Blog Fink

Creature from the Black Top Lagoon

2011-10-31T21:49:00.001-07:00

Last October, when I had settled in to Underworld I wanted to thank my host, Dave Schow with a little token of my appreciation.
Now, Dave is well known as one of the foremost experts of all things Creature of the Black Lagoon. And finding anything he doesn't have or that has not been drawn or painted for him by the best in the business is one tough task. Sorry, gang, I'm not competing with the likes of Bernie Wrightson or Drew Struzan.
But there was something I could do that no one in his collection of super talented friends could do. A Roth inspired Creature in a kick ass hot rod.
All I had to do was sit myself down, and the newly acquired drawing table here at Underworld, have a shot of Jack and wait for inspiration to hit. And man, did it.

The pencil sketch came to Strathmore like lightning.
I then went to work getting the creature mocked up in ink...
Then moved on to the details by adding the opaque white for the accents.

Then for some strange reason I moved on to the lettering. Something I always do last. But, hey, it was a fun font to do with the brush.
The rest for the details came right along after that.
And before you knew it, BANG!

Done.

Once it was dry, I took it upstairs, hoping all the while that Dave would dig it as much as I did. It was an instant hit as you can see. Whew!
This was sooo much fun for me to do that, I would like to do more crazy Roth inspired Universal Monsters. Ed was right about cars and Monsters, "Dig it, man, Like, they are made of each other." That Ed Roth was a very smart man. No trick here, gang, just a treat and a Happy Halloween from all of us here at Blog Fink. See ya soon.

More nonsense coming soon

2011-02-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Gang
It had been a crazy ride after arriving at Underworld here in the Hollywood hills last October. Two jobs at two different studios that failed after 90 days and then getting thrown in the deep end of the production pool at Nickelodeon. Not much time for bogging, but fear not, I have more nonsense to come once the dust settles next month. So hang in there and I look forward to sharing my past and present adventures with you all real soon.

Signed your pal, Mr Director.

Taming Underworld

2010-10-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

With the Rat Fink party out of the way, I was headed to Hollywood for a new job. I had spent years on friends' couches, floor and futons while working in animation business, but this time things would be different.
My old pal Dave was going to rent me a apartment under his house in the Hollywood hills called...." Underworld." [SFX- Thunder crack and big music sting.]
Dave has had a lot of animation migrant workers staying there throughout the years, and it was now my turn. Dave's house was built up in the Hollywoodland hills in the 1920s, and it came complete with a maid's quarters underneath the the house. This was to be my new digs during production.
As I walked to the door of Underworld I noticed that the boards could use a little work. Years of sun, rain and just use had begun to show.

Being one of the most gracious people on the planet,

Dave had set me up with some shelves, a microwave, fridge, futon cot,

and a few tables to work on.

I settled right in and started working out a plan. A plan to TAME UNDERWORLD! [SFX Thunder clap. Big music sting.]
After some careful analysis, I pitched Dave the idea of a remodel. I would pick at it from time to time on weekends. It would not cost him a cent, and it would help me pass the time away from the Redhead. "Sure, why the hell not? No one's ever really did anything down there but me, anyway."
So off I went.First order of business? Replace the timbers on the porch walkway.

This was a very easy task, being the the boards had gotten so rotten they came up by hand. I had no idea how close I came to ending up down the hill spiraling out on Beachwood Avenue.

The master support beams looked okay,

so we stripped what was there and laid 3 new planks for the boards to sit on.

Once set, Dave got his drill ready...

as I coated the new planks with Thompson's Water Seal...

and we proceeded to re-plank the deck.

And it went together really fast...

and all I had to do was to put water seal on the top half...

And it was good to go.

It even looked good from Overworld.

The next thing was to freshen up the metal railing and metal screen door.

They all looked tired as well.I got out the wire wheel and the drill, and scuffed and cleaned the metal...
then took my handy roller and some Rustoleum black enamel and painted it all up nice.

At this time, Home Depot was blowing out porch furniture, and I found two tall metal chairs that fit perfectly. They get you high enough over the rail to enjoy the view.
Solar porch lights were also on sale so I grabbed four, drilled out the railing plugs and dropped them in there. And, as you can see, it looks great.

Now it was time for... "TAMING INSIDE UNDERWORLD!" [SFX Lightning crack, Big music sting.]
Well, Dave had warned me that the carpet had a life of its own and had been a living entity since the 70's, so I went into the hydra's lair, armed with my trusty box cutter and nerves of steel.
Forty-five minutes later, it was vanquished and the floor was free to be scrubbed
and made ready for tile.

Underworld had leaked before in the past, and with that in mind we decided on tile.
Nice, low-dollar adhesive tile from Home Depot that, if wet, could be replaced cheaply.
So I moved everything out of the way and started laying down tile.

It was a lot of fun,

and the more I did,

the bigger the room looked.

I dropped in a few threshold strips...

and finished up the the last spot under the front window.

This was a great spot to put the dinner table and chairs I had driven down from Martinez. They had been in my Portland apartment.

With the floor in, I put in new light fixtures. The last ones had been globes mounted too low, causing Dave and me to bust more than one with our heads. Besides, it was time to replace the old fire hazards with some nice new grounded fixtures.

Pin-ups grace the bathroom now...

and there is even a little magazine holder for toilet and tub reading, if you are so inclined.

And with all that finished, Steve Boyett, Dave and I wrestled the fold-out couch that was part of my old Portland apartment. We went down the side and around the back of the house and into Underworld. That was a bear, but it looks great in here now. The table and the area rug, a Texas souvenir, also graced the Portland digs.

