The Good News is that MAD artist extraordinaire Tom Bunk is having an exhibit of his “METAPHYSICAL QUANTOONS” in the Robert Mayer Zeigt Galerie in Frankfurt, Germany from April 12th – 30th. Check out the gallery’s website for a sneak peek preview.
The Bad News is that I do not live in Frankfurt, Germany.
For you lucky clods that do or live near enough for a road trip, you can see a whole bunch of Tom’s stunning color work in all their juicy goodness.
The Jaques Art Center in Aitkin, MN will be having an exhibit of original cartoon art by “nationally known cartoonists, comic artists, illustrators and animators” starting one week from today, August 28th and running through October 3rd. Show organizer and cartoonist Duane Barnhart dropped by the studio last night to pick up several pieces of mine for the show, including a few original pages from MAD and other stuff. It sounds like a great exhibit with a lot of different work in it… I know that he has gotten originals from resident Minnesota cartoonists like Dan Jurgens (Superman, etc.), Jerry Van Amerongen (Ballard Street) and many more.
There is a reception for the show on Saturday, August 29th from 1-4pm at the Jaques Art Center, which will be a “meet the cartoonists” event and a chance for the public to speak with area artists.
I will be a special guest speaker on Thursday, September 10th at the nearby 40 Club Convention Center in Aitkin. I’ll be doing a multimedia presentation, talking about caricature in illustration, MAD, etc. The price of admission is a food shelf donation or a donation to the Jaques Art Center.
This should be a great show. Duane is working very hard on it and it sound like he has collected an amazing amount of top notch professional work.
It’s almost time of the annual Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest in lovely Marcelene, MO. I wrote about the stellar speaker lineup here, but here it is again for those who hate following links:
Mark Fiore- Editorial cartoonist
Wiley Miller- Creator of the comic strip Non Sequitor
David Mowder- Hallmark Cards cartoonist
Sam Viviano- MAD Magazine art director
Every year they have a wonderful show of original cartoon art, and they are once again calling for professional cartoonists to submit work for the show. Here is the call for art by show curators Paul Fell and Mike Edholm:
Dear Fellow Cartoonist:
It’s time to start gearing up for the 11th. Annual Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest in Marceline, MO, the little town where Walt spent part of his boyhood. Each year we celebrate Walt Disney’s life and work with this small-town festival that includes a parade, presentations by several nationally-know cartoonists, and a cartoon exhibit.
This year’s Disney Toonfest will be held Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19. As always, all events are free and open to the public.
If you have exhibited your work in previous Toonfest shows, we appreciate your participation and hope that you will be sending in two or three pieces of your work again this year. If you haven’t sent work to the Toonfest cartoon exhibit, we hope you’ll consider becoming part of our growing list of cartoonist exhibitors.
Here’s the details:
All work should either be matted or mounted on mat board or mounting board. We are no longer able to exhibit work that comes in unmated or unmounted.
While we will accept cartoon submissions right up until the day we hang the show (Thursday, Sept. 17) it will make our lives a lot easier if you can have it at the Toonfest Offices by Monday, September 14.
At the end of the Toonfest exhibit we will ship your work back to you at no charge.
Please be sure that your contact information is on the back of each piece.
Suggested number of cartoons: 2-3
The Disney Hometown Toonfest reserves the right to refuse to place work in the show that we consider inappropriate for inclusion in a family-oriented event.
We will look forward to seeing your work in this year’s Toonfest cartoon exhibit!
Paul Fell and Mike Edholm
Toonfest Exhibit Coordinators
So, there you have it. I have a few original MAD pages in the show from the parody of “Grey’s Anatomy”. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend this year, but if you have never been to Toonfest it is a charming small town celebration of cartooning that is well worth the time.
Tonight is the reception for my show at the ToonSeum, part of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh located at 10 Children’s Way, Pittsburgh, PA. The reception is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is by invitation only, but if you are interested in attending contact Joe Wos at joe@toonseum.com.
I will be attending as will The Lovely Anna and all four of my kids (!!). Anna will be at her usual witty and charming self, my children will be good looking and above average as always, and I will hopefully not have any hors d’oeuvres in my teeth.
Saturday is the grand opening of the show, which runs through October 4th. It will feature a ton of MAD originals including preliminary sketches, inks and prints of final art in color.
