Donato Does Disney

by Donato

A couple of years ago I was approached by Acme Archives (Sean and Lisa McLain) to consider creating art around a few of my favorite Disney characters.  Acme has an open license with Disney and a few other major branded names which allows them to produce limited edition prints and art.  The great part about this deal was that I could pitch nearly anything as an idea, just so long as it was approved by a committee at Disney. 



Immediately I thought of The Sorcerer's Apprentice from the great film Fantasia, the classic short with Mickey Mouse as a young apprentice to a wizard.  I was working on the theme of water and waves for my gallery paintings at the time and the connection to Mickey's bungled spell use with the broomsticks, buckets and well water jumped out at me as an obvious and inspired choice for content!  The sketches took less than a day to work out and the final oil was a pleasure to paint. 



I was so happy with the results, that I had my friend Nilda at Gala Frames create a special golden frame to finish off the presentation of the work with Mickey Mouse icons in the corners.



As usual, there is nothing like tapping into the well of childhood inspirations to sate your thirst for the passion of creating art.

 

The Sorcerer's Apprentice    Donato Giancola    2011     30" x 24"   Oil on Panel