The drawing table was a Craig's List find one weekend.

The entertainment center was an in-store sale item, and is where all the food and dishes are stored. Miss Kerry sent down the cable box, and the TV was a Craig's Lister, too. And Lauren Bacall? Well, she just makes everything look good.

Well, as you can see, the dining area is great for using the laptop or having coffee and the paper on Sunday mornings.

The living room is perfect for watching TCM...

and blocking shots.

And you can't beat the new porch with a million-dollar view of the downtown.

But hey. What about that name? What's with the "Underworld" thing anyway? Well Dave's buddy Kaz stayed here for a few thousand years. During his stay, he was doing a comic strip called "Underworld," and, well, it stuck. Kaz painted it over the door of the apartment. Thus, "Underworld." [SFX- Lighting crack! Big music sting.]

As for your truly, it's been a blessing, this Underworld. The job I came out here for ended in two months, and the next one dissolved after about the same time. That's the animation industry.
But as fate would have it, I landed a nice directing job at Nickelodeon on the Fanboy and Chum Chum

and I now have a great place to hang my hat with the nicest landlord in the world.

Underworld, that is.

Rat Fink Party 2010 part 2

2010-09-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

Hey, Frank!

The Degrandises are here!

Now we can get started. And we sure did. Coop got his silk screen show up and running.

And wound up printing all the blank shirts there were in Manti.

Eventually he went into hiding, and Judith had to talk him out from under the flash heater.

After this, we all piled into the main hall for the Bobbo Dunn memorial.

Lots of great reminiscing, movies and speeches, followed by art presentations to Bobbo's daughter, who made the overnight drive just to be there.

And she seemed very happy with our outpouring of emotion and gifts after the loss of our old pal Bobbo.

Afterwards, it was a mad scramble to get all of our awards for the car show finished. Here I am putting the finishing touches on "Piggy Fink."

Corey was knocking out this Rat Fink "Hate Mail" mail box.

Jeffey was working on his stool sample,

and a "Finky Fresh" toilet seat.

Before you know it, it was car show and auction time, and the tables started filling up with quality painted goods.

More amazing work from all the painters at the show.

All flashing in the sun.

Now this was Corey's first Manti car show, and being the hot rod builder he is, he dug all the inventory on display:

Plenty of cool rides...

...from all over the place.

And more than enought rat rods to make me happy as well.

Here is the one I picked. Another fun father-son project that was way too much fun to look at.

While we set up for the awards and auction, Frank was busy making some green on the green.

And Wes was out displaying one of his airbrushed panels. Wow!

Chuckles was his old self at the mike, and it paid off, since he raised a ton of money in the auction.

Piggy Fink sold right away! No surprise there.

And Pal Gary cornered the market on Cooksey painted art

Here after the auction, Trixie did her best autorama pose between two amazing rods.

Once back to Fink Central, we all got back to work.

Cooper got out to whaling on this flat black delivery.

And knocked out a few fenders.

No, not guitars

--HARLEY fenders!

Always fun to do.

We had our last dinner break of the show, followed by homemade 'Fink Berries.

The last thing on the agenda was to paint the tail of the Cooksey mobile

We all took a crack at it.

And it came out great.

When it was all over and I was packed up and heading out, I was challenged to see how fast I could fink up a panel in Sharpie. Can you say one minute?

My last stop was my first stop. Back out to see Ed and cut up with the rest of the gang. Always the best part of the trip. Howling with laughter out there at midnight in the old Manti graveyard.

The next morning, I was out the door and off to California and the next Hollywood adventure. And what a crazy adventure it will turn out to be. I was going to ask Corey what he thought of his first Rat Fink Party before I left,but I guess this picture said it all.

As for me, the Rat Fink party 2010 was a bittersweet experence. After 10 years as art director of the Roth estate, I was relieved of duty. Nothing I did, really, Let's just say Trixie is downsizing. I'm still part of the family and will always make the trips out for the parties, but sadly, I feel like I have lost something Ed gave me in his passing.

The good thing is I still have Rat Fink to paint and play with, and that's something Ed gave me that is mine to enjoy and share whenever I please. Ed always told me I should always do my own stuff anyway, so I guess it's time to really kick "Monsters By Mitch" squarely in the ass now. Thanks, Ed, I guess I will.

2010 Rat Fink Party part 1

2010-08-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

Once again I was heading out to another Rat Fink Party at Ed and Trixie's place. To mark this momentious occation I painted and decaled my new laptop.

This trip, I was not to return home, but would head on to Hollywood to start a new gig. My first stop, however, was the Nugget in Sparks, NV, for an overnight stay and 380 bucks in slot machine winnings. Woo Hoo! With the trip NOW paid for, I was on my way the next day to the Temple View Lodge in Manti. And my bunk mate and old Finky pal from Grapevine, Texas, Corey "Fester" Cooksey was there, waiting for me with a bottle of Jack and his new,uh, unpainted ride.

We caught up and headed over to Trixie's and got the skinny on what was going to happen the next day and the days to follow. First off, The artist banquet.
This was a great time to visit with old fink friends, have a nice meal and be gifted with fink-filled goody bags by the hostess Ileen" Trixie" Roth.
It was a good meet and greet for Corey because only a few folk there have been pulled over by motors officer Cooksey on his beat in Irving, Texas.

From here we caravaned over to the cemetery to say hi to Ed, like always.