Also on Saturday I will be conducting a workshop on caricature in the evening from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. I will be discussing caricature theory, how to approach a caricature, what makes caricature for MAD unique and other concepts. The cost of the class is $50 ($35 for students and National Cartoonist Society members) and all the proceeds benefit the ToonSeum and its programs. You can sign up in advance here.
As I mentioned the other day, I will have a limited number of copies of my new (and first!) MAD book, Bo Confidential: The Secret Files of America’s First Dog available for purchase (at the $9.95 cover price, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Toonseum) and for me to sign. I am hoping MAD will also come through with a stack of issues for me to give away and sign as well but that’s still an unknown. I should be around most of the day on Saturday to meet people and answer questions (like “How did you enjoy that hors d’oeuvre that’s stuck in your teeth?”).
I make fun of thing because… well… that’s what I do, but I am honored and humbled to have been asked by the ToonSeum to headline a show like this. It’s a great privilege and I hope the show does well for them.
The official press release on this show was just sent out so I believe it’s now appropriate to promote my art show at “The ToonSeum” that starts on August 1st.
I have had a piece or two of my original work hung in cartoon art shows quite a few time, but have never had a show entirely of my work hanging anywhere before. I am honored to say that The ToonSeum, a part of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, will have a retrospective of my work from August 1st through October 4th at their gallery at 10 Children’s Way in Pittsburgh, PA.
Here is the official press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The ToonSeum Goes MAD for Tom Richmond
The ToonSeum is proud to present “Tom Richmond: The MAD Art of Caricature,” an exhibition of original caricatures and parodies by one of MAD Magazine’s stand-out artists.
Richmond, a member of MAD Magazine’s Usual Gang of Idiots since 2000, has skewed pop culture icons, political figures, movie stars, even President Obama’s dog. His style and technique carry on in the great tradition of MAD Magazine legends such as Mort Drucker and Jack Davis.
Richmond’s work appears in publications, films and comics worldwide. His company also provides caricature artists for some of the nation’s top theme parks. His recently completed book about Obama’s dog is due for release this fall.
The “MAD Art of Caricature” also gives a behind-the-pen-and-brush look at Richmond’s parodies of movies, including “Harry Plodder,” “Spider-Sham,” “Battyman Begins,” “30 Crock,” “Obama’s Inauguration” and many more.
“The ToonSeum is proud to take MAD out of the teacher’s trash can and put it on museum walls where it belongs,” says ToonSeum Executive Director Joe Wos. “Tom is truly a master of mockery, and we are delighted to present his work at the ToonSeum.”
Richmond will drop by the ToonSeum Aug. 1 and 2 for book signings, a demonstration and a special Master Caricature Class. More information is available at www.toonseum.org.
The exhibit runs from Aug. 1 through Oct. 4 at the ToonSeum, which is located inside the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh on the city’s historic North Side.
What: “Tom Richmond: The MAD Art of Caricature”
When: Aug. 1-Oct. 4
Where: ToonSeum at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh on the city’s historic North Side, 10 Children’s Way, Allegheny Square.
Cost: ToonSeum admission is included with paid admission to the Children’s Museum, which is $10 for children 2-18 and seniors; $11 for adults
Details: 412-325-1060 or www.toonseum.com
For questions or an interview, please contact ToonSeum Executive Director Joe Wos at joe@toonseum.com.
The show will feature 24 original pages from MAD (actually more than that as technically many of the splash pages are two page spreads) including three full parodies plus some pencil roughs and prints of the final colored art. Here’s a breakdown of all that will be in the show:
“Spider-Sham” splash page, MAD #418
“Harry Plodder and the Lamest of Sequels” splash page- MAD #424
“Schlubs” (TV show “Scrubs”) splash page- MAD #426
“Battyman Begins” plash page and 5 story pages- MAD #455
“Harry Plodder and the Torture of the Fan Base” splash and 5 story pages- MAD #480
“30 Crock” (TV show “30 Rock”) splash page- MAD #490
“Ironic Man” splash page- MAD #492
“The Dork Knight” splash page and 4 story pages- MAD #495
“The Obama Inauguration”- crowd scene spread- MAD #498
Pencil roughs for “The Dork Knight” and full color prints of the final pages
There should also be some examples of work by some of the artists I listed as my influences including Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Sam Viviano, Hermann Mejia and Sebastian Kruger. I doubt these will be originals but having a selection of works by their featured artist’s influences is traditional for The Toonseum.
