in This Together is a hand-embellished Giclée on Canvas.  It's limited edition, signed and numbered by the artist, Manuel Hernandez. The edition size is 195. Given all that, I really shouldn't wait too long. I think it would look great with my other Jessica.

To read more about Manuel Hernandez, visit Disney Fine Art by Collectors Editions and clicking here.

She's Drawn That Way

During my vacation at Walt Disney World, I was looking for that special work of art that I could take home as my memory of the trip celebrating my 50th birthday. I looked at many pieces, and my friends who were on the trip with me will tell you how long my list was of potential contenders. But I kept coming back to Mulan or Merida at the Art of Disney in EPCOT. Han Solo at Disney's Hollywood Studios was also in the top three.

The day before my last day, I took another spin into the Art of Disney, and my mouth dropped wide open. It did! For now I saw Jessica Rabbit. Oh the agony of making me choose! As much as I was leaning towards Mulan, I was 'drawn' to Jessica.

Today Jessica arrived in pristine condition. I'm thankful given the mishap I had with my Christmas ornaments, but in the end they turned out to be fine (see previous post).

I'm thankful to several friends who, over the past four years, have given me a Disney gift card for either a birthday or Christmas gift. I hoarded them away in my safe and to be honest, forgot about them until I started looking in my safe for this trip. But thanks to them almost the entire work of art was paid for by their generosity. I've always said my friends are the best, and this is just one of many examples.

Every time I look at Jessica, I'll think of them!

 

And I'm thrilled with the signed and numbered work!

 

Here's the CoA. I'm sorry. Certificate of Authenticity for non-collectors. 

 To see more of William Silvers' work, click here and click here.

A Tiger and A Snake

Check out this work by Leo Oliveto. It's pretty spot on for 3-D animation. I love it!

Ink & Paint is Off The Page!

Thank you Disney!

Once again, you are gladly accepting my money! Truth be told, I'm happy to part with it. I guess I should be thankful for a healthy tax return.  But there are two must-have cels (aren't they always?) that I just cannot pass up.

The first comes to us from Disneyland, and it is the second release from the Ink & Paint Department on the West Coast. The “Jiminy Cricket” cel is a limited edition size of 1000. Of course I went with the cel with postcard and pin option, which is limited to 750 pins. Pictures of the cel and the pin are below. Click here to order your "Jiminy Cricket" cel.

 

The next cel I ordered from Walt Disney World is literally "Off The Page", but not to be confused with 'Off The Page' at Disney's California Adventure.  The  limited edition of 1000 “Off the Page – 25 Years”features Sorcerer Mickey. Below are pictures of the cel and pin. Click here to order your "Off The Page" cel.

Pre-orders end soon on these cels, so don't wait too long. To read more, click here to check out the Disney Parks Blog. When you read through the comments, you'll see they posted both of mine. I'm so glad you're able to order these cels online now. It makes it so much easier!

Right On Time

Proud. That's how I'd sum up this post. I'm proud of two of my Disneyland friends.

First, a little back story. The Ink & Paint Cel program, which is very popular and that I love at the Walt Disney World Resort, has finally made its way to the Disneyland Resort. The first work being released by the 'West Side' is so appropriate, Uncle Walt would be very proud, too.

Entitled, Right on Time, the Main Street Train Station sets the stage for a hand-painted Conductor Mickey with Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Goofy as part of the background.

I'll get back to the piece in a bit. The information came out, and because this was the first release for Disneyland, the program still has a few bumps to work out. Take a look at entries #6 and #8 on The Disney Parks Blog and you'll see a familiar name.

I made a comment that they deleted, because I mentioned one artist by name, and that is my friend Todd. They want to give all the artist equal recognition, and I get that. So I can call out Todd here. Todd, great job and thank you so much for contribution to this wonderful piece!

Above is a close-up of the postcard autographed by the artists, Eric Scales, Dave Smith, Charles Landholm, and Todd Wiesenhutter.

So, given that I have several of the these cels from Walt Disney World, I had to have the very first cel from Disneyland. If you did go to The Disney Parks Blog, you'll see I was disappointed that this program couldn't offer the same options as the one in Florida. I actually received a phone call and had a long discussion with a Cast Member about how they are sorry the two programs aren't the same, and yet they should be. But that's when my other friend, Pat, came to my rescue.

