Retro memorabilia is an art form that knows no bounds. Portraits
of Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe inspire a sense of nostalgia,
as do renderings of vintage cereal boxes, cartoon characters and
seascapes that instill a sense of innocence and harken back to
simpler times.
“Retro memorabilia can be any work of art that harkens back to a
golden age,” says artist Bernice Gross of Bernice Gross Art in
Berkeley, Calif. “It can be vintage, or it can capture a memory
from a previous era.”
 |
|
Vladimir Gorsky paints pop portraits of established
celebrities. His rendering of Elvis Presley is shown here. |
The
genre also elicits a voice of familiarity, adds artist Patrick
O’Brien of O’Brien Fine Art in Lutherville, Md. “For a work to
be considered retro memorabilia, it has to speak to someone of a
time and a sensibility with a nostalgic sense,” he says. “The
work has to capture the good and the quirkiness of the past.
These images have value as emotional pieces.”
Collectors young and old are attracted to nostalgic works, notes
C. Christie Craig of C3 Group, LLC. “We are at the intersection
of art, music and icons,” she says. “Everything old is new
again. We are seeing [an interest from] baby boomers, echo
boomers and even the younger generations.”
Craig, Gross, O’Brien and others are pleased to see their works
gaining wider appeal. “I have been enamored with works of the
’40s and ’50s for many years,” Gross confesses. “My furniture
reflects that era, so does my pottery, jewelry and tablecloths.
I feel a bit like I’ve been ahead of my time. I used to print
T-shirts with this sort of imagery; now I am seeing greeting
cards with similar works. People are finally getting it.”
As a painter, Gross is dedicated to creating bright, figurative
works that recall a simpler time. “I capture the humor,
awkwardness and charm of common family milestones, such as
childhood birthday parties, kids making a snowman, weddings, bar
mitzvahs, trips to the beach and New Years’ celebrations,” she
observes.
Gross bases her quirky, nostalgic paintings on found photographs
and commercial images from the
 |
|
“The Old Sew and Sew” is a “Moment-in-Time” edition by Chuck
Jones that incorporates original production art within a
limited edition. (Dr. Seuss characters, names and all
related indicia are trademarks of the 1984 Ted Geisel Trust
and Turner Entertainment Inc. © 2007) |
’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Her paintings incorporate collaged
elements, such as textured archival paper, fragments of
antique lace tablecloths and doilies as well as vintage
jewelry and rhinestones to recall the bold colors and
embellished clothing of mid-century suburban life. “People buy
paintings that they enjoy,” she notes. “Buyers see my work and
tell me it brings back memories and the good feelings of
childhood.”
O’Brien has found success with a series of paintings called
“My Town.” The collection features retro coastal towns and has
received a tremendous response in a relatively short time, the
artist reports.
O’Brien publishes open-edition lithographs of various beach
towns. “Many are old-time images inspired by classic travel
posters,” he explains. “I weather the image to add to the
vintage feel. Since my art is sold on the eastern seaboard, it
appeals to everyone who has spent summers on the shore.
Fashioned after the retro travel posters in the early ’90s,
they have rich texture and weathering to look and feel as if
they are washed by salty air and spray.”
To date, his published imagery includes seaside renderings of
Hilton Head, S.C., Annapolis, Md., and Asbury Park, Cape May
and Ocean City, N.J. O’Brien has also created a series of
lighthouses, including works titled “The Dewey Beach
Lighthouse” and “Fenwick Island Lighthouse.”
O’Brien will also create imagery of specific beach towns upon
request. Editions of the works are limited to 100 pieces,
which also makes these universal images more appealing.
“People work 51 weeks a year so that they can spend one week
on vacation,” O’Brien says. “These images trigger a memory
that they can hold on to. My pieces speak to a number of
people who have memories of a specific beach town where they
visited or grew up.”
 |
 |
 |
|
"Nantucket Lobster Dinner" by Patrick Reid O’Brien
|
"Outer Banks" by Patrick Reid O’Brien |
"Palm Beach" by Patrick Reid O’Brien |
The Pacific Ocean and Southern Californian lifestyle inspire
imagery by painter Steve Barton, who owns Barton Studios in
Oceanside, Calif. Barton says he paints to capture more than
just the viewer’s gaze in his works. “The images are times
remembered and days to come; they stop time and soften your
heart,” he says. “They draw you in and say, ‘Come, sit,
relax.”
Barton and his family often spend time searching out new
tropical settings and flowers with vivid colors. They scour
the beachfront for villas, cabins and archways that capture
the heart and speak to life on the beach.
 |
|
Robert “Drizzle” Holton’s paintings are digitally printed
onto stretched canvas, then hand-painted using the
artist’s "drizzle" technique. Shown is his “Lady with
Coke” image. |
Re-creating pop culture icons is the focus of Robert “Drizzle”
Holton’s Drizzle art. His paintings are digitally printed onto
stretched canvas, then hand-painted using the artist’s
signature "drizzle" technique.
“The final paintings are bright, colorful, fun and often very
meaningful to viewers who find their own unique links to the
friendly imagery,” Holton says.
Paintings of the Mr. Bubble box as well as vintage cereal boxes
are very well-received, according to Holton. “My collectors
like to remember images and ads from their youth,” he says. “I
think we all like to remember the past, perhaps when life wasn’t
so hectic.”
