Larry's Cartoon Vault: Lost and Found Dept.

One of the advantages of cleaning up my studio is I keep finding more ancient fodder for the Lost and Found Dept.

As with previous posts (see July 10^th and June 19^th), I’m featuring work done by me (a few decades ago) when I was active as a cartoonist/illustrator.  Again, as with the last post the work is previously unpublished.

This time three drawings done for a long forgotten music publication.

All of these drawings were done in 1982.  I drew a lot of skeletons and robots at that time.

Here’s another piece from the same period but clearly not done for the aforementioned unknown music  magazine.

All drawings copyright by Larry Rippee 2012

The 14th Annual Gallery Route One Box Show

The Box Show is a benefit silent auction for the Gallery’s Community and Arts programs. About 150 artists participate.  Gallery Route One provides the pine box. Artists are allowed to do anything to the box as long as the box remains in the final piece. (I recall one year in which all that remained of a box was a pile of ashes).

Our offering this year:

I believe it’s titled The Vincent Banjo Boys on a Starry, Starry Night but we changed the title about a half a dozen times while making it (Vincent Vanjo…The Starry, Starry Night Boys… etc. So who knows... ).

Molly and I essentially create our boxes together tag-team style.

Here’s how we did this one:

We attach an old banjo neck to the box (Banjo neck courtesy of John Pederson of Amazing  Grace Music Store).

Molly begins painting a version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night in the box.

Larry sketches the ‘boys’ for the vignette and transfers the drawing to balsa wood.

The balsa wood is cut out and inked.

The bass player.

The finished vignette colored by Molly is installed in place. First the bass player.

Then the foerground camp fire scene.

Done.

Molly and Larry happily stand around in front of their box at GRO.

The exhibit runs from August 10^th through September 30^th   and can be viewed on line at

 http://galleryrouteone.org/2012/08/the-box-show-2012-2/

For more on the Box Show see our post dated August 26, 2011.

Master Wood Cut Artist Steve Parun

Molly here!

Growing up on Potereo Hill in San Francisco through the late 1950's - 1970's I was very lucky to meet many creative individuals--artists, poets, writers and musicians.  One of whom, Steve Parun, still lives in their home across the street from where I grew up with his wife Karmela. They have always been the cornerstone of the Hill for me. They have been great friends to us, the Hagopian-Irvin clan and made sure to keep in touch - even after my mother moved to Fairfax to be closer to me.

As a kid livng on Wisconsin Street I was a part of a small pack of neighborhood kids who played together. There was myself, Adam and Kate Parun, and Julie and Lorenzo Ferlinghetti. We were the off spring of Bob and Gini Hagopian (Irvin), my parents; Steve and Karmela Parun, Adam and Kate's parents; and Lawrence and Kirby Ferlinghetti, Julie and Lorenzo's parents. I was quite used to running in and out of their homes and so was used to seeing Steve's art throughout my childhood. Having grown up with a mother who was a visual artist it seemed natural to me and so not unusual or something to pay attention to.

Steve was an intergal part of the artist community, showing at the Potereo Hill Library's Annual Art Shows, drawing with Charles Farr's drawing group on DeHaro Street, and making the awards for the annual Potereo Hill Kite Fly Contest.  Once when I was in my teens I created a cardboard cut out of a dog as a birthday gift for my mother but had no idea how to paint it. I went over to Steve's and asked him if he would help me.  He took me down to his studio under the house and lickety-split showed me how to use watercolor to get the impression I wanted.

I have always admired Steve's woodcuts and would like to show you a few of them from over the years.. He has made wood block christmas cards for years now, which I wait for with antcipation and treasure very much.





Hippos 12"x18"

   



These beautiful multi color prints use a process for wood blocks which are technically complex





I believe this is the oldest piece we have by Steve

 

I had the opportunity to ask questions of Steve recently, here is a transcript of the interview:

Questions for Steve Parun:

Where were you born? 

I was born in Antiock, CA in 1926.

When did you get to San Francisco?  

I was in the U.S. Navy from 1944-46, went to C.C.A.C.[California College of Arts and Crafts] 1946-1950 and in 1949 took a summer clss from George Harris in Lagunitas. I went to Paris in 1951 for five months, then New York from 1951-1955. In 1955 I went to Croatia where I stayed for six months and married Karmela there. We returned to Antiock in 1956 where we stayed until 1959 and then to San Francisco.

Are there any other artists in your family?

I was the only artist in our family out of nine children.

How did you become a longshoreman?

I became a longshoreman in 1959 after a Lagunitas friend and her longshoreman husband stopped off in Antiock on their way home from the Delta Area and mentioned an ad which appeared in the Chronicle about job openings for longshoremen.  I applied, accepted and moved to the ultimate dream location in San Francisco.

It seems it was a longshoremen tradition to foster artists, writers and philosophers,  did you find this to be true?   Did you receive support in that context?  

The waterfront attracted all types because it didn't affect creativity nor require seriouc thought and offered much freedom and few restrictions - plus good pay and benefits.  Best known published wrtieres were Eric Hofer, George Benet, Reg Theriauet and poet Lew Welch, "Ring of Bone". There were other writers, poets and artists.

How long have you lived on Potereo Hill? 

Moved to Pot Hill after fellow longshoreman and hill dweller mentioned vacancy on Kansas St. We moved to Wisconsin st in 1963, when attending life drawing classes at Charles Farr's studio he mentioned a friend selling an old house on Wisconsin st.

What was it like when you moved to the Hill? 

