Channel Frederator Blog

Miles Thompson is a Frederator Alum who made a successful jump from the Animation Industry into the world of Art. In between freelancing and painting like a madman, he took the time to give us a few A’s to a few CH.FRED Q’s.
Click HERE, to view Pt.1!

CH.F: Working on anything currently in the animation industry?
MT: Nothing really - I am freelancing some BGs and color designs for the first time in over a year.

I’d do a short, but I’d have to have a development deal on the table first - none of this “do the board on spec” stuff - say you do a pitch board for a studio - you pitch and the reaction is luke (no matter HOW good you are, they gotta cut you down to prime the potential deal) - you revise it - reaction is luke again and suggestions are made to “help” the cartoon get made - all of a sudden you are Mexico and the studio is the US, which means the cartoon can only be California.

“Joaquin 1″- oil and mixed media on panel 8 3/4X 11
3/4″ (work in progress)

I’d love to be attached to a series someone else creates, and I know of a few people who are pitching that want me in if their thing flies into production…so I am waiting while someone else buddies up to an exec or writer.

What other projects are you working on currently?
I have a one man show @ La Luz de Jesus in Sept 07 and I’ve designed it as a mini graphic narrative - hoping for my first literary publication titled “Pasadena Rosa” - it’s about the human history behind the propaganda that lead the US to forcibly relieve Mexico of the agricultural “goldmine” which is now the state of California as well as the bloody and profitable murder of the Native American culture - lots of reading involved and I’m loving the learning aspect both artistically and factually - so much beautiful ephemera related to manifest destiny and it has all certainly served it’s purpose.

Stinky Pooch - potential series - adult humor

Early Stinky Pooch Character Design

I have an idea for a series of 3 children’s books related to child rearing. Another potential series of books for children that has a great premise for little girls.

Last year, I came face to face with potential cancer - that’s when I decided that all ideas are worth pursuing and that I needed to get literary in order to secure some back end residuals in accordance with anything considered intellectual property - as much as I have done, I haven’t ever had that written into a contract - no more agents and no more bro deals on paintings either - nobody negotiating for me - the way I see it, once I’m offered a fair and honest opportunity ALL of the above will come to pass - just a matter of when, not if - like prostate cancer for 7 of 10 men - have you been checked?

I’m an avid reader of Juxtapoz, and have seen your work grace their pages every so often. How has the art world been treating you as opposed to the Animation world? Which do you prefer?
First, let me say that the animation world doesn’t treat me any way at all, because I left it behind years ago - cartoonists are prone to sabotage one and all.

There are so many differences and similarities in the 2 – I like/love/hate them both, and they are both as small as can be - everyone knows everyone - the art world is rougher around the edges and so I prefer painting - reason being, I don’t have to answer to anyone - no design by committee aspect at all - no BS&P or studio exec/producer that has to be convinced something is unilaterally “funny” or “good” or that he/she came up with the plot point or gag that’ll MAKE this cartoon fly before something gets made or considered for the production pipeline - paintings just happen, and that’s a great feeling - in animation there are egos just like in the art world, and in that regard they are similar, but when I wake up in the morning, I just walk down stairs and get to it - no meetings - at least not until an opening night party - I’m laying off of group shows because there is an aspect of guilt by association there. Though, if I was approached by a decent venue, my hat’d be in the ring ASAP!

The freedom inherent in being a soloist suits me just fine and the art world has been receiving me openly. What’s best is, I am finally being invited to show where I have wanted to for a long time - this is not to say that if I told the curator I was going to macramé a bunch of doilies on opening night and make mac and cheese to serve on top of them for the attendees instead of exhibiting paintings it’d fly - they want to know what kind of stuff you plan on showing but they don’t lock a helmet cam to your head until opening night and add a shock response device to your brushes to hit in case you mess up.

“Father Flower Child” oil on panel 6X6.5″ (work in progress)

Where have you shown your art?
Several unnamed locations - years ago before he was HUGE, Tim B and I shared canvases next to the Clayton Bros (who I love), we exhibited in some building on Santa Monica at Fairfax - or was it SM and La Brea? – fun. Dion Gallery- (my first one man at a frame store in Redondo Beach, where I gleaned 30% of the sales made - RIP OFF!),Burning Brush Auctions, Forbidden Gallery- Dallas TX, a one man show followed by a 2 man show with Bill Wray. Tin Man Alley (known now as Jonathan Levine Gallery but he wouldn’t exhibit me after he moved back into NY – whatever.) Roq La Rue, DC Gallery, Copro Nason Gallery, Mmodern Gallery, La Luz de Jesus, The Shooting Gallery, The Tiki Ti has several originals hanging for sale.

Bill Hanna at his birthday in 1994, Andy Bialk on the left and myself trying to mug and respect the elderly at the same time.

Who are some of your influences in both painting and animation?
I always liked the development artists in animation - Ward Kimball, Albert Hurter, Mary Blair, Vip Partch, Ed B, Tom Oreb, Marc Davis, Doug Wilde, too many to name really - John K, Bob C, Jay Ward, Tex Avery, Jules Engel- I don’t much care for animation being made today unless it’s aimed towards preschool/education - Noggin rules! I love Oswald.

In art - I’ve loved Rick Griffin for as long as I can remember, Bill Wray, Glenn Barr, Joe Sorren, Jeff Soto, Miguel Covarrubias, Diego Velasquez, Dali, DaVinci, Dave Cooper, Jason D’Aquino, Jonathan Weiner, Donovan Crosby, Kevin Llewellyn, Shawn Barber, John Singer Sargent - tomorrow I’ll know 5 more names I didn’t today.

There is a whole new school of contemporary realists that are being born out of Art Center that were under the influence of a teacher (no longer teaching) named Michael Hussar - his work is unfathomably unique. Sean Cheetham has more character than the Planter’s Peanut Man, Flash Gordon and the king of pop Michael Jackson put together. He was at my house drawing nudes with a bunch of others just last night - SO fun - this bunch of artists is just uncompromising when it comes to the singular expression of beauty - seeing work like that makes you realize what one pair of hands is capable of. These people are newschool rockers that play like Kurt Cobain did, but they’ll ONLY play acoustic shows as LOUD as can possibly be played by a human! Just committed like nobody’s business to analog materials and what can be physically manipulated by human hands - not a part of the digital revolution - traditional love given to labor forever if that is what it takes. Paint is dirt or rock mixed with oil and they know how to fashion imagery out of this conglomerate so that it just screams like a dead heroin addict and they use hairs fastened to sticks to do it.

The truth is, I find something new to love EVERY DAY!

To be Continued! Stay tuned for Part 3.
If you absolutely need More Miles T., check out his Blog, Koo-che-koo!
-JX!

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