James Gurney
blog: www.GurneyJourney.blogspot.com
video and images copyright James Gurney
Toy Collector Mel Birnkrant
"I paid another visit to Mel Birnkrant's amazing collection of antique comic character toys and made this short video about how he got started collecting.
During the visit, Mel showed me some of his most precious and wonderful animated toys, including the one he calls "Toothy Mickey," an extremely rare wind-up tin toy that he hasn't operated in more than 20 years. On the video you'll see Mickey turn around as his eyes change and his teeth come out.
There's also a drummer Mickey and a dancing Mickey, and some unpainted wood crank-operated toys by Sonny Hatfield. I have dreams about all these toys, wonderful, strange dreams that inspire me in new directions as an artist." ~ James Gurney
Toonerville Trolley Toy
"I'd like to introduce you to my friend Mel Birnkrant, who has one of the most amazing toy collections in the world, concentrating on comic characters from the 1920s and '30s. (Direct link to video).
When I visited him a few days ago, he showed me a favorite, the Toonerville Trolley. Wind it up and it wobbles along, then stops and shudders, until the skipper winds the crank and gets it going again.
I think Mel is like a cross between Gepetto and Santa Claus (he is also a toy inventor himself) and he has rekindled an old fascination of mine: animation of the Golden Age." ~ James Gurney
The Art of Bug Puppet Characters with James Gurney
"I fell in love with these comic character puppets, so I wanted to paint them to better understand their design and construction. Collector Mel Birnkrant helped me set them up in front of the sketch easel, and he made them dance for us.
Bil Baird Bug Marionettes, casein, 5 x 8 inches
I drew them first in watercolor pencil, then painted them in casein, which is a lot like gouache, a water-based opaque paint.
Jeanette sat next to me and sketched them too, using pen and watercolor. We were both so impressed with the designs: the smiling mouths, bulging eyes, big cartoony hands and the round-toed shoes." ~ James Gurney
Painting Comic Character Toys with James Gurney
"In this mini trailer segment from "Gouache in the Wild" (Link to YouTube) I visit the antique toy collection of Mel Birnkrant to paint his "Brownies" candy containers in acryla gouache in a Pentalic 5x8 inch watercolor journal.
I'm fascinated by the character design from a century ago. They have a sort of eager mania with their big eyes and effervescent smiles. Who can resist those cute Kewpies with their eyes coyly turned aside, and the bouyant little Brownies. No wonder, they were designed by top artists of their day.
The Brownies were created by Palmer Cox (1840–1924) starting in the 1880s. They were all little men, and they included standard types of that era: Uncle Sam, the Cowboy, the Policeman, the Sailor, the German, and the Chinaman. Brownies were some of the first mass-merchandised characters, and the Kodak "Brownie" camera was named after them.
It's one thing to look at these antique toys, but quite another to paint their portraits. Painting physical character toys is one of the best exercises for artists who want to get better at character design, especially for 3D CG animation" ~ James Gurney