Pat was one of the first people who befriended me and took me under her wing when I started working at Disneyland. She has been a true friend of my family for many years. With one message, Pat worked her magic and well, look at the wall in my office.

(That empty spot with Mickey's head is where a pin should go, but they don't offer that yet at Disneyland. Hopefully they will in the future!)

This is why I'm proud. Of course it's a little bit about the piece. But what it's really about is now every time when I look at Right On Time, I think about Todd and Pat, as well as the fun times we had working in Tomorrowland many years ago. After all, isn't that what it's really about?
(I say yes!)

Support these artists and the program, so we can see more works in the future. To read more about the new Ink & Paint program and Right On Time, click here.

Ink & Paint Does It Again! Hollywood and Dine Cel

I blogged about this on June 17, 2013, so that means this took six weeks. Just as Disney promised.

On Saturday, June 22, 2013, at Animation Gallery inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios,  the Disney Studios' Ink & Paint team released their Hollywood and Dine cel.  This piece features Minnie, Mickey and a hand painted Goofy as they celebrate the golden age of Hollywood at the iconic Hollywood Brown Derby located inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The first 750 framed cels ordered came with a special limited edition pin to commemorate the release of Hollywood and Dine, as well as a postcard signed by the Ink & Paint artist. Naturally, who had to have that? The cel edition size was 1,000, and the pin edition size was 750.

Now to show off a little bit. I have this piece hanging in my office at work, right next to the 2011 Ink & Paint release, Key to the Kingdom, commemorating Walt Disney World's 40th anniversary.

And yes, that is a record I made into a clock.

Here's a closeup of the Hollywood & Dine piece.

And here it is framed. I wish they had shown more of Simba's and Brer Fox's face, but at least they made the piece!

For some reason, they didn't attached the CoA to this piece, so I'll have to do that at some point. However, that meant I could scan it and offer it as evidence that I did indeed make this purchase. As if there would be any doubt!

A great big thank you to Disney Studios' Ink & Paint Artists, Theodora M. DeLaney, Erin Magill, David Rippberger, Lynn Rippberger, and Sharon K. Vincent for yet another wonderful piece and great subject matter!

#DisneyHoarders

Any Disney collector will tell you that one of the biggest challenges to collecting is when to stop storage.

Fortunately for me, there was a storage unit near the apartment complex where I used to live. I started out by renting a 5' x 10', which was 50 square feet, as extra storage.

I moved out of this unit because I was able to get a garage at the apartment complex. But when I moved around the block to a condo that had even less storage, I came back to the storage facility, which had been bought out by a national company by this point.

Because I had even less storage space, I opted for the 5' x 15', which is 75 square feet. I need a place for extra Disney art, cels, and over course, all those Walt Disney Classics Collections green boxes.

After being in this space for over three years, this weekend I decided it was time to move into the 10' x 10', which is 100 square feet. The problem was I had transfer units by the end of the day. It took me over six hours to move from one unit to the other. I'm sore all over.

Now, I've discovered it's time to start purging some stuff I really don't need. I have so many Christmas ornaments, I could decorate several trees. It doesn't help I already have two Christmas trees. I won't be getting rid of any of my Walt Disney Classics Collection pieces, to be sure. And something else I learned, was that Grand Jester Studio boxes multiple as fast as WDCC green boxes. Every time I turned around,  a black box popped up.

Time to reorganize and purge!

PS: Of course this isn't all of my stuff. I still have a closet full of green boxes at home!

#DisneyHoarders

An Easy Cel

Oops. I did it again.

Two years ago, the Art of Disney Parks released a new Ink and Paint Cel that commemorated Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary. Key to the Kingdom captures the essence of wonder and excitement that comprised the magical kingdom since it opened its gates on October 1, 1971.

The talented Ink & Paint team hand painted Mickey Mouse and Pluto onto each Key to the Kingdom cel, comprised of 1500 cels. An exclusively designed pin was created to commemorate the release of the new cel, the pin was available with the first 750 orders placed for a framed cel only. So guess who got one set?

