Animation producer Lydia Holness has teamed with directors Jonathan Garin and Naomi Nishimura to launch a new design/animation studio, PandaPanther, based in New York. This G4 ID spot is representative of their work - but check out their website for pure psychedelic eye candy.

Forget the fact that Glenn Barr did backgrounds for Ren & Stimpy, or The New Woody Woodpecker Show, or has contributed to Mad Magazine and DC Comics. Barr has emerged as a fine artist and painter in his own right and one of stars of the low brow art movement. He’s got a new book, Haunted Paradise, and he’ll be in L.A. tonight and in Palm Springs tomorrow to do book signings.

Catch him tonight from 6pm to 9pm at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Silverlake, at 4633 Hollywood Blvd. On Sunday afternoon from 4pm to 7pm he’ll be at M Modern Gallery, 2500 N. Palm Canyon Drive.

One of the pleasures of my monthly cartoon screening gig with Janet Klein at the Steve Allen Theatre (first Thursday of every month at 8pm, next one on March 1st) is meeting many actors, comedians, artists and animators who attend each month to bask in 1920s-30s movies and music nirvana. Last night I met Noir Nouar, an illustrator and painter just finishing a stint on Nickelodeon’s Catscratch. Nouar has her own following as a fine artist and painter, and a website full of fun artwork. I love this piece (above) inspired by the Betty Boop cartoon MORE PEP - or at least by a line in Sammy Timburg’s song in that cartoon.

A bit of a follow-up to all the recent posts about Disney insignia from WWII (here and here). There is currently an exhibition at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (Dayton, Ohio) called “Disney Pins on Wings.” The show, which runs through June 11, is apparently the “largest collection of original Walt Disney insignia artwork ever placed on public display.” If you’re not planning on visiting Dayton anytime soon - and as somebody who’s been there, I’d question why anybody would want to - fear not. Here’s a comprehensive set of photos from the exhibition for your online viewing pleasure.

The Donald Duck insignia above was drawn by animator John Sibley. This is actually a piece of art intended for Pete Docter’s amazing piece about Sibley in the upcoming ANIMATON BLAST #9. I couldn’t fit it into the issue, but this seems like an appropriate occasion to share the artwork.(Thanks, Jennifer Cardon Klein, for letting me know about the exhibition and photos)

A roundup of recent non-animation books that have caught my attention:

I don’t know how Lane Smith does it, but every one of his illustrated books is a gem. His latest, JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE AND BEN, is a quirky take on America’s founding fathers portrayed as kids. Compared to the crass manufactured cartoons that children are regularly exposed to on television, the level of thought, care and craftsmanship that Lane puts into his books is a real breath of fresh air. It makes me wonder, Will kids even notice the original painted portraits of the founding fathers that lead off each section, or the inventive manner that Lane combines his illustrations with rich textures and collage elements? There’s no question that artists love this stuff (for example, see these comments by designer Cameron Moll), but I’d also like to think that kids will appreciate and subconsciously absorb all the good design in this book. One thing is for sure, children will be laughing (just as I was) because the book does a terrific job of humanizing historical figures like Paul Revere and Ben Franklin and making them appealing. Here’s an interview with Lane Smith where he discusses some of the visual ideas in the book.

HE DONE HER WRONG, Milt Gross’s 1930 graphic novel (no, graphic novels weren’t invented by Will Eisner), is finally back in print. I haven’t seen this new edition, but I’ve seen the book and it’s packed with typically great Gross art. I’m planning on picking up a copy soon. And when are we going to see a Milt Gross biography/coffeetable book? Talk about long overdue books.

One of my favorite artist blog discoveries has been the work of German animation artist Uwe Heidschoetter. He uses all sorts of unconventional shapes in his figurative drawings and has a distinctive style all his own. I was excited to see that he recently announced a forthcoming 40-page hardcover sketchbook. Sounds good to me.

THE WORLD ON SUNDAY: GRAPHIC ART IN JOSEPH PULITZER’S NEWSPAPER (1898-1911) by Nicholson Baker and Margaret Brentano is a collection of extremely rare turn-of-the-(last)-century artwork that appeared in New York’s SUNDAY WORLD paper. The book has work by well-known comic artists like Outcault, Herriman, and McManus, as well as plenty of lesser known illustrators. I don’t have the book, but I’m considering buying it after reading reviews like THIS and THIS.

Film composer Alex Rannie emailed over this great book jacket with a caricature of MUSIC MAN writer/composer Meredith Willson drawn by animation storyman and character designer Thornton (T.) Hee. Some more of T. Hee’s non-animation artwork can be found in this Cartoon Retro thread.

(click on pic for bigger version)

I’ve been meaning to write about cartoonist/animation artist Mark Newgarden’s new book WE ALL DIE ALONE (Fantagraphics), a beautifully designed, laugh-packed anthology of his career-to-date that collects his print cartoons from the 1980s and ’90s among many other things. Yesterday’s NEW YORK TIMES published a piece on Mark’s book that serves as a solid introduction to what makes his work so unique:

“Why isn’t humor funny?” was a working title for “We All Die Alone,” Mr. Newgarden said. “That’s what a lot of the work is exploring.” He recalled the desolate world of stand-up comedians he has known. “I have a friend who’s a very physical comedian, and his life has been about literally hurting himself onstage in order to get laughs,” he said. “He embodies that desperation, that willingness to do anything because, somehow, he has convinced himself that this is his purpose in life: to make people laugh.”

In his interview with Mr. Nadel, Mr. Newgarden provides an oblique explanation, in the form of a childhood reminiscence, of the roots of his obsession. He recalls watching the Three Stooges on television, laughing uproariously at their “magnificent abuse,” when his grandfather would barrel into the room and rant: “How can you laugh? Those men are dead! Those men are dead!”

“That made it all much funnier,” he says.

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(link via HarryMcCracken.com)

Alex Chun has been writing some excellent animation/pop culture-related pieces for the LA TIMES in recent months, and his most recent article in tomorrow’s paper is no exception. This time, Alex writes about the “Remixing the Magic” art show currently on display at Gallery 1988. One thing I wasn’t aware of until I went to the opening last week was that Disney was actually sponsoring the show, a commendable gesture on their part - even if they did put forth a few rules on what could and couldn’t be depicted. Chun sheds some more light on the nature of Disney’s sponsorship in the LA TIMES piece. To see more art from the show, check out this earlier post on the Brew. (And congrats to our super-talented pal Katie Rice for getting quoted in the article.)

Painting above: Tony Mora’s fine piece inspired by carniceria murals.