I will be at the opening reception on Friday night, and will conduct a class on caricature on Saturday evening. The caricature class will consist of an overview on caricature theory and practice, how caricature applies uniquely to MAD and then some practical hands on drawing. The cost is $50, all of which is going to The ToonSeum. Here is the press release on the class and a link to book one of the limited spots:
The MAD Art of Caricature with Tom Richmond, Master Class
Learn the art of caricature from one of its true masters!
August 1st 2009, 5pm-6:30pm
The ToonSeum at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Cost: $50, Students and NCS Members $35
Proceeds benefit the ToonSeum
The ToonSeum presents a special master class with caricature artists and magazine illustrator Tom Richmond of MAD Magazine fame. This is a rare opportunity for anyone interested in improving their skills, learning about how to break into magazines, and more.
Tom Richmond is one of the most recognized and respected caricaturist in the world. A member of MAD Magazine’s Usual Gang of Idiots since 2000, His sharp pen has produced dead-on caricatures of pop culture icons, political figures, movie stars and even the president’s dog. Tom’s style and technique carry on in the great tradition of MAD Magazine legends such as Mort Drucker and Jack Davis.
Tom’s work appears in publications, films, and comics worldwide. His company also provides caricature artists for some of the nations top theme parks. He recently completed a new book about President Obama’s dog due for release this fall.
(Sorry for all the glowing accolades and vernacular in these press releases, but that’s the way those things work… I didn’t write them.)
I will also have about 60 copies of my new MAD book “Bo Confidential: The Secret Files of America’s First Dog” available for sale and signing. The book will just have been released at that time. I’ll be at the ToonSeum on Saturday afternoon signing the books and other stuff.
I am looking forward to the show, as is The Lovely Anna and all my kids who are going to be with me… even Elizabeth! It’s a great honor and I hope the show is successful for The ToonSeum. My thanks to the tireless Joe Wos, ToonSeum executive director, for doing all the hard work on the exhibit.
The last two days in Colombia were the most fun for me, mainly because after two days of solid CaliComix events I got a chance to see some of the city.
On Thursday morning Michael, my host from the Centro Colombo Americano, took me on a trip to a big plaza on the south side of Cali. “Plaza” in Colombia can mean several things, but in this case it was a giant marketplace like a street market but under a huge roof structure, surrounded by shops and restaurants.
We took a break and at a “juice bar” in the plaza where you can order fresh fruit juices and various finger foods while sitting at the bar. You pick your fruits and order them mixed with either water or milk. Some of the foods like the empanadas looked good while some, like the pig intestines and fried hunks of pig skin were… uh… less so.
That afternoon I did my demonstration at the Centro Colombo Americano. This consisted of my setting up and doing a small illustration from start to finish. I picked a caricature of Prince Charles, one I had done in my sketchbook some months ago. I inked a version of it and scanned that ahead of time so we did not need to scan the one I inked in front of the audience in order to color it. I worked on the piece with a camera over my shoulder and the board displayed on a video screen and explained the process (with an interpretor) as I worked.
Drawing the caricature
Inking
Getting ready to color…
Of course nothing ever goes as planned, and after setting up the Cintiq I could not find the Wacom pen. Paco ran back to the hotel and looked for it in my room, not finding it and ultimately bringing his Intuos pen, which worked fine. In the meantime I set up and drew some live caricatures:
Patricio Ruales, an illustrator from Colombia, put together this video of me drawing him at the demo and placed it on YouTube (Thanks, Patricio!). He must have added the color to the drawing that is shown at the end of the video:
Eventually I finished up the illustration and wrapped up the demo:
The (mostly) finished piece
That evening was the opening of my art show at the Colombo Americano. I have already blogged about the show, so you can read about it here. It was a lot of fun getting to meet more people and seeing them enjoy looking at my work. Michael tells me the Colombo Americano is trying to arrange it that the show will travel after it closes in Cali to other cities in Colombia. Here are a few more pictures from the exhibit opening event:
Me and Mexico’s Arturo Kemchs
The crowd at the show
Me and Michael Cedena
Friday was a mostly free day, and a group of us went out into the city to see some sites. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon adventure:
Apparently Jesus is alive and well and serving a strange
whipped dessert confection on the streets of Cali
Lunch at a local diner
Friday evening we ended up at a University where we had more presentations and a cookout. I left very early the next morning.
What a fantastic experience. Cali is a beautiful city rich in cultural heritage, and I hope I will be able to visit there again someday.