To date, Holton has created 30 images for Heineken USA, among
other businesses. His art was recently featured at Coca-Cola’s
“World of Coca-Cola” attraction in Atlanta. Holton’s Coca-Cola
painting is also a new feature in the Pop Culture Gallery where
visitors can explore the many ways that Coca-Cola has become an
icon in popular culture. Visitors can see how fellow artists
such as Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell expressed their
creativity through Coca-Cola. Feedback on Holton’s work has been
so positive that he added a “Collectors’ Stories” link to his
Web site.
Paintings of movie stars and famous performers are moving well
at C3 Group LLC in Beverly Hills and Gorsky Fine Art in Houston.
Vladimir Gorsky’s paintings include psychedelic portraits of
world-famous icons and entertainers of the 20th century,
including The Beatles, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna,
Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and others. Gorsky paints distinct
series of celebrity portraits that often include 25 to 50
original artworks of the same celebrity. The next original he
will unveil is a painting of Audrey Hepburn. His hand-painted
original works range from $2,400 to $30,000.
C3 Group markets and sells licensed art and merchandise of Frank
Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Dean Martin and others. Works in C3
Group’s collection are created by renowned studio artist Tom
Zotos and Craig. Offerings include collectors-edition
lithographs and limited-edition giclées. The most notable piece
in the collection to date is Zotos’ “Meeting Adjourned,” a
tribute to Frank Sinatra that received rave reviews when
unveiled at
Artexpo Las Vegas
last fall.
The company is currently preparing to launch an exclusive
collection of art and music products from the Sinatra Estate in
spring 2008. “We have never-before-seen licensed art products
directly from the Frank Sinatra Archives that won’t be available
anywhere else,” Craig says. “We are also about to release a
Sinatra collection that will be available in Z Galleries
starting this month.”
 |
|
“Meeting Adjourned...,” a tribute to the great Frank Sinatra
by Tom Zotos and C. Christie Craig, is a recent lithograph
release from C3 Art Group LLC. |
Linda Jones Enterprises (LJE) in Irvine, Calif., is having great
success marketing endearing cartoon characters. LJE is home to
the art of legendary film director and creator Chuck Jones.
Jones’ masterpieces include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepé Le Pew,
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The business was established
in 1977 by Linda Jones, the daughter of Chuck Jones. LJE also
publishes and represents the original and edition works of
cinema artist John Alvin, character artist Dick Duerrstein, Emmy
award-winning animator, director and producer Bob Kurtz and
painter Andrea Alvin.
“For us, retro memorabilia is so much more than just evoking
fond memories of the past; it’s the timelessness of the
characters created by Chuck Jones or the universal emotions
evoked by the movie posters created by John Alvin,” says Craig
Kausen, president and CEO of Linda Jones Enterprises. “This is a
sign of their genius to have not only tapped into the zeitgeist
but to have also reached into the future that now defines their
contemporaneousness.”
At present, the company is celebrating the 50th anniversary of
Chuck Jones’ cartoon “What’s
 |
|
“Backyard Holiday” by Bernice Gross is a 48-x-48-inch oil on
canvas. |
Opera,
Doc?” The company is now in its 30th year of publishing and
representing the art of Chuck Jones. “Art released this year to
celebrate both anniversaries—including the Chuck Jones art book
‘Stroke of Genius’—have been met with great success by galleries
and collectors around the globe,” Kausen reports.
Kausen notes that LJE collectors are among the broadest in the
art business. “[They range] from 20 years old up to 70 and
older, from all economic and social strata—construction workers,
teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, people in the creative
arts, such as dancers, conductors, actors and writers. Very few
people living today have not been touched in some way by the art
and artistry of Chuck Jones and John Alvin. It is their
essential timelessness—an ability to create an instant
classic—that resonates with collectors of fine art.”
Vintage printing techniques as well as imagery define the
products of S2 Art Group, Ltd. in Chicago. S2’s fine-art
lithographs are crafted on the same flatbed presses used in the
legendary ateliers of Paris. It is believed that only seven of
these presses remain in the world; S2 owns five of them.
“Unlike contemporary computer-generated reproductions,
lithographs crafted on these presses contain pure color and
subtle variations in texture that rival the nuances of
painting,” says Keith Tomaszewsky, senior vice president of the
company. “S2 publishes a specific collection called ‘Ré
Collection,’ which is a group of high-quality re-creations of
vintage posters. ‘Ré Collection’ has a variety of images,
including classic movie posters, images by Toulouse-Lautrec and
classic advertisements. There is something for everyone.”
Images in Ré Collection also include fine-art ads for Dubonnet
and Pierrot Absinthe; movie posters of Al Jolson’s “The Jazz
Singer” and “Casablanca” as well as car-racing posters that
include the Monaco Grand Prix 1930 and the Gran Premio D’Talia
(XII). ABN
 |
 |
 |
|
“Divan Japonais” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1893) |
“Quinquina Dubonnet” by Jules Cheret (1895) |
“Casablanca” by an unknown artist (1921) |
Sources:
• Barton Studios, 760-439-6212,
www.bartonstudios.com
• C3 Group LLC, 310-247-4477,
www.4sinatra.com
• Drizzle Art, 714-343-3043,
www.drizzleart.com
• Gorsky Fine Art, 972-333-1468,
www.gorskyfineart.com
• Bernice Gross Fine Art, 510-843-2159,
www.bernicegrossart.com
• Linda Jones Enterprises, 800-660-7791,
www.lje.com
• Patrick Reid O’Brien Fine Art, 443-255-0377,
www.patrickfineart.com
• S2 Art Group, Ltd., 877-252-2122,
www.s2art.com |
