A Legend Passes On...
This was going to be a new painting, as I take leave to Boston for a SF con that I'm going to this weekend. But...I give this space to someone else...
I found out that one of my greatest inspirations-Peter Ellenshaw-has passed away at age 93. Needless to say, some of Peter's best work you have never noticed-he was a matte painter for films such Disney films as Mary Poppins(1964)(the first film I ever saw in a theater!) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea(1954),Treasure Island, In Search of The Castaways(1959), The Love Bug(1969),Island At the Top of The World(1974) and The Black Hole(1979), just to name a few. His last matte work was when his son, Harrison, called him out of retirement to work on Superman IV: The Quest For Peace(1987) as a matte supervisor in some very adverse conditions, and finally Dick Tracy(1990) on some of the hand-painted mattes for that film(digital matte work in the mid-90's more or less made the painted versions obsolete, to the detriment of the industry IMHO). He was personally hired by Walt Disney back in the formative days of the creation of Disneyland and many of the movies Disney produced, to work on the special effects. When he left the film biz in the 80's he spent his days painting AMAZING landscapes!!! His work and, his humble attitude were captivating to me, and while I never personally knew him, I found his work to inspire my own. If you want to see what I mean and read a little more about the man, go to http://www.ellenshaw.com/ and you'll see exactly what I mean. I'm literally in awe of what he does.
What inspired me was his spirit and, a combination of talent and his style...and he lived a good,long life... as we all should. There are two volumes of his work, presently available and I own both of course. So, a time of silent rememberence for this man, from me.
I found out that one of my greatest inspirations-Peter Ellenshaw-has passed away at age 93. Needless to say, some of Peter's best work you have never noticed-he was a matte painter for films such Disney films as Mary Poppins(1964)(the first film I ever saw in a theater!) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea(1954),Treasure Island, In Search of The Castaways(1959), The Love Bug(1969),Island At the Top of The World(1974) and The Black Hole(1979), just to name a few. His last matte work was when his son, Harrison, called him out of retirement to work on Superman IV: The Quest For Peace(1987) as a matte supervisor in some very adverse conditions, and finally Dick Tracy(1990) on some of the hand-painted mattes for that film(digital matte work in the mid-90's more or less made the painted versions obsolete, to the detriment of the industry IMHO). He was personally hired by Walt Disney back in the formative days of the creation of Disneyland and many of the movies Disney produced, to work on the special effects. When he left the film biz in the 80's he spent his days painting AMAZING landscapes!!! His work and, his humble attitude were captivating to me, and while I never personally knew him, I found his work to inspire my own. If you want to see what I mean and read a little more about the man, go to http://www.ellenshaw.com/ and you'll see exactly what I mean. I'm literally in awe of what he does.
What inspired me was his spirit and, a combination of talent and his style...and he lived a good,long life... as we all should. There are two volumes of his work, presently available and I own both of course. So, a time of silent rememberence for this man, from me.
posted by Bob Eggleton (Zillabob) | 12:21 AM
1 Comments:
You're absolutely right, his work is stunning!
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