Felix Hell Organ Recital

I bought myself an early birthday present weeks ago, well in advance of my birthday - two tickets to an organ recital by Felix Hell, a 24-year old German organ virtuoso. The recital was held last night at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.

Hell would be playing the fully restored Skinner Organ with all of its 6,600 pipes in full splendor.

The program consisted of Johann Sebastian Bach's Fugue in D Major, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Healey Willan's, Passacaglia, Fugue and, after the intermission, Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony #5 in C minor, Op. 67. I was familiar with Barber's Adagio and everyone is familiar with Beethoven's 5th (Dah Dah Dah Duhhhhh....).

About half-way through Beethoven's 5th I thought, "I should make a concerted effort to hear Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor someday. I don't get to organ recitals too often, and they probably seldom play that. Too common."

I consider Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to be just about the greatest piece of music ever written. I still love Bohemian Rhapsody and Sea of Love, but T and F in D is beyond description. Especially when it's loud.

At the end of Hell's concert he was brought back to the stage by the rousing applause and cheers of the very appreciative audience. He was coerced into playing an encore. I leaned over to my friend, Christine, and said, "The only thing that could top this off is if he played Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor."

I then noticed that he had no sheet music on the organ, as he had for the previous selections. Immediately I thought, "He's going to play something he's familiar with, something that he doesn't need sheet music to refer to..."

Just as I finished that thought, the unmistakable opening three notes of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor pierced the silence. Tears welling up in my eyes, Hell pulled out all the stops and Bach blasted himself into Royce Hall with all the power and super nova brilliance only Bach could create.

What a birthday present!

Here's an interesting link to a YouTube video with animated graphics that cleverly illustrate the complexity of this Bach masterpiece. Check out some of the other YouTube versions while you're there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

Early George Wunder

Okay, George Wunder fans, today I've got a treat for both of you! Here's some comic strip work by Wunder in the years and weeks leading up to his taking over the Terry and the Pirates comic strip from Milton Caniff.

This first sample appeared sometime between July 1, 1941 and June 30, 1943. I couldn't find an exact date.


This one is dated July 27, 1946. One can see the early rendering of a master wrinkle artist. In the first panel it appears that Wunder has already been studying Caniff's Third World characters.




The final sample shown here appeared October 6, 1946 and I would guess that by this time he was well into working on Terry. Wunder's first Terry appeared December 30, 1946.

I read Wunder's Terry when I was a kid and even then was impressed by all the work he put into it. Every single panel was fully loaded with detailed backgrounds and detailed wrinkles, costumes and hairs, even on all the characters in the background, all the woodgrain in all the wood, and all those black shadows that lent an air of foreboding to each panel. I could never get over his 3/4 rear view of a character's eyeball straining to see something behind him. And all those overly bridged noses on both guys and gals all crying out for rhinoplasty. For many years I resented the overloaded panels and decided I didn't like Wunder's rendering of Terry and the Pirates.

It was only in the last few years that I came to appreciate Wunder's work on Terry. One day I realized that he never cheated. He gave us everything in infinite detail in every panel and never deprived us of any wrinkles, bricks, tiles, leaves, woodgrain, fingernails, hairs, cloth patterns or buttons. Yeah, the look-alike facial features of all his characters in the later years of Terry was stylistic and bothersome, but he never cheated.

George Wunder was born April 24, 1912 and died December 13, 1987.

The Sergio Aragonés Museum Show and BBQ

Ojai, California, is one of those undiscovered places that everyone knows about that hasn't yet been ruined by developers. It's remote, quaint and picturesque with a slow-paced life style perfectly suited to writers, musicians, artists, horses, cows and those lucky enough to be able to work at home and not have to commute. One of the greatest cartoonists in the world lives there and a whole bunch of his friends drove great distances to visit him last week and to see an exhibit of his work that represents a lifetime of laughter, inventiveness and exquisite craftsmanship, not to mention the output equivalent to that of the next five greatest cartoonists in the world, combined.

With the grace of cartoon royalty and the energy of a middle-aged tennis player Sergio Aragonés greeted his friends as they arrived at The Ojai Valley Museum, located about 80 miles north of Los Angeles. With his usual warmth and enthusiasm he flitted through the crowd as they enjoyed the exhibit of his work that spanned five decades. From childhood drawings to his latest contributions to the pages of Mad Magazine, from model ships to religious icons, from awards to Sharpie drawings done right on the walls of the museum, visitors were overwhelmed by his hilarious imagery, brilliant absurdity and sublime creativity that was more than a feast for the eyes. It was an energy boost that challenged you to do more with your own work, and to do it better.

And as if all the smiles, warmth, hugs, stories, artwork, silliness, camaraderie, and overall good cheer wasn't enough, it was all topped off with a terrific BBQ from The Event Caddy, a great catering service that served up Tri tip steak, wonderful chicken, fruit and vegetables, drinks and dessert. Lots of hanging out with old friends, new friends and best of all, Sergio.