Some people just should not be allowed to to play unsupervised here in this somber location, but you can't stop us from horsing around when Me, Frank, Coop and Ed get together.
Back to the rat pad to get working on the many painting projects we had to get finished.
Corey got the Roth tour of the house and museum and I staked our claim to set up and start painting. By this time, Corey settled in, and like most first timers, felt like his brain was sanded smooth with all the Roth overload.
Both he and I got down to work on our artist awards for the car show in the park downtown that weekend. Corey got right to it.
While Ileen and I set out to add The Redhead's custom toilet seat to the Wall of Seats. That is, after she passed out all the candy.
This cool little number was done with Hawaiian stamping by The Redhead and is a true one of a kind.
As I walked around, I saw all the usial suspects

Shane was making a huge fink for the outside wall of the museum.
The Harmond clan was busy painting.

Wendal was making music on a guitar

and Wes was airbrushing.

There was lots of new styles to look at,

and a lot of new faces behind all that paint.

I was just happy to see everyone,

and see all the beautiful work that was showing up.
From airbrushed T shirts

to custom Christmas ornments.
I know we would be in for another great show.
But hey, where's Magoo!?

Why do I even ask? By this time, Corey and I had finished up our awards.
Your first painted piece at your first Rat Fink Party. How that feel, Mr. Cooksey?
That afternoon, there was a car show and shindig at the local sweet shop, so we all packed into Coop's van and headed over. But Rat Fink beat us to it.
There was all kinds of wonderfull rusty rides there, including this truck duo.
Check out the bench seat in the Kirkum family ride,
and you won't believe the collectible intake manifold in this sweet baby.
It was worth more than the truck, for sure.
Heck, it was worth more than all the trucks there. After a while, Cooper and I took off for an hour and a half ride to the closest In and Out Burger.

Stupid, I know, but it was a great time to catch up with each other, being that we get so busy at this thing. Next thing you know, we are cleaning up and saying goodbye. Oh yeah, And there's in And Out burgers too. So I will let Rat Fink sign off in his little bomb
and see you all shortly for the next installment of the "Rat Fink Party 2010"!

Orioles color classic

2010-05-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I have been the Baltimore Orioles mascot artist for 17 years now.

As a kid growing up in Florida in 1966, I imprinted on the team when they came to town during spring training. A good year to do so, because they went all the way that year. Anyway, one of the things I loved about my newly-adopted team was the logo that Stan Walsh did that year. It was my absolute pleasure to be drawing that same bird years later when I started with the Orioles.

From there we did the Fun Bird campaign that has been very well received, but I still enjoy drawing the Walsh bird when ever I get the chance to draw him. Enter Bird fan and O's die-hard Greg Hunter. Greg and I met while I was autographing and drawing at one of the many fan fests in Baltimore, and we got to talking about the Orioles' cartoon birds.

He saw I had some down time here recently, so he requested a few pen and ink drawings, but he also wanted a nice color piece of the Walsh bird for his very own. Luckily for him, I had some Camden green sheet tin in the shop, and started sketching it out...

With that done, I started with the white One Shot sign paint and a # 6 Luco lettering quill.

Then I threw together a custom blend of Orioles orange....

...and laid it down over the white.

It's now starting to come together.

Once that set up, on came the black.

I know you are supposed to work out from the black, but the black and the line work need to cover the base coat colors like this. That's a detail Bobbo brush that Bobbo gave me before he died. Great detail brush.

I trimmed up the black and the details here...

and added the white and orange accents.

And, man, did it come out great! I hope Stan is smiling about this somewhere, because I know I am.

Now it will sit in the garage with some fast company waiting to be shipped out.

Till then, I'm off to the ballpark!

Tales of the Pixar and Western

2010-04-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

While working at Pixar on Toy Story 2, I got the itch to do some model railroading. The only problem was that we had been on a crazy schedule 6 days a week for months, trying to get the movie out. But when I had the chance, I started the Pixar and Western,

...in my cubicle.

I thought there was plenty of room against the cube side and back wall. And it would be a dandy pike to play with, once I got a break for lunches and dinners, or just a break to unclench the old brain case.

I figured the logical thing was to do this as a free-standing modular layout. Just a little something to switch cars on. A mini time saver, if you will. I started with the bench work, and had it up in a day. Sunday, my day off.

Next was to put the decking in,

then a coat of paint to hide the wood.

After that came the cork and switches,

and the track and electrical bus lines for even power for the rails. The swithches are manual hand throws. Who need electric switch machines in a tiny yard ?

It was up and running for about a month, and as you can see from the old sketch, I had the decals and pike logo thought out.

I was just about to add the mini upper deck and scenery and start building structures when the producers came by and told me to take it down. "It looks like you're not working in here" was what they told me. Really? Even with all the hours we were pulling? Oh well, Producers.

Down it came in an evening, thanks to my bench work pre-planning. I gave the whole thing to my Pixar buddy Roman, and I believe he still has it after all this time. I understand that John Lassater has become quite the train nut nowadays.

And I bet you if John had seen the Pixar and Western back at the old studio, I would have had to make one in his office, too.

The Good Guys at Good Guys

2010-03-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

My first official act of being home after the Omation job finished was to hit the Paramount Theater Friday night for a showing of "Captain Blood,"

and then the next day join Phoenix for a pinstriping demo and sale at the Goodguys show.

It was a great day at the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

So good, in fact, I had to be dragged out of the swap meet and taken to the Hall of Commerce to sit myself down and paint.

Once there, I hooked up with the lady behind this little event, Phoenix. She was just laying down a nifty design on a root beer metalflake motorcycle helmet

I grabbed a panel that was striped that I brought to the show and started finking it up.

All the while, the guys were painting their brains out.

Lots of interest from a packed house as the guys continued to sling paint.