I think I have mentioned this before but as it’s not been officially announced quite yet it was probably only in passing, but the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh will be having a show of my artwork in August and September of this year. It should be formally announced sometime in June, but the show will feature about 25 to 30 of my MAD and other originals, plus work from some of the artists who have influenced me. I am busy pasting up text and graphics onto the original inks from MAD pages so they are readable, as that always adds to the art… it’s not as much fun staring at blank word balloons. There will be an opening reception and I will teach a “master class” on caricature as well on the openeing weekend. Hopefully the book I just got done doing (which I hope to get the go ahead to talk about and start promoting soon) will be out and I will be able to sign those. Right now the opening recpetion weekend is looking like Aug. 1st and 2nd.
I will have more info and details once the Toonseum does the official announcement.
Speaking of the Toonseum, here’s another reminder that they are having their annual fundraiser next Friday.
From Toonseum:
Friday June 5th:
KA-BLAM! A party to benefit the ToonSeum.
Join us Friday June 5th from 7pm-11pm, at Verno Studios on the Southside to support the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh’s Museum of Cartoon Art.
Featuring live music by the Whips, DJ Raw-Z, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, live cartooning, the opportunity to bid on one of a kind cartoon art and unique experiences, free comics and much more!
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Life Drawing sessions
Make your own superhero mask
Free comic books
and introducing- The Megaton Martini! Woo!
One of Kind Auction Items
Original art from Dan Piraro (Bizarro), Molly Crabapple, Mike Peters (MotherGoose and Grimm), Wayno, Rob Rogers and many others. Production art from popular shows including Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, and Yogi Bear.
Unique experiences including dinner for six at Gypsy Cafe with filmmaker and Pittsburgh icon Rick Sebak.
Your cartoon portrait drawn by MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond.
Bad girls night out, tattoo, and a night at the roller derby.
Cartooning workshop for 10 people.
Comedy workshop and time on stage at a comedy club.
and lots more one of a kind opportunities and items.
Can’t attend but you would still like to support the cartoon arts?
We welcome your donation:
The ToonSeum
10 Children’s Way
Pittsburgh, PA
15212
I donated a caricature drawn by me of the winning bidder (big deal!). If you are in the Pittsburgh area stop in and bid on some of the original cartoon art and other great items to help support ToonSeum.
One of my favorite comic strips is “Mother Goose and Grimm” drawn by the incomparable Mike Peters. Always funny, great artwork… one of the best done strips ever, IMO.
Pittsburgh’s ToonSeum, a part of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh that exhibits cartoon art shows and events, will be opening a “Mother Goose and Grimm” show in October:
From Joe Woos and The ToonSeum:
Opening Friday October 17th- Mother Goose and Grimm: the Art of Mike Peters. Meet the creator Mike Peters and Grimmy on Saturday October 18th at the Children’s Museum. Free smiley cookies to the first 150 guests thanks to Eat N Park!
October 17th-19th- A Mother Goose and Grimm Weekend. Meet Mike Peters, award winning editorial cartoonists and creator of the popular comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm. Exhibit runs through January 4th 2009. Exhibit sponsored by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Saturday October 18th- Join us at the Andy Warhol Museum for a panel discussion on cartoons and national politics with Mike Peters, Rob Rogers and other special guests.
If you have never met Mike Peters, then you’ve never met Mike Peters. The man is a dynamo. He makes Robin Williams look like Ben Stein. He hugs everybody, and is genuinely delighted to meet anyone and everyone… especially those who also toil over the blank paper on the drawing board. He also loves MAD, and Jack Davis is one of his heroes. Come to think of it… isn’t Jack Davis one of every cartoonist’s heroes??
When I did the Reuben artwork for this year’s NCS awards weekend, I included Mike in the forefront of the parade as he was MCing the ceremonies (closeup above). The Superman suit is a trademark of his. He’s done a number of skits and MC duties for the NCS and always manages to appear in that suit at some point, so it was a perfect fit being a Mardi Gras parade and all. A month or two later my phone rings and it’s Mike Peters, who proceeds to rave about my drawing of him and how his granddaughter saw it and exclaimed “it’s you, Grampy!”. Naturally I was more than a little flattered by that. He wanted to know if he could get a copy somehow, and I printed off a large sized poster on my over-sized Epson printer on photo paper for him and gave it to him at the Reubens.
I got three hugs for that.