Top left: A display of Sergio's home studio with a life-size replica of himself at his drawing board.
Top right: Sergio chatting with Mell Lazarus.
Bottom left: As the sun was beginning to set and the temperatures got comfortable, BBQ was served.
Bottom right: Bill Morrison and Mark Evanier watch a video documentary about Sergio on a TV as others meander through the exhibit.


Top left: Todd Kurosawa, Bill Riling, Scott Shaw.
Top right: Disney Legend Floyd Norman snaps a pic of his wife, Adrienne with Sergio. In the background is Mandy artist Dean Yeagle.
Bottom left: David Folkman and Bill Morrison.
Bottom right: Mell Lazarus, Sergio, Chad Frye, Pat McGreal.



Top left: Chad Frye shows off a quick sketch that Bill Morrison did for him.
Top right: Mell Lazarus and Dean Yeagle.
Middle left: Oh, great, I used this photo twice. Oh, well, enjoy it again. Mell, Sergio, Chad, Pat.
Middle right: Wide shot showing the main show room and a lot of the crowd.
Bottom left: Yeah, yeah, I know. I did it again. The notorious Floyd Norman still snapping a picture of his wife, Adrienne with the notorious Sergio and the truly notorious Dean Yeagle still in the background.
Bottom right: Sergio points out to Bill Morrison and Chad Frye that he was the model for the sketch Bill did in Chad's sketchbook.

There were a lot of photos that came out too blurry to show here, (should have used a flash) and I didn't think it would be appropriate to publish a lot of the artwork that I took pictures of, but there was a lot more to see and do.

A good time was had by all.

CAPS, the Comic Art Professional Society, suggested this event to Sergio and he was gracious enough to arrange the exclusive, after-hours use of the Ojai Valley Museum with the cooperation of the museum and its fantastic staff. Thank you all!

Orison MacPherson - Jones & Laughlin Steel Ad

This looks like something you'd find on an old wooden jigsaw puzzle from the 40s, but, boy - is it gorgeous. The lighting, the composition, the costumes, another stagecoach with horses in harness, and a great bit of illustration craftsmanship.

I love how my eyes wander all over the picture and keep coming back to the woman being escorted into the inn. Brilliant composition and color. What a beauty!


This is a two-page spread, but the right side of the art is as far as the illustration extended. Beyond what you see here is text for the ad promoting Jones and Laughlin Steel. Painted for Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation by Orison MacPherson (1898 - 1966). Even Ask/Art doesn't have any biographical information beyond that. I know he did some work for The Saturday Evening Post, but that's it. How can anyone this good be so obscure?

Noel Sickles - Railway Express Agency Ad

Let's look at some great Noel Sickles art (like there's some that isn't?) This is an ad he did for Railway Express Agency in 1951. I'm amazed at everything depicted in this ad. It's just a wealth of research, detail, action, fine art and elegance.

The fine print under the art says "A de luxe duo-tone color print 18 1/2" x 16 1/2" on fine paper will be sent to you on request." You never see offers like that much anymore. They're probably all gone by now. I'd sure like to find one.


Can you imagine the reference files Sickles must have had to be able to draw things accurately? The clothing looks pretty authentic to me.



I can't imagine how long it would take me to draw a stagecoach that even LOOKED like a stagecoach, much less one that was laden with baggage. How do you get elliptical wheels to look right? How many spokes on a wheel? What do stagecoach horse collars and reins look like? What do stagecoach drivers wear?

I sure don't know my historical weapons well enough to identify this rifle, but I bet it's legitimate.

Etchings

Oh, let's look at some real art. These are a few small etchings I picked up either on Ebay or at some paper collector's show somewhere in my travels. Elegant, aren't they? Click on the image to make it bigger.


Can't tell you much about these except what's written in the margins, in pencil, in what appears to be French.


Enjoy!

Café Sketches

A quiet afternoon at Border's Books in Pasadena and Barnes and Noble in Glendale. Sippin' coffee, nibblin' cookies, readin' books, magazines and newspapers. Very civilized. Gentle conversations and quiet compositions for a very pleasant day.

Clifford McBride Insect Life

Clifford McBride was best known for his comic strip Napoleon. His lesser-known daily titled Insect Life had great art, too. This original measures 8.5" x 6" and I've had it for so long I forget where I got it. I always loved his pen and ink technique. Definitely old school, but it's another one of those lost arts.


This is inscribed to Don McCoy in the margin and signed by McBride. Click on the image to make it bigger.


I have no idea what kind of pen McBride used, but you can feel the scratches on the surface of the illustration paper. It's definitely not brushwork. It must have been a ridiculously flexible pen nib.


I love the sloppy spontaneity of his inking. Very loose, very nice.