Rich luna brought some amazing panels to spruce up his table.

He's always a joy to watch work.

Eggie got way ahead of me on the fink thing.

And T-Bone was making up some damn nice panels for the public.

Real Ralph stopped by for some stimulating conversation...

...as I finished up the base coat on Finky.

My super-talented cartoonist buddy, Jeff Pidgeon, wanted to try his hand at One-Shot graphics, and this was the perfect time to unleash him on the sheet tin. He chose his "Happy Beaver " character and started to lay on the paint.

Phoenix was showing us all how to kill glare at an indoor show.

Ralph though this was a kick-ass idea.

By this time, Jeff was way on his way to a real happy beaver. No, I cant believe i just typed that either.

And Phoenix was out from under the table and ready to lay down some paint.

I finished up the Finky.

Jeff finished up Mr. Happy Beaver.

And before you knew it, they were closing the hall and sending us home. That was a great time and a welcome return to the Goodguys show. The next time Phoenix calls, I will be there.

You can bet your panel on that one.

His animated life

2010-02-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

I had no idea about this book coming out before i wrote the last post, So do yourself a favor and order yours today from blurg.com. More animated foolishness and fun from the past adventures of Floyd Norman, Disney legend and studio irritant. Also featuring Jack Kenny and Floydchester.

The Phantom strikes

2010-01-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

During my stay at Disney in 2000, something strange was going on.

I had just left Pixar after a four and a half year run and Steve Jobs and John Lassiter were trying to get me to come back. I was almost convinced this was true. Every day when I came in to work, they would leave me little notes like this:

I was touched by the outpouring of emotion.

And the sadness was just heartbreaking.

Then once I was ready to call Steve and John back, Disney security sent me this photo. Yes, folks, it was Floyd Norman, and once again, The Phantom strikes.

I had the pleasure of working with Floyd at Pixar on "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters Inc." Floyd is one of a kind. Disney's first black hire, a Disney legend and one of the best trench buddies you will ever have on any production. I should know because Mr. Norman and I pulled way too many late nights back at "the little studio that could" on Cutting Boulevard in Point Richmond.

We would seem to lapse into Benny and Rochester or the occasional Mantan-Charlie Chan routine, all the while scaring the PC-straights.

You couldn't help but laugh. We are funny guys.

Floyd told me a few very important things during our tenure together. One, it's all right to be white and like Mantan Moreland. The guy's a genius.

And two, "As you go through life, always remember: Rich people are funny."
He has made this way too clear in his "Faster! Cheaper!" books.

The three editions are full of sketches Floyd would leave all around the studio. A painfully funny look at living, dying and working in the animation industry.

If you have not seen these gems, pick one up. It's the God's honest truth about working in the animation business.

His website is a hoot too, full of pictures of him and his pals working at Disney in the '50s.

And the gag wall is just packed with cartoon goodness as well. No target is too big or too small when it comes to Mr. Norman, and if you're in charge of a studio, watch out!

I do love working with Mr. Fun, and I hope we get to do another project here very soon. But until then, I will keep a sharp eye out, because you never know when THE PHANTOM STRIKES!

Golden Oppotunity

2010-01-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

And now back to Blog Fink already in progress......

My last task during the end-of-the-year rush of 2009 was to do a little favor for The Redhead and her boss, Marc, at the Benicia Herald:

Freshen up the lettering in the window of their newspaper office. As you can see, the sign was a bit worn out.

And it was due for some much needed TLC. Also, I wanted to replace the gold paint with some fresh gold leaf to add a little pop to the thing.

So, the day before I had to go back down south, I grabbed my paint kit, brushes and The Redhead and headed off to Benicia. I was a bit worried getting started, because One, I had not done any gold leaf work since the 70's, and Two, I was using a new water base sizing that Coop had recommended.

Well, I hoped it would all be worth the $4 toll across the bridge.

Once I got there, the first thing to do was to clean the outside window and trace off the old letters.

With that done, the next job was to scrape off the old letters, clean the daylights out of the inside window, and apply the new sizing. This stuff goes on milky so you can paint it in the right place, and then it dries clear in about half an hour. Better than the old stuff that could take anywhere from 2 to 10 hours to dry. Who has that kind of time?

Once the sizing was dry, next came the nerve-wracking task of putting on the tissue-thin sheets of gold leaf. I forgot how damn delicate this stuff is.

Once the gold leaf had been applied to the sizing, I used an acid brush I had in my kit (Yeah, I forgot the cotton) to loosen up all the unattached gold.

It seemed to work out just fine.

With all that out of the way, it was time to get back to good old Mr. One Shot and run a black outline around the work.

This would pop it from the outside.

And, as always, The Redhead was helping right along the way. Here she seals the gold leaf with a coat of One Shot so it won't get scraped off later.

It was getting late as we finishing up, but it was looking tons better.

Once it was complete, I went outside and checked it all out before cleaning up the job site and heading next door to Aroma for a nice Indian meal.

The next morning, I was on my way back to Vista, but I wanted to check the sign in the daylight and make any changes I needed to do. As you all know, I never know when I'm going to be home from one week to the next. She looked great out there in the sunlight, and only required a few tweaks before I took off.

Mission accomplished.

Making Benica an nicer place to look at for 2010. Well, the Benicia Herald office window, anyway.

Blogus Interuptus

2009-12-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

November was a blur and December has gotten crazy. Trips, Birthdays, Movie and TV work. Life intervened. Next week i start the welcomed Christmas and new years break and will post a ton of back logged stuff. Till then enjoy the fire bowl and friends and the holidays.

See all you blog pals soon.