The Disney Design Group Artist, who signed the postcard that was framed with the cel, consisted of Costa Alavezos and Ink & Paint Artists, James Bonserio, Erin Magill, Theodora M. DeLaney, David Rippberger, Lynn Rippberger, Sharon K. Vincent. I have this hanging in my office at work.

Well, this Saturday, the Art of Disney Parks is releasing this year's masterpiece, Hollywood and Dine cel.  This piece features Minnie, Mickey and a hand painted Goofy as they celebrate the golden age of Hollywood at the iconic Hollywood Brown Derby located inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. For me, this was another must-have. In fact, I just got off the phone with Walt Disney Event Service and I've purchased mine!

I don't have a list of the artists who will be signing the postcard, but I'll post that as soon as I receive my cel. But this is what the pin looks like that will be framed with the art.

Since I've already ordered my piece, I'm happy to share the information with you to order yours. You know what it's like when you only have a limited number of pieces and so many collectors! To view more information on this piece or to order your own, visit Disney Parks Merchandise.

Put the Medal to the Metal

Each year, the Edina Art Fair (their website is down, so even though I've given you a link for it, you may want to check out their Facebook Page instead) attracts thousands of visitors to view the various works of hundreds of artists. Perhaps that's why this fair ranks as the top art fair in Minnesota.

In the 20+ years I've lived in Minnesota, this fair ranks as one of my favorites, too. This year, there were over 320 artists with an estimated 150,000 people attending. I know for sure that at least one person from France attended, because even though I missed seeing my friend, I knew he and his girlfriend were there. I did run into other friends, so sometimes this fair is like a mini-reunion of sorts.

There's all kinds of art at the fair: paintings, pottery and ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and of course food. Yes, that may not be art, but hey, it's important to have food at any event!

See those dark clouds? It never fails with the Edina Art Fair. You get rain at least one of those days. Happens every year. In fact one year, it was sad because strong winds broke several pieces of artists' works. So you'd think I'd learn to carry an umbrella with me just in case. Nope. I refuse to do that, which is why the heavens opened up on me just after I took this picture on the way home. Since you can ride the bus for free to/from the fair, I waited, and got soaked, by the rain. Yes, the rain stopped as soon as I was on the bus, but that didn't matter.

Okay, I jumped ahead a bit. Back to the fair. It's fun just to stroll around and look at all the goodies. And it's nice to see many artists come back year after year. There are so many outstanding pieces, but there's only so much room in the condo. Having said that, eyes are always open for the next treasure. I really wish I could have taken home this prize, but it certainly wouldn't fit on the balcony. In fact, the bottom half would be the property of the lady who lives down on first floor!

Some years, I don't buy anything, but this year was a splurge on me kind of a fair. (Okay, it's always about splurging on me!) You know how sometimes something strikes you, and when you walk away to look at other things, your mind keeps going back to what you saw? Well, that happened to me this year.

There is an artist by the name of Aaron Sault, whose jewelry just caught my eye. Normally I'm not a big jewelry kind of a person, but sometimes I just have to have something. I think the last time that happened was when I was in Cancun and wanted a ring. They made me haggle for it, even though I said I was willing to pay full price for the ring because I had to have it.

 After walking the entire fair, I went back to Aaron's booth and asked him to show me the ring and the cufflinks again. While I do wear cufflinks often, I told him I'd probably get more use out of the ring. Ring me up! I should expect to see the ring in about three weeks. I love that this is custom work instead of something that is factory made.  Probably explains why Aaron won the Edina Art Fair's 2012 Best of Show Award. (Shopper not included)

Well, you're probably wondering what the ring looks like. I thought maybe it was on one of Aaron's websites, but it's not. You, like me, will have to wait until I receive it and then I can take some pictures of it and post an update.

In the meantime, there are three places to check out Aaron's work. Two are his personal websites (he's moving one over into another) and the final place is on Etsy.

Aaron Sault Jewelry (former website)

Aaron Sault Jewelry (new website)

He will be back the first week of August for the Uptown Art Fair, so I may have to brave going to that one to ask him about the other ring I saw in person as well as a cuff I saw on his website. I don't know if I can pull of that cuff look, but it intrigues me.

