Melanie Taylor Kent is an American artist. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was raised and has spent most of her life in Southern California. She won her first National Art Competition at age 12. She graduated from the UCLA School of Art and taught art in the Los Angeles City Schools. In 1980 she started her own publishing company and has published a series of art chronicling America by depicting famous streets and famous events. [1]
Her artwork has been licensed to Warner Bros., Disney and Hanna-Barbera.
Kent's serigraphs are noted for the personalities that challenge collectors to identify them. She was the first artist to be licensed by the Walt Disney Company to portray Disney theme parks in limited edition prints and has been selected as the official artist of the LA Dodgers and the 30th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. She was selected as the official artist of the 50th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz", the 15th anniversary of "Star Wars" and the 10th anniversary of "E.T.". Her depiction of the 1984 Olympics, "Let the Games Begin", was licensed by the US Olympic Committee. [2]
Most of Kent's limited edition works are done as serigraphs, using as many as 200 separate color plates and heavy, acid free archival papers.
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and Bianca, two mice who are members of the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world. Both must free 6 year old orphan Penny from two treasure hunters, who intend to use her to help them obtain a giant diamond. The film is based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, including The Rescuers (1959) and Miss Bianca (1962).
Minnie the Minx, whose real name is Hermione Makepeace is a comic strip character published in the British comic magazine The Beano. Created and originally drawn by Leo Baxendale, she first appeared in issue 596, dated 19 December 1953, making her the third longest running Beano character behind Dennis the Menace and Roger the Dodger.
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 Cosmopolitan magazine story "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog", it was directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson. Featuring the voices of Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson, Bill Baucom, Stan Freberg, Verna Felton, Alan Reed, George Givot, Dallas McKennon, and Lee Millar, the film follows Lady, the pampered Cocker Spaniel, as she grows from puppy to adult, deals with changes in her family, and meets and falls in love with the homeless mutt Tramp.
Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on November 18, 1988, by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. In the film, Oliver is a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs to survive in the streets. Among other changes, the setting of the film was relocated from 19th century London to 1980s New York City, Fagin's gang is made up of dogs, and Sykes is a loan shark.
Eyvind Earle was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr West Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum have purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections. His works have also been shown in many one-man exhibitions throughout the world.
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale, the production was supervised by Clyde Geronimi, and was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, and Les Clark. Featuring the voices of Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, Taylor Holmes, and Bill Thompson, the film follows Princess Aurora, who was cursed by the evil fairy Maleficent to die from a prick from the spindle of a spinning wheel. She is saved by three good fairies, who alter Aurora's curse so that she falls into a deep sleep and will be awakened by true love's kiss.
Corita Kent, born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christianity, and social justice. She was also a teacher at the Immaculate Heart College.
Kent Twitchell is an American muralist who is most active in Los Angeles. He is most famous for his larger-than-life mural portraits, often of celebrities and artists. His murals are realism not photorealism according to Twitchell.
Ester Hernández is a California Bay Area Chicana visual artist recognized for her prints and pastels focusing on farm worker rights, cultural, political, and Chicana feminist issues. Hernández' was an activist in the Chicano Arts Movement in the 1960's and also made art pieces that focus on issues of social justice, civil rights, women's rights, and the Farm Worker Movement.
Rasquachismo is a theory developed by Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe "an underdog perspective, a view from "los de abajo" in working class Chicano communities which uses elements of "hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration" as a means of empowerment and resistance. Rasquachismo is commonly used to describe aesthetics present in the working class Chicano art and Mexican art movements which "make the most from the least." It has been described as a worldview, the "view of the underdog, which combines inventiveness with a survivalist attitude." Artists will oftentimes depict experiences of their own life in the “barrio” or the experiences of being Mexican and Chicano. This art movement has also been defined by artists and scholar Amalia Mesa-Bains "as a survivalist irreverence {'hased on sustaining elements of Mexican tradition and lived encounters in a hostile environment') that functioned as a vehicle of cultural continuity."
Rodolfo "Rudy" Escalera was a Mexican-American artist. Among other works, he created collectible plates for the 1984 Summer Olympics, which became "The Official Gift of the 1984 Olympics". Escalera also created a collectible plate for the 1986 World cup hosted in Mexico. Escalera's primary medium was oils on canvas. The majority of his works are based in realism as he did not like abstract painting.
Clay Huffman (1957–2001) was a multi-medium artist, most well known for his vibrant, multicolored serigraphs of local roadside architecture.
Norma Bassett Hall (1889–1957) was an American printmaker. She was a woodblock printmaker and often depicted landscapes and outdoor scenes.
Randy Souders is an American artist and a disability rights advocate.
Don Williams, also known by the nickname Ducky, is an American illustrator employed by The Walt Disney Company. Williams has worked at Disney for over thirty years, at a number of different positions, finally ending up in the marketing division as an animator.
David Uhl is an American artist who specializes in oil paintings of vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles and is known for his Women of Harley-Davidson collection.
Barbara Carrasco is a Chicana artist, activist, painter and muralist. She lives and works in Los Angeles. Her work critiques dominant cultural stereotypes involving socioeconomics, race, gender and sexuality, and she is considered to be a radical feminist. Her art has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work was exhibited in the 1990-1993 traveling exhibition Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation.
R. John Wright Dolls is an art doll making workshop located in Bennington, Vermont. Established in 1976, R. John Wright Dolls (RJW) is a privately held company founded by R. John Wright.
Sonia Amalia Romero is an American artist, she is known for her printmaking, mixed media linocut prints, murals, and public art based in Los Angeles. She is known for depicting Los Angeles, Latin American imagery, and Chicano themes in her work.
Grace Perreiah is an American artist from Lexington, Kentucky known for her serigraph prints depicting historic buildings in Kentucky, and other subjects.