"Smitty"

2009-11-12T17:47:00.001-08:00

Here's another gem i story boarded on a few month ago for my buddy Dave mickey evans . Dave is cutting away on it right now and i wish him all the luck in the world.

Beach Party!

2009-11-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

No, Not that kind of beach party. The Elegy Beach party!

On a cold, foggy Nov. 3 night in San Diego, Steve Boyett had his opening day book signing at Mysterious Galaxy book store, and I wasn't going to miss it.

By the time John Field and I arrived, Steve was doing a Q&A.

Tom Morgan kept the Q&A rolling with some very good questions, followed by some very good rants and answers by Mr. Boyett.

In the crowd were some of my good friends and trench buddies from Omation . Tom,Woody,Hayley and Paul had braved the fog to wish Steve good luck and to get a few copies of his books signed.

Once Steve finished up with the general public signing,

the "O" crew got a chance to get their copies signed. Here Paul Claerhout steps up to the plate,

followed by Tom Morgan

and new convert Hayley Kohler.

We heckled, cut up and generally had a great time.The bookstore was a real treat, and Tom Moran signed a few copies of the Obama comic collection he had done.

Once everything was signed, we were off to Godfather's for a fine Italian meal and more silliness.

So remember, gang: Don't be a "Bonehead!"

Go get your copy today.You will be glad you did.

"Elegy Beach" in book stores now !

2009-11-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Steve's got his, and Igot mine. So get out there and get yours. You will be glad you did!

Original Newt

2009-10-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

During the premiere in Austin, Texas, of the "Tales of the Rat Fink" documentary a few years back, there was an after-party where all involved got to display their painted Rat Finks for the upcoming Rat Fink's Revenge book.

Upon arriving, I checked in on my little contribution. Rust Fink was happily rusting away on the far wall.

But that was not what caught my eye. Above all our crazy painted rats was something that made me stop dead in my tracks. Ed Newton originals from back in the day.

Needless to say, the rest of the night was me going into hyper-study mode. Ed is the look of the Roth World for me, and I had only that evening to soak up every brush stroke and chrome accent. Just look at this beautiful work.

Super Bee looked great. And even greater with all the detail.

Ed's hand lettering is just amazing, and you will NEVER make a font cooler.

The feeling of speed and power is unbelievable here.

Not only does the letting, VW bug and the monster design look great,

but the feeling of the back wheels pushing the design up off the front wheels is awesome. You can almost smell the rubber burning.

His monsters designs are wonderfully original,

and have been an inspiration for me since I could hold a pencil.

They have to be turned up so they're lost by the power of the cars.

There is so much wonderful control in his brush work

and for black and white art, his chrome is blinding.

When I started doing art for Ed Roth back in the day, he always reminded me to study how Newt used his opaque white.

To me, that's half the artwork right there.

Most, if not all, of this original art got auctioned off at the Peterson Museum a few years back, and I wish I had had the dough to pick up just one of the pieces seen here.

I would have dug that, but I did have the presence of mind to snap these pix for my Roth cartoon morgue.

One day, I hope to meet up with his Newtness and pick his brain about all he brought to the Roth designs. Like always, I'm sure I will learn more and more as I go. Once you stop learning, you're dead.

I hope all you budding monster shirt artists out there will study the above images. It will help you, I guarantee it. I know it helped me a ton. Ed Roth was right as always. Thank, Ed Newton!

Isn't "SHE" Lovely?

2009-10-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sept. 6, 2008's post featured some very sexy ladies.

And the hottest one of all was this lovely lass, She Fink.

I was banking on the success of the "Trixie Fink" design to launch "She Fink". Trixie was our first toe in the water in launching a set of ladies' designs for the Roth line.

Trixie was an instant hit with the ladies, and it was time to release my next hot rod hottie. I dug back into the file and found her. She was ready for her closeup, Mr. De-Mille.

I started with the pencil rough, working off the existing design,

and pieced together a nice Rat Rod for her.

I roughed in some lettering, and got busy with the brush and the ink. First I inked HER in. What a glamor puss.

From here, I just worked down to the roadster. . .

. . .trying to pop out as much detail as I could just with the brush.

Then I hit the hot rod, blocking in all the blacks. . .

. . . till it was looking fast and furious.

From here, I could drop in a font that fit the design.

I love this kind of monster font.

You can do it quick and do it all with the brush.

From there, I hit all the dark areas with the good old opaque white for contour and highlights,

then give "She Fink" a little a makeup job as well.

And just like that, she came roaring off the page and off to Ilene Roth for approval and printing. I hope this design makes it in time for the Moon Show at Irwindale this year.

Pucker up, all you lucky boys!

Thank You, Miss Lane

2009-10-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, my Redhead has a new job. She is doing what she does best, reporting. When I met her, she was working for the Orlando Sentinel so we would meet up, during our courting days, in between news stories. She had been a reporter all her life, and a damn good one too.

When I opened my animation studio in DeLand in the early 90's, she was not happy with how things in the paper game were going. So I hired he as my office manager. Smartest thing I ever did. But she still couldn't shake the newspaper game. Flash forward to last month and a job offer from the Benicia Herald.

She had gotten a tip from our pal Roger Colton on a job listing there. She applied, and had a good interview but, sadly, she did not get the gig. Then something happened, the job listing popped up again weeks later. She interviewed, and this time got the gig. Welcome back to the newspaper game!

And as you can see, "Donna Beth Weilenman" is now front page news.

And she's back doing what she was trained for.

And doing it well.