Working class popluated the hill -  many Russians, fellow workers, babushkas and backyard baths.

Was it a good environment in terms of work and art? 

Artist moved to Pot Hill for affordable housing/studios when Montgomery st (Monkey st.) became too expensive.

Can you tell us something about the other people on Potereo Hill that you associated with? (Both work and art?) 

Friends and artists: Henri- Marie Rose, Bob Kingsbury, Margo Bors, John Connolly, Charles Farr, Ferlinghetti, Jean Halpert- Ryden, Ed Ryden, John Burton, Kim Burton, Vas Arnautoff and his wife Arden, Al Ohta and many more.....

When and where did you start printmaking? 

I started printmaking when we lived in a small, cramped apartment on Guerreo st, worked on the kitchen table.  I learned printmaking by reading, asking questions and observing.

I believe you said you attended CCAC, can you tell me more about that? Whom you studied with and fellow art students you knew and know? 

Teachers at CCAC were Otis Oldfield, George Harris, George Post, Alexander Nepota, Alexander Hamilton, Victor de Wilde, Ella Hays,etc.  Fellow students remembered are Ralph Borge, Bob Gumpertz, and Ed Ryden . Borge lives in Point Reyes and is a super-realist.

Do you have print making themes or concerns? (Figurative, landscape, political, floral?) 

My printmaking themes were drawn from home, art class drawings and work.

What are you doing now with art? Any current projects? 

 I do very little art work now.

Here are a couple of picture of Steve and Karmela over the years.



Dinner at Mom's on Wisconsin st.
Mom (Virginia Irvin) in left foreground,  Karmela and Steve on left




Mom's surprise 70th BD. at Molly's house in Fairfax

You can find Steve and Karmela, 5th and 6th persons,  left side,  back row

 

                              

                                       Steve and Larry at Virginia's 80th birthday party, her home in Fairfax




Larry's Cartoon Vault: More Lost and Found Cartoons

In a previous ‘Cartoon Vault’ I featured a Three Stooges caricature I’d done for some long ago unrealized project.

While digging through my files, I noticed how many other cartoons and illustrations I had done for projects that were never to be.

Some were works done on spec to be sure, but many others were for what at the time seemed to be very promising projects. Some were financial disasters like the film magazine I did a series of caricatures for that lost its backing,  others were last minute editorial flip-flops (A political cartoon cover for the Bay Guardian that got switched out at the 11^th hour for a photo of Bette Midler (?)).  Sometimes I got a kill fee; sometimes I didn’t.

With new magazines “three” tended to be the magic number. The returns would come back from the distributors about the time of the publishing of a third issue of a new publication.  Poor early sales often resulted in the immediate canceling of the magazine—if you didn’t make it in one of the first three issues you often didn’t make it at all.

Looking at how much of the work I did in my freelancing days which never saw print reminds me of what a difficult and often frustrating struggle that world can be.

From time to time I will post some archaic unpublished cartoon or illustration on our blog from the ‘vault’.

The Comic Con drawings

Since the Comic Con International is being held this weekend, I thought I’d offer some drawings done in 1982 (back when it was still known as the San Diego Comic Con). These Con vignettes were done for a never published article (again my memory banks aren’t good enough to remember who wrote the article or for what publication). 

I believe they were all loosely based on sketches I actually did at the Con that year. I know I saw Clarence Nash (the voice of Donald Duck) there that year.

            Maybe  things haven't changed all that much at Comic Conventions in the last 30 years.

 

All drawing still copyright Larry Rippee 2012

Marin County Fair exhibit

Yeah, we know it’s redundant but we don’t get that many opportunities to toot our own horn.

Here are our two current offering now showing at the Marin County Fair juried art exhibit.



Larry's piece in lower right corner 



                     There's about 800 artists in the exhibit.

                     It runs from June 30 to July 4th.

Larry's Cartoon Vault: The Three Stooges

Recently I saw the new Three Stooges movie with my grandson. The Stooges were new to him to be sure but like most of my generation I grew up on The Stooges. Stunning to think of the daily dose of Stoogedom available on daytime TV in my youth --none of which Moe, Larry or Curly were ever paid for (not to mention Shemp Howard, Joe Besser or Curly Joe).

A couple of days ago I stumbled across the above illustration of The Stooges that I drew back in 1979 when I was freelancing cartoons.

The drawing was for some forgotten project—a Three Stooges book or magazine—I forget which.
I forget who was putting it together. All I remember is that it didn’t happen.  The project, like so many projects, died an early death.

The drawing was later published elsewhere—probably in conjunction which a magazine article. ( I no longer have a copy of that magazine either).

Spring Art Show Wrap Up

The 22^nd annual Spring Art Show is history.

Here are a few residual images from the exhibit:


Hanging an art show is serious business.

Donn, Molly, Jack and Leonard



Jack and Donn confer on aesthetics.

A few more shots of the Show:



The Valley Room



Work by Sam Andrew and Brian Staley

Eileen Puppo



Chris Ducey

                  

The 'Abstract Wall' -West Room 



West Room

The print corner—my block print and Bea Benjamin’s fine etching.

End of show eclipsed by an eclipse:

The last Sunday of the show-when everyone came to retrieve their artwork- was the day of the solar eclipse. Artists gathered outside. Michel Kotski brought a filtered telescope for viewing and sculptor Jack Kamesar brought his welding masks. The entire Community Center parking lot was littered with crescent moons everywhere.

(Check out the crescent shadows created by the eclipse on the wall in the photo below)



(Photo by Donn DeAngelo)



Nice way to end an event.