I have to admit that I went back to the Edina Art Fair on Sunday after church, and while it was cool and breezy, it didn't rain. No matter rain or shine, I'll be back next year as always.

It's a Work of (He)Art Part Deux

As promised, I am showcasing a few more pieces of my Disney production art. You can refer to my April 17, 2013 post which started all this, as well as going way back to 2007 to see a giclee done by Andreas Deja.

These first two pieces are some favorites. It's the White Rabbit and Alice with their croquet mallets. They were part of a TV commercial, and unfortunately I wasn't able to acquire the Queen of Hearts that completes the set.

With recent Disney animated features, it's getting more difficult to find production and/or animated art. That's why I jumped at the chance to pick up Prince Naveen from The Princess and the Frog.

Many of you know that The Lion King is one of my top favorite Disney (and non-Disney) movies of all time. While Timon is my favorite character, I certainly can relate to his warthog friend, Pumbaa. Which is why I had to pick up this piece where you can see Pumbaa singing his line, "When I was a young warthog!" from Hakuna Matata.






Disney fans know Orville and his brother Wilbur from The Rescuers movies. I really love that movie.

Some don't know that due to the success of those movies, Orville had a brief stint at a Disneyland Attraction.


Debuting July 4, 1984, "All Because Man Wanted to Fly" was preshow film with Orville at the Circle-Vision Attraction. That was the same year I hired in at Disneyland, which is another reason why this particular piece is special to me.

To see the 8-minute preshow film, click here. This scene from which this production art occurs around the 7-minute mark.

Don't worry. I have a lot more art to showcase! You know how those Disney fanatics are with their collections!

It's a Work of (He)Art

Any Disney fan will tell you that Philoctetes sang those words in Disney's Hercules. Phil is right that any work of art is a work of heart. 

Yesterday I was carrying on a conversation with two good friends, Don and Kenneth, about the Walt Disney Classics Collection, Grand Jester Studios, and Disney production art. All of these are labors of love and works of (he)art.

In discussing some of my production art, I discovered I hadn't posted pictures of some of these on my blog or on Facebook. Really?!?  Wow, that even surprises me. So today's blog post gives a nod to some of my artwork. I'll follow up with some others in future postings.

The piece of art that started the discussion was my original hand drawn production artwork from Disney's Fantasia. This comes from the 1940's, is authenticated and has a certificate of authenticity (as is all of my artwork that is of any value). In this scene, you see a unicorn with one of the pans. (Not Peter)

Since I mentioned Don, I thought I'd share two pieces of Disney production art that he would appreciate and that I have hanging in my office at work, and both coming from Disney shorts.

DuckTales and soon the Disney Afternoon would be filling the airwaves. This art of Uncle Scrooge comes from when he starred in the 1987 short, Sports Goofy in Scoccermania.

 

For the next two pieces, I don't have the information from which particular works they come, other than they were for specials on TV. However, I did find another piece that is from the same section of the short for Donald at this website. Scroll down to the third image and click on the larger image. You'll see theirs is numbered 59 in the bottom right hand corner, and mine is 57.

 

http://www.animationvalley.co.uk/mickey-donald--co.html

This one below is what I had framed for my office, and hangs next to Uncle Scrooge.

Okay Kenneth. This one's for you. I have Mickey in my office as well. The first picture is prior to me having it framed, so it shows the piece off more, and the second is after I had it framed. Mickey hangs on an adjoining wall.

 More artwork coming soon, and then you boys can decide how my will should be written: 
WDCC/GJS/artwork!

Figment Sculpture and Art Event

Today's the big day. It's the Figment Sculpture Premiere Event. For the past five years, at least, there's been a Walt Disney Classics Collection Figment event. This is the first year that this event won't have a WDCC piece. However, I'm thrilled that there is a Grand Jester Studios piece of Figment, and it's fun.

I ordered mine a few weeks ago, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to order the back-ordered Monty Maldovan, Mickey and His Pal Figment piece next week. I've been calling for months.

The polystone mini-bust was designed by Patrick Romandy-Simmons and sculpted by Bruce Lau, and stands 9” tall.

To find out more about the event and piece, visit the Art of Disney, EPCOT.