An Artist also in Animation
Mar 23, 09:30 AM

In this forum which displays my personal artwork; sculptures and ink paintings I rarely refer to my second artistic life; that as a story teller/ artist. For over five years I have worked At DreamWorks Animation. There I work as a story artist working closely with the director to, block out and write the movie through drawings called story panels. Animation is a unique artistic endeavor. Unlike live action, animation begins in a void, the actors have to be created, sets designed and built. Nothing exists without the imagination and creation by the artists. Feature animation is the collaboration of many different artists and departments. I started at DreamWorks working on a Movie that was produced by Jerry Seinfeld. When Jerry started he took a tour of all the different departments: story, layout, rigging, animation, effects, character effects and lighting. After talking with each supervisor from each department Jerry smirked and said “ Everyone thinks they have the most important job.” Rightly so, in animation all of us combine our talents and skills to make something bigger than any one of us. It is a truly collaborative medium.

The work I do in animation is on the front end, I am the cutting room floor essentially. Story artists board and re-board the movie many times over before it is ready to be animated. The process can be agonizingly slow. I was on one particular show for almost three years.

story panels from How to Train Your Dragon

The most recent film I have worked on is How to Train your Dragon, which comes out this week. It is a special film and I feel privileged to have my name associated with it, even though I played a small role in its development. Of all the films I have worked on it stands out as the most sincere and well made. When you see the final film on screen with your fellow artists it really is something else. The final film is something that is greater and bigger than anyone of us and that’s special. My hat is off to both Chris and Dean for creating a timeless classic.

However, after working on several films over time it is possible to loose your own personal identity as an artist and to simply become a cog in a complex windmill. Most of us fight this atrophic condition by doing our own personal work; something that we can truly call our own. As is apparent in this website, I sculpt and paint the natural world. In addition I write and illustrate childrens books in my spare time.

Kadogo the Next Big Thing

I have completed two stories, one has been published: Kadogo the Next big thing as part of the Scrambled Ink Anthology by Dark Horse, and Sid the Squid ,which will debut at the end of summer, will be a stand alone book. I have several other books which I am developing with Pippin Properties in New York.


This past weekend as I watched the crew screening of How to Train Your Dragon, I was mesmerized by the incredible amalgamation of time, talent and sincere story telling. Walking away I felt I would be remiss if I did not make mention of this incredible film. Some people may think I should focus solely on sculpting, or solely on animation, but the truth is they both cross pollinate and compliment the other. By working in animation I am exposed to many different artists who have extremely different approaches which improves my skills as an artist, and by doing my personal work, sculpting and story telling I am able to make my own artistic statements without the danger of becoming too isolated or out of touch.

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Pride, new sculpture
Mar 9, 07:57 PM

Pride was originally meant to be a companion piece for Samburu Stretch. Unfortunately I was forced to send Samburu Stretch to the foundry before my armature was completed. Pride when it was finished ended up being quite a bit bigger than the aforementioned sculpture. And while sexual dimorphism exists in lions this couple would have been the record. To that end I have began another lioness sculpture who will be the companion of Pride.

I really enjoyed working on this piece. I don’t like to use tools I find they get in the way of finding the gesture and energy of a piece. Instead with my fingers & thumbs I am able to keep the sculpture rough and painterly.

I work really hard to avoid the minute details in my pieces and instead to focus on the broad bold statement. Keeping it rough and gestural gives my work the attitude and energy which could easily be overworked by details.

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Gallery Walk- El Paseo
Mar 5, 02:17 PM

In a desert full of cactus and energy producing wind turbines there is a thriving gallery community along Palm Desert’s El Paseo road. Every first Thursday of each month the aforementioned road hosts a gallery walk, in which all the galleries stay open until 9 pm. It’s a fun vibrant evening where art collectors and art lovers can enjoy art and refreshments. Yesterday evening I participated in Gallery Walk by sculpting live at the J. Willott Gallery. It was an enjoyable and productive evening meeting art lovers of all ages. My children came towards the end and made their own contributions to my work.

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New Bronze: Samburu Stretch
Feb 6, 10:10 PM

Samburu Stretch just left the foundry and is available in a limited edition of 14.

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Black Crowned dinner guest
Jan 17, 07:24 PM

About a month ago my family and I found ourselves eating at a restaurant near the sea shore. It was a beautiful evening. The air was cool and clean. From our table we could hear the gently lapping of the waves on the beach. I wasn’t really interested in the food, though my kids were interested in dessert. I knew that the restaurant had several uninvited guests every evening. As our food arrived and we began eating the dinner crashers flew in; Black Crowned Night Herons.

