drawing from memory

When I'm working in the world of my alien menagerie, I often draw from nostalgic inspiration in some form or other.

I was recently browsing through some older sketchbooks of aliens, and this particular one caught my eye. When I sketched this, I was working from the memory of a toy I once had.  I wasn't trying to recreate it, so much as see how it might inspire something of my own. It was a rubber finger puppet that I remember getting at checkout in a grocery store when I was five or six.  I had a pretty clear image of how it looked, but I had know idea what it was called or how to find it either. 

In the time that's past since I made that sketch the mystery of it's inspiration was resolved.

It turns out the finger puppet was a RUBBER UGLY.  RUBBER UGLIES were a spin-off of UGLY STICKERS- the rubber monster on the left was based on the sticker pictured at right. Artwork by Norm Saunders.

I wrote about UGLY STICKERS in an earlier post. They were also another memory from childhood that I couldn't quite pin down. The images were vivid, but the name of them…not so much.  

It was the publication of a book of Norm Saunders work, and the additional discovery of a website devoted to him, that connected names with the images I remembered. Two mysteries solved at one time.

~ here's alien menagerie x.30 

acrylic on Arches 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

Tomorrow and Beyond

I'd like to make more frequent posts about influences and inspirations, and there's no better place to start than with the art book "Tomorrow and Beyond".

I bought it when it was published in 1978. My copy is in well-loved condition, and it's a miracle the pages aren't falling out.

 I had a habit of trying to learn and identify any artists work if it appeared on a science fiction novel at the bookstore.This book was a fair representation of illustrators working in the field at the time. It was divided into thematic sections such as Aliens, Astronauts, Symbolism, and Robots.

There were mainstream illustrators:  Brad Holland, Murray Tinkleman, and Wilson McClean, veterans of the genre Richard Powers, John Schoenherr and Paul Lehr and recent arrivals Michael Whelan, Don Maitz and Wayne Barlowe!

I feel it's inadequate though to mention just a few of the names, when I can post an image of the back of the book with all the artists listed.

I didn't just pour over the book, amazed by the work within it.I made a stop motion animation filming the individual illustrations, timed to the Alan Parson's Project song "I, Robot" for a high school film class. 

It was at the core of my small, but ever growing collection of art books from the genre. It sat on my shelf with "Studio", "Flights of Icarus", and Starlog's "Space Art"  traveling with me to art school, always a handy reference.

The excitement I felt when I looked at all that work, depicting strange other worlds,  is the same feeling I'm hoping to capture when I'm working on a painting today. Here are a few shots from the book.

alien evolution

In 1974 (or there about) I did this drawing of a guy who I named "Neptonian". A lot of the inspiration for this character came from the Outer Space Men toy, Astro-Nautilus (with a bit of Star Trek the Animated series thrown in). I still remember drawing this and how much fun it was to do.

Seventeen years later I was still painting aliens. This one was done as a book cover for the James White novel the "Genocidal Healer" in 1991.

Astronomer • alien menagerie #4, was done eighteen years after "Genocidal Healer" (thirty-five years since the "Neptonian"). I'm still painting aliens.

*it's still a really enjoyable thing to be doing 

Diversions

OK. I've been playing with toys.

I first wrote about Mel Birnkrant's Outer Space Men here in a post "Inspirations". It's a toy line from the late 60's that has been revived by The Four Horsemen. The figures they made are modular. You can mix and match pieces to make new characters if you choose. For fun, I photographed the bodies and applied my own sensibilities to a new set of heads.

The unaltered toys below, (they are about 3 3/4" tall):

Mel Birnkrant's Outer Space Men website

Outer Space Men at Four Horsemen

Uchujin X.17 & Norm Saunders

Here's alien menagerie x.17~

While I was working on it, I realized this might be a good opportunity to acknowledge the influence of Norm Saunders on my art.

Norm Saunders was the artist who painted the Mars Attacks trading card series, and that was the work I associated with his name. It wasn't until recently that I learned he was also the principle illustrator of some art, a series of stickers, that had a profound influence on my young, impressionable mind. They were crazy, imaginative monsters with prosaic names...like Mike, Steve, Don and Bruce. To me, these were over the top cool. I may have drawn from them, I don't know, but I stuck them all over the headboard of my bed, probably a few other places too. The images remained stuck deep inside my head I'm certain

I remember buying them at a little convenience store in the neighborhood I lived in through 2nd grade. When our family moved out into suburbia in 1970, I never saw them in a store again. Over time I lost whatever I'd collected, and also completely forgot whatever they were called. It wasn't until Daniel Zimmer of The Illustrated Press published a book of Norman Saunders art that I rediscovered them. I was looking at the book for the art from Mars Attacks. I had no idea I was about to reacquaint myself with the awesomeness known as UGLY STICKERS! I recognized nearly every one of them. At one time, I must have had a lot! Suddenly I realized some of the joy I get from alien menagerie is in part a recreation of these outlandish cards.

I'd love to get them all, but the only card I've bought on eBay is this one, "Julie". It's one I clearly remember, and one of my favorites from the series.

It's number 17.

ugly stickers at www.normansauners.com

Norman Saunders at The Illustrated Press

Inspirations

These are "The Outer Space Men" from 1968. They are bendable figures similar to the then popular Major Matt Mason.

They were designed by toy inventor Mel Birnkrant who maintains an archive site here, and it's the source for several of the images in my post. The Outer Space Men are the citizens of the other planets of our Solar System.

My brothers and I had three of these. "Men" from Venus, Mars and Neptune. Always interested in space travel, and science fiction, these guys made an indelible impression on me. I clearly remember playing with them, but at some point they were lost to me, never to be found again...

... until the advent of ebay. I suppose it was about 1998 when I reacquired the lost aliens, as well as those I never had the first time around. It was a bit of magic recaptured to hold an Astro-Nautilus again.

Looking through Mel's archive site, I was a bit surprised, and really impressed that he shared the various inspirations and reference images for his designs. This was the clipping from the back of Famous Monsters Magazine that inspired the Man From Neptune. I have no idea what film it was from, but it's wonderful to see source material like this.

Eventually, I'll take my own alien menagerie on a tour of our Solar System. I can hardly wait to get started on it, but I've some other pieces to finish first.

footnote:

The Outer Space Men are back today, and being released by the Four Horsemen. The first figures are here. They are releasing the original figures and a second set that were designed, prototyped but never mass produced. Best yet, Mel Birnkrant remains involved in the series.