Now, to mark this wonderful occasion, I hatched up a plan with my roommate, John Field. Not only is John one of the foremost authorities of the "Adventures of Superman" TV show, he's close friends with one of the Redhead's inspirations, Noel Neill - TV's Lois Lane to you.

On my request, we had Noel sign up a picture to the Redhead, and I was going to have it sent anonymously to the paper. It got signed, all right, but wound up being hand-delivered by myself on my last trip home. Why? Well, the Redhead and her co-worker Bethany had been doing a little spring cleaning at the office in their section of the building, and the only thing missing on her desk was a picture. And here it is.

To say the least, the Redhead was stunned. What a great picture, and the signature said it all.

Now it sits with pride there in the news room. On the desk of the other redheaded reporter who will always do her best to get the story on deadline.

Just like her hero, Miss Lane.

My thanks to John, Larry and of course, Noel.

One quick trip

2009-09-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

If you remember a few posts back, I was part of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jam with Chris Allen for Stephan Reese at gogreenmachine.org. The only thing that needed to be done was to sign it.

Stephan's headquarters are in Pasadena, so I thought I could drive up, sign the art, and come right back. Yeah, right. One quick trip went the whole weekend. So Saturday I hooked up with Story Machine Woody Woodman and headed north. First stop? Mooneyes in Santa Fe Springs.

This was the spot we did many a Rat Fink Reunion while Ed Roth was alive, and it had been a while since I had dropped by.

Chico, the boss man, greeted me in the store, and we did a little catching up. Normally I see him at the Moon Christmas party, and it's just too crazy-nuts to try to talk with anyone, so it was nice to have time to visit a little bit.

I picked up a few Roth goodies that I was missing, and met Woody by the old Mooneyes dragster.

From there, it was off to North Hollywood for the best Philly cheese steak sandwich in the county.

And, yeah folks, I have had them in Philly, too, and this is STILL the best. We hit a few book stores after that. Like Aerobook and the Iliad.

The Iliad always has a great selection of movie production technical books, and I always hit it if I need anything. I scored a hard back copy of "The Total Filmmaker," by Jerry Lewis, to replace the one that went missing years and years ago. I have been asking them about a copy for years, and finally they found me one. Wow! Was I happy! This, and "The Film Director," by Richard Bare, were my first-ever film books in film school.

By this time, it was getting late. We need to hit the Doll Factory. My favorite Roller Derby gal "Tara Armov," was not playing for her group, the "Fight Crew." Instead, she was coaching for the Sirens.

I thought Woody would get a kick out of it, so off we went. We both had a blast watching the bout (Sorry, gang, no cameras aloud inside), and even more fun at the after-party.

Tara tagged Woody.

And we did our usual mugging for the camera.

And drank, and joked around,

and just kicked back and enjoyed the evening.

Needless to say, we all had a great time.
Now, wasn't there something I was supposed to do in Pasadena? I will stop at the Starbucks at the Burbank Airport Sunday morning and ask my buddy Steve Boyett what it is.

Well, Steve met us for coffee, signed a few book for my friends, and talked martial arts with Woody. Wait - martial arts . . . ninjas . . . Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! CRAP! We needed to get to Pasadena! I called Stephan, and next thing we knew, I'm doing exactly what I set out to do before this whole this started: Signing the artwork!

And sign it I did. There! It's now finished!

Then I got on the TMNT Adventures books.

I had a great time reminiscing about the good old days working on those crazy comic books.

And I got the chance to check out the the collection there at Gogreenmachine headquarters.

There was some very cool stuff I haven't seen in years.

I knocked out a very quick sketch for their fridge. Sharpie on printer paper - my favorite medium.

Woody and I had a great times with Heather and Stephan at Gogreenmachine. They're a couple of sweet kids.

Once I signed everything, and it all got put up, they treated me to a signed gogreenmachine tee shirt. . .

. . . and lunch at Islands Restaurant in town. We said our goodbyes, and hit the road after that.

One quick trip. Rrrrriiiiight.

Bike Fink!

2009-09-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

In 2002, I was working at Disney and staying at Steve Boyett's place. I needed a project to keep me busy while I was away from home. Enter the Fink Bike.

This was taken at the first day I rolled it out of the garage at Steve's and she saw daylight for the first time.

I picked up a beat-to-hell Coast King bike online for a song, and proceeded to whale on it. Stripping it down, sending it to the chromer, and prepping it so Jimmy C could squirt it with some House of Kolor purple I had lying around.
I picked up a flamed seat from the local bike shop up the street there in Burbank, and got a mirror from J.C Whitney.

Once it was back from Jimmy C's shop, I started to assemble the bike. The Mooneyes show was coming up, and Coop was in town. As you can see, he pulled some killer stripes and made a few additions.

The bike was a hit at the show and would go up on tour with the Lace Guitar Company to promote their then-new line of Rat Fink guitars.
That was after I got it away from Bio Bert.

She was a sweet ride, and I hope to build one for ME some time very soon.

Dana's Party

2009-08-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Our pal Dana passed away last month. Here he is, on the right, doing his best Oliver Hardy impression.

Like us, Dana loved the train thing. One of his favorite things to do was to visit us on the back porch for one of our rail fan barbecue parties: Some food, some friends and some trains that roll by like street cars. Roger Colton suggested we have a memorial get-together for Dana right there on the back porch. I thought it was a great idea. I found a cheap flight home, and got things ready. At 6 p.m. Saturday, everyone started to gather.

Since it was still hot by this time of day, everyone started down the hill, collecting under the oak tree's shade. Lots of cool breezes and conversation.

Once things cooled off a bit, the porch was back in business. And to my surprise, more folks continued to come.