I had come prepared with my oversized watercolor paper and sumi brushes. I love drawing birds they make good models. The herons provided me with a variety of poses which I was able to capture with my brush. Where ever you live in the world chances are you’ve seen a Black Crowned Night Heron. They are the most widespread heron in the world with a range that spans five continents. Aptly named Night-Herons these birds are most active at dusk and at night were they hunt or scavenge food.

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Eye-to-Eye with a Secretary Bird
Jan 11, 09:43 PM

While I was in Kenya we came across a bird with long legs like a stork or a crane. It bobbed its head back and forth as it stalked through the tall grass. Its beak was not stork-like it was the sharp hooked beak of a raptor; a beak made to tear flesh.

It was unlike any bird I had ever seen in the wild. With long crown feathers the secretary bird stands alone in its class Sagittariidae. This unique bird of prey can reach 4.5 feet in height. It walks like a stork but with it’s curved beak and taloned feet it hunts small animals on the savannah. When I was in Africa it was difficult to get a sense of the birds actual size because I was almost always watching from the safety of a vehicle. I again had a chance to meet this tall predatory bird at the world famous San Diego Zoo. The exhibit allows you to be on the same ground plane as the bird giving you an accurate sense of the animal’s actual size, which is ideal for painting or sculpting.

This day I found myself only with my sumi ink pens and India ink bottles, so I went to work studying the secretary bird with quick gesture paintings. I worked quickly watching it strut around its enclosure on its long legs and stumpy talons. Kneeling down while I painted gave me an eye-to-eye view of this stunning and strange bird.

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Montana in Southern California
Jan 6, 01:40 PM

Montana is a Bengal tiger who lives at the wildlife way station. For several years now the Wildlife Way station has not been open to the public. On a number of occasions I have had the rare opportunity to go sketch and sculpt wildlife there. It is a unique place where forgotten and abused animals are remembered and saved. Most of the big cats in Martine Collette’s collection were used in the movie business, the exotic pet trade and some are even byproducts from zoos.

One of these big cats is named Montana. He is a beautiful white tiger. Many confuse white tigers with Siberian or Amur tigers because of their snowy white fur. Even though Siberian tigers live in the snow they are never white. So what is a white tiger then a Bengal, Sumatran? The truth is none of those; he is a mutant, the result of two recessive genes forced together by an inbred family tree. The patriarch of this manipulated family tree was a Bengal tiger named Mohan. Around 1951 he was captured as a cub and lived the life of a coddled palace pet in Rewa India. Since he was and is the only wild caught white tiger, the inbreeding began to try force out the mutation more consistently. Like dog breeders have done to artificially navigate the appearance of a species, the white recessive gene was strategically bred, or inbred to produce more white tigers.

sculpting at the way station. The tiger in the background of the photo is not Montana, by then Montana had moved out of view

Drawing and sculpting Montana is a real treat he is a stunning animal. His is larger than most Bengal tigers and sits regally in his enclosure. After completing a few paintings I began sculpting a rough bust of Montana. I finished this piece later in my studio. His beautiful white coat with chocolate stripes is caused by a mutant gene called a recessive allele. Essentially it is a partial albinism giving him the whiteness and a pink nose and sparing the eyes and stripes. The eyes of Montana and all white tigers are a stunning blue.

The majority of white tigers in America were bred at one zoo in Cincinnati. One tigress named Sumita delivered twenty-five live born white cubs at the zoo or tiger-mill. Tiger cubs are so cute and draw in so much money that there have been irresponsible “puppy mill” zoos that have cranked out cubs irresponsibly just to keep admissions up. What could the problem be, tigers are endangered right?

skeletal & facial deformities are just some of the common maladies associated with White Tigers

Yes all tigers are endangered, and they need all the help they can get. But to scientists white tigers are mutants. They have been bred as if they were a boutique pet and money maker not for conservation. Ed Maruska who was the director of the Cincinnati Zoo for 39 years openly admitted his motivations for breeding white tigers:

“It’s marketing. It’s popularity. It’s a major source of income for continuing other programs here at the zoo.” Ed Maruska former zoo director

Surplus cubs were sold regularly by zoos for up to $60,000 each. With a shallow captive gene pool, irresponsible breeders have produced inbred animals full of chronic maladies. Sumita, the aforementioned, mother of twenty-five was bred with Bhim another white tiger who also was her brother. Once the cubs out grow their cuteness they have a hard time finding a home. Most aren’t “show worthy” for zoos and so they are sold as pets or discarded. Martine Collette has done her upmost to rescue as many as she can.

