[Photo above: John in the gallery, courtesy of Hal Hagy, The Lucky Dog Gallery, Rockland, Maine. www.luckydoggallery.com] |
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A
section of the Antique Toy Museum is a gallery space featuring the contemporary
fine art by John S. Fawcett. The paintings shown are 11 x 14 inches, unless a different
size is noted. The first one you buy costs $795 shipped directly to your
home. Additional paintings after the first are $750. The titles and numbers
are below the painting. Statement about John Fawcett’s art The true subject matter of these works is the interaction of color, anamorphic and laser distortion. My art is all about the way the colors blend, disappear and vibrate. Anamorphic distortion has a long history of use in art. Through laser distortion, I have discovered a new way of altering and changing images to create a new art form. There is a long history of artistic invention by using images from the past to invent new art forms. In 1928, Walt Disney based his very famous and first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon STEAMBOAT WILLIE on Buster Keaton’s film STEAMBOAT BILL Jr. In 1934 Disney based a Post Toasties cereal box cut out on the RCA Victor dog trademark. (See Lawrence Lessig’s book on use of old images to make new creative work. FREE CULTURE by Lawrence Lessig, Penguin Press 2004. Much of this book is available free on the web.) You may think the partial imagery of the characters you recognize are the subject of these paintings. They are not. These are the images I am changing into art. They come from the old coloring books, paint boxes and pencil box covers of the 1930s and 1940s. Those vintage covers show cartoon characters making art and encourage children to draw their images. I learned to make art encouraged by the characters in those coloring and how-to-draw books. They are really the artists that taught me to draw and to love making art. My inclusion of their altered images is a way of paying homage to the inspiration from those artists of long ago. The images are also satire about the concept of “Fine Art”, artistic “inspiration”, and the materials used by artists to make art. This cliché artist imagery is a common belief of much of the public about fine art and how artists work. I never paint standing at an easel. I never hold on to a rounded wooden palate to mix paint color. The altered “Artist Mouse” you see in my work, has nothing to do with the costumed Disney Mickey Mouse that has become a travel agent for a theme park in Florida. Try to see if you can see the art, and not the popular culture character images as subject matter. The use of those altered and changed images falls under the concept of “Fair Use” in the United States copyright law. My intricate drawings involve the use of pen and ink, along with inclusion of antique paper collage. I am re-drawing and changing everything image I see in a new way in order to make an image “my art” and not just a representation of a familiar copyrighted subject. Drawing is the most important thing in all artwork. I make the process of creating my drawings last a long time. That way I can extend the fun of the journey in the making of the art. They are only complete when I can find nothing else to do to them to improve the work. They take as long as they take to do it right. John S. Fawcett Recently John's paintings were featured on this web site:
Works of Art Comics #1. 1970. This a limited edition work is in the Disney Archives and many other museums permanent collections. The book has 52 pages of intricate pen and ink drawings. All books are signed and numbered. The edition was 2000 and no more will ever be printed. All book have been sold. If you are interested in purchasing a painting, I can take
Master Card-Visa at 207 832-7398, call between 10 am and 8 pm EASTERN
TIME ZONE, USA only. 207 832-7398 |
#1 Above: “The Art Bunnies paint a Nude” #2 Above: “Picasso’s Cat” #3 Above: “Blue Purple Art Mice” #4 Above: “Art Mouse Ducks”, 9 x 12 x 1.5” SOLD #5 Above: “Mouse Paints the Cat” #6 Above: “6 Art Cats” #7 Above: “Three Small Art Mice” 9 x 12 x 1.5” #8 Above: “Pop Art Lesson” #9 Above: “Pop Cat”, 9 x 12 x 1.5” SOLD #10 Above "OPEY" 9"x12"x1.5" |
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