If you have a chance to see this show, I would recommend it highly… even having not seen it myself. Cartooning does not get any better than the work of Mike Peters. If you get a chance to attend the weekend where Mike is making an appearance, you will not be disappointed meeting the man behind the mayhem… and the hugs.
Check out the ToonSeum website for details on this and other events and shows.
I spent the weekend before last in St. Louis checking up on my Six Flags and Union Station caricature artists. On my way to the airport I got the opportunity to stop in to the MAD Art exhibit at the St. Louis Artist’s Guild Gallery with my friend, caricaturist and illustrator Jim Batts and his friend, illustrator Rick Bernal. Sadly I had only about an hour to see the show, which wasn’t nearly enough time. The artwork on display is part of the personal collection of St. Louis artist Bob Shay, who credits MAD as a big part of what started him on the path to be a professional illustrator.
Here’s a local TV newscast story on the exhibit, with an interview with the collector:
Shay’s collection is impressive, with most pieces focusing on a small group of the legends of MAD art, including a lot of Jack Davis and George Woodbridge. He also had several pieces each from Bob Clarke, Mort Drucker, Jack Rickard, one Don Martin (just a few rough sketches as Martin’s originals are very hard to find), a Paul Coker Jr. and a few others. Not all the pieces are actually from the pages of MAD… there are examples of advertising art ond other pieces from Davis and Drucker. If his collection has a shortcoming it’s that he doesn’t have as large a cross section of MAD artists represented as he easily could. Finding originals from Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, Wally Wood, Antonio Prohias, Dave Berg and some of the very early or popular MAD artists is understandably difficult, but I saw no originals from artists like Angelo Torres, Sam Viviano, Rick Tulka or Sergio Aragonés, which I thought was disappointing as their originals can be obtained without too much trouble or without a huge outlay of money. Yet he had some art by some more obscure MAD artists like Gerry Gertsen and R.J. Matson. Perhaps this is only a portion of his collection, or maybe it reflects Shay’s personal favorites, or maybe I just missed some of these artist’s pieces in some room I didn’t see… in any case it’s a pretty great show and well worth the time to see it. Here are a few pictures:
The Gallery
Nice Mort Drucker page from “Some Kinda Hero” Parody
Jack Davis caricature
Some George Woodbridge originals
Terrific Davis work from MAD
Rare Don Martin rough sketches
Jack Rickard gouache illustrations
More Jack Rickard
Looks like adverting work here… Jack Davis of course
Unbelievable watercolor by Davis
Another Davis piece… maybe for an ad or for a sports magazine
This Drucker piece is in his book “Familiar Faces”
The St. Louis Artist’s Guild has apparently hit rock bottom, as they are stooping to an exhibit of artwork from MAD Magazine and as a result will no doubt lose all credibility as a patron of the arts. Worse yet, they aren’t even making any money off of it as it is free to the public!! What are they thinking?
The show opening this Sunday with a reception from 1:00- 3:00 pm at the Guild’s gallery, and runs through Sept. 6th. I do not believe that there is any of my artwork in it, unless it’s from some private collection. All the more reason to attend.
(Free is always good!) Refreshments, door prizes and maybe a special appearance by Bigfoot! (Maybe not!)
Come Join us for an exhibition of original Mad Magazine art, printed samples and other crazy stuff that will amuse, confound and possibly outrage you!
Mad Magazine introduced some of the best contemporary illustrators and writers of the day and helped define the genre of humorous magazine satire in America. In the early days, Mad was blacklisted by parents, denounced by school principals, turned down as subversive by many a distributor and even the subject of a senate sub-committee investigating the root of juvenile delinquency!
Mad not only survived, but prospered greatly and continues to do so over 56 years later. Christie’s Auction House in New York has sold many original pieces of Mad art, some fetching staggering prices. In 1987 movie maker, Steven Spielberg paid over $15,000 for the original cover art of Mad #1! So come by and see a little bit of controversial, history-making material that in the 50′s had parents wringing their hands and kids hiding magazines under their mattresses.
You’d have to be “Mad” to like this show, and you’d be Mad to miss it!
Well, MAD wasn’t actually the subject of the senate sub-committee hearings (that was in part E.C.’s horror title comics) but nobody likes the facts getting in the way of a good gag! I will be able to attend this show sometime this summer on a visit to my Six Flags operation in St. Louis, and will be sure to post about the show… maybe I’ll get arrested trying to tape one of my originals up over some John Caldwell piece!
Tonight is the reception for my show at the 