The idea was for me just to get the grill hot, and let folks cook what they brought. This was a great idea, and there was a ton of extra food everyone could sample. Here Ed's cooking with fusies.

Before you knew it, the porch was full. People brought pictures of Dana and set up a mini-museum of memories.

Apparently, some people who came were folks who had not seen each other in years.

And I have no idea who was running the trains on the main line behind our house, because the crews had shown up, too.

Once it got dark enough, Dasha and Roger got the program started with a video presentation about our our pal Dana. It was all well received, and our little back yard theater became a full fledged drive-in.

After that, everyone visited, drank, snacked and swapped stories late into the night, all as the trains rolled by in the background.

Everyone had a great time, and as we all know, this sort of get-together is not for the dead but for the living. We will all miss Dana coming around the corner of the porch, big smile on his face, full of new railroad stories and laughs. I think we did him proud. I agree with one of the compliments I heard while the party was shutting down. It was "a party that Dana would have loved be part of." And hopefully he was.

Boy oh Boyett

2009-08-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

Listen up, gang! Something I have been wanting to see for a looooong time will be happening at book stores all over the place in two weeks. My Bestest friend and buddy pal Steve Boyett will be back in print.

"Ariel," his first novel from way back in the dark ages, is being reprinted and will be vying for space on bookshelves everywhere. Check it out here!
And if that wasn't enough, he will have another book, the long awaited sequel to "Ariel," titled "Elegy Beach," out the first week of November. WOW!

Steve and I have known each other for more than 20 years, and I have worked with him on a ton of projects in the past, from movies to comic books.

And even though he took time off to be a web-famous DJ with his Podrunner site.

I always wanted to see more of Mr. B in print. What can I say? I'm a fan too!

No one writes like Mr. Boyett. And let me tell ya, it's a pleasure to read as well. So order your copy today, or run, don't walk, down to your favorite book store and pick them both up. Oh and look for the cool pixs by yours truly on the dust jacket.

Double wow!

That's a hot one.

2009-07-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, it was so hot someone set the valley thermostat on "Cremation." Perfect time for a car show in Canoga Park, right?

I hooked up with the Roth clan there at Radioactive Bob's car show and swelterfest.

The last time I was at a show here, it was for my pal Moldy, and that one was a dehydrationfest as well. MAN! But there was some nice eye candy around.

Some wild customs....

Even wild from the back!

Some very cool lead sleds...

cool trucks...

and this one-to-one scale copy of a model kit I built back in the day.

The blistering heat didn't keep all the dignitaries away. George Barris stopped by for a visit with Ilene and give the place a little coolness.

But, sadly, by 1 p.m., Doug Dorr and I started melting and the paint stopped flowing. There just wasn't enough thinner in the world to keep the paint from locking up.

By 4 p.m., we all packed it in and headed out for a nice meal and several pitchers of water at the local Outback Steakhouse. After helping them break down the booth, I have got to say the Roth clan is made of stern Utah stuff! A trillion-degree car show and a nice 9 hour ride home. Wow. Oh yeah, and there was the Karma Box...

The brain-child of my pal Steve Boyett's friend Scott Kelly. They had painted up this big box and are taking it out to Burning Man for a social experiment. It's sort of an equipment penny jar. Take something out of the box you need and put in the box something you think someone else will need. Fun little experiment.

Only thing it needed after Steve's coat of paint was some nifty lettering.

So out in the heat I went and started whaling on this cool box.

With the letting done, it was time for some red to outline everything.

It popped the lettering just fine.

From here, it was starting to get really warm, and I had one chance to try to pull a few long lines before the paint started dragging.

It was a perfect mix, and I got a really good line using Coop's Ed "Big Daddy" Roth brush.

From here, I added just a few accents and put it out in the sun to really flash the paint.

I hope this thing works out well for the guys. It was fun to do, and I'm thinking it's a great idea.

Keep cool, gang. I understand the cows out on the 5 are giving powdered milk right now.

2009 Rat Fink Party Vol. 3

2009-07-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the showgrounds! Another perfect Manti day, full of hot rod goodness.

The first thing we did on arriving was to drop off our awards and pick up the artist award stickers to place on the windshields. This would let the owners know they have an artist choice award waiting.

And, man, was it hard to pick one this year. My first choice was this sweet little pick up.

What a great shifter, gang. Only problem was, it was already tagged by one of the artists already.

From there, I just got lost, looking at the show.

From pick ups...

...to roadsters...

...to show cars.

The inventory was amazing. Now, over in Gasser-land...

Jeffy had picked himself a winner.

This sweet ride was built from scratch, using photos and not plans.

And the bomber art on the cowl just set it off.

Only problem was, the guy had to register it for the show before Jeffy could award him. So off he went, and in no time he had himself a winner right off the trailer.
As for me, I checked on the Bubble Ray, and it was tagged.

So I just kept looking.

As always, the rusty eye candy was just great.

Just a tetanus shot waiting to happen....

I just love how these rat rods look.

I had more fun just looking around than I did doing anything else. And speaking of fun, It seems pin-up girls were popping out of trunks everywhere!

This little redhead almost got my artist choice award!

And then I found my show pick, off the beaten path on the other side of the showgrounds.

This hot little number had aero vibe in the build. And the thing that got me was the use of vintage airplane gauges in the dash and a real "STICK" for the stick shift. What a great idea! And she was a beauty to boot.

After I had placed my winner sticker on the windshield, I wanted to check out some of the smaller vehicles - the ones at the model car table. There was some nice rides there, too.