If any zoo has a white tiger (beautiful as they may be) you can be sure that they are more concerned with looks and money than they are about biodiversity. Most white tigers because of their inbreeded history are not ideal genetic parents, but they make a lot of money. Their chronic maladies brought on by a shallow gene pool include: strabismus (cross-eyed), skeletal & reproductive deformities, stillbirths. These beautiful mutants with all of their maladies are expensive to treat prohibitive to most.

Montana’s conditions are not only genetic, his previous owners had him de-clawed making it difficult for him to walk about his enclosure. When a cat or especially a big cat is declawed it is really an amputation of the top digit joints. In this condition Montana struggles to walk, let alone climb or jump. He is very good natured and is used as an ambassador in public photo and fundraising events for the Way station.

Though most reputable zoos no longer breed white tigers there are many who continue to do so. Many do it under the guise of conservation. Dr. Ron Tilson manager of the Tiger Species Survival Plan said the following about white tigers and zoos that breed them:
“White tigers are an aberration artificially bred and proliferated by some zoos, private breeders and a few circuses who do so for economic rather than conservation reasons.”
It is nice to know that Martine and all of her staff work around the clock to save animals that are the unfortunate byproduct of reckless zoos, collectors, trainers and animal traffickers. A special thanks to Martine Collette for allowing me to visit the way station and also to Alyson who educated and guided me through the way station.

Sources:

White Tigers of Cincinnati- by David Quamen
bigcatrescue.org
http://www.exoticcatz.com/sptigerwhite.html

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The end of the Year of the Gorilla?
Jan 1, 08:53 PM

In 1959 George Schaller ventured into the habitat of mountain gorillas in the volcanic Virunga Mountains. There he and his wife Kay lived in relative isolation studying the mountain gorillas for an entire year. Dr. Schaller penned his experience in a lovely book entitled “The Year of the Gorilla.”

In 2009 UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programe) adopted the same name to focus media attention and conservation for all species of wild gorilla. The finite nature of the campaign has been a double-edged sword. On one side UNEP has focused singular attention on threats facing wild gorilla. As an artist and conservationist the Year of the Gorilla was far too short. It took me a few months to find out about the campaign and a couple to get involved and then a few more to navigate bureaucracy and at about at month nine and ten did I figure out the best ways to move artwork and reach people. It has been an enormous learning experience, one that I hope to repeat in the future. Working with Ian Redmond and traveling to Germany were certainly highlights, but I hope the cause behind the Year of the Gorilla will not be limited to the year 2009 alone. I hope UNEP’s efforts will have jump-started a continued campaign of gorilla protection and conservation in the wild.

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Art Show Recap
Dec 20, 08:09 AM

Last night at the J Willott Gallery we had an exciting and vibrant art show and lecture. Gallery owners Josh Paquette and Josh Otten did a great job organizing the event which had a full bar and refreshments. We had a great crowd of people attending the event. Artists Devin Crane and Alan Bodner were also in attendance to promote their artwork. I gave a brief lecture on the animation process and more importantly on how animation informs my fine art. During the show I sculpted live which is always a good way to get a sculpture done and a fun way to educate people on the sculpture process.

The piece I was working on is a male lion inspired by a lion I encountered on the Mara in Kenya. It was a great opportunity to meet collectors, make friends and educate people on my artistic process. Thanks to everyone who showed up.

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Art Show & Lecture Dec 19th
Dec 15, 10:41 AM

A mixture of Animation & Fine Art

This Saturday Dec 19th from 4 to 7 pm at the J. Willott Gallery I will give a lecture about the creative process behind major motion pictures like Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon and will also show how my experience in animation informs my fine art in unique ways.

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My work will be on display as always along with the work of several colleagues from the animation industry. The event promises to be unique, educational and enriching. Come see us between 4-7 pm, the lecture will begin around 5pm.

J Willott Gallery
73190 El Paseo Ste 1
Palm Desert, CA 92260
760.568.3180 phone

Artists include: David Derrick Jr, Devin Crane, Ennio Torressan, Dave Pimentel, Alan Bodner

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