At this time, Frank was giving out the first "Scotty Award." Sad to say, we lost one of our show regulars when Frank's dog, Scotty, passed this year. Frank made a special award of excellence in his honor, and gave a very touching presentation.

Well, with awards given and the auction finished, we all headed to the other side of town to set up for the parade.

All the show cars lined up, and we proceeded to rumble in one long line down the Manti main drag.

I hopped on the back platform of Coop's van, snapped pictures and waved. What a great time.

After the parade and a chocolate shake, we all got back to work. Jeffy was dragging stripes on the neat little bike.

Cooper was flailing away on a tool box.

And I was painting helmets,

and hard hats,

and everything else.

The last thing we had to do was go visit Ed. We all piled into out cars and headed out for our usual visit to the man who made this all possible. And man! What a beautiful Manti night it was.

We found him, using our patterned Funk, Funk and Fink approach. Two head stones for the Funk family, and the next one is Ed. Thus, Funk Funk and well, you get the idea.

What followed was a fitting memorial, full of stories and a lot of laughter out there in the dark.

Well, there you have it, gang. Another great time at the Rat Fink Party.There was plenty more great things that went on, but you will have to make it out there next year, just to see it for yourselves. My thanks go out to Ilene Roth for having us again this year, and for putting on another great show. Oh and before I forget... Jeffy! Look where you sit next time!

The 2009 Rat Fink Party Vol. 2

2009-07-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

Saturday was the big work and show day, so we all met up at the shop and hit the ground running. I started work on this Harley's rear fender right away.

First, a little Stabilo pencil.

And just a little One Shot later...

It was shaping up in Finky fashion.
And everyone else was painting away as well.

Over in the corner, Jeffy was busy knocking out his Artist's Choice award.

And irony of ironies: Frank was striping the exact gurney that hauled him out of the show last year.

And no matter where you looked, paint was flowing.

And some nice work, too,

all done right there on request.

Someone asked Frank if he could make their computer faster. Well, it LOOKS faster.

I wrapped up the bike fender, and out the door it went. Another happy customer!

It was then I noticed the table of awards for the car show filling up. It was time for me to find something to whale on ASAP. And I found it.

It was a car I had brought years ago that never got painted. Whew! Lucky me.

And she came out just great.

Jeffy finished up his about that same time, and he looked very happy about it.

During all this, Coop and his flock of new students were knocking out T shirts by the dozen.

It almost turned into a new reality show. Or is it lack of reality?

After this, I checked in with Flash at the airbrush booth.
Last year at auction, we sold the airbrush shirt I had done right off the back of Chuck, our auctioneer. So I had to make a replacement and a new one for auction. The clock was ticking, and we had to get it over to the showgrounds right away. No pressure, gang!

Inside, the coolness was stacking up.

More and more beautiful pieces.

And you just can't beat pinstriped fruit. Heck, you should have see the worm!

The work was unbelievable as always. That's one nice folding chair!

And Coop brought one of his 30 gallon masterpieces.

Mr. Harmon also was knocking out one of his classic toilet seats.

Even Ed had some art on display!

This is some boss art he did on his trailer.

No one's better than the Roth-man himself!

Well, before you knew it, it was brushes down. And we all piled out of the shop and headed for the showgrounds.
It was award time! Time to check out the cool rods, listen to the music, and give out our awards for best of show.

So come along with us to our next installment. And I promise it won't take long!

The 2009 Rat Fink Party Vol. 1

2009-06-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

This year's Rat Fink Party started at In-and-Out Burger in Southern California. Since I didn't drive this year, and if I wanted to get a ride from the Salt Lake City airport to the party, I had to come with a offering to my ride...Coop.

The burger had to travel, so the folks at In-and-Out made me a little model kit that Cooper could put together once I got there, and as you can see, he tore into it.

He dug it because everything was wrapped and separated for final assembly. I was given instructions on how to put it all together to company specs. It was neatly put in a box, then bagged. Man, could Revell make a fortune off Coop selling kits like that.

Eat up, buddy, It's only 9 hours old!
So....a few hours, some missed exits, and a tank of gas later, I was deposited at the Temple View Lodge in Manti at 0-dark-thirty in the morning.

Since I have been working hours like that all month, getting up a few hours later was no problem. I got my fink together and walked the block or so to Ileen's.
The convention center was just getting warmed up.

More Roth goodness, no matter where you looked.

There had been more redecorating going on since last year's party.

And there was just coolness everywhere you looked.

And lots of Ed as well.

Coop had done a crazy Finky bean bag game.

And it looked cool. All with enough clear coat to make everyone a winner.

I stopped by the display of Ed's shop. It's one of the first things I do. I had a few nice visits there with Ed, back in the day.

And, of course, my favorite part is the crap-covered phone on the wall. It's just so..soooo ED.

and Trixie and Rat Fink greeted me as I walked into the store.

The inventory was ready for the weekend -

- shirts and goodies everywhere. A Roth collectors dream come true!

Outside, the usual gang of chuckleheads where setting up.

Next to the house, lunch was being prepared.

Well, I found Frank Magoo, so I guess the show can start now. Hi, Frank!

Coop was getting ready for his "How to Print Tee Shirts the Cooper Way" demo.

I found Flash at the airbrush easel,

and Wes was doing a great portrait of the Roths

Mr. Harmon was watching Frank #2 hit the pins.

And oh yeah, Wendall show up, too. well, some of him, anyway.

But something was missing. Well, not missing....in the house with Ilene. It was Jeffy!

Making a nice addition to Ilene's collection in the house gallery.

With most of the gang found, I set up my station in the painting pit and got busy.

From here as always, it was a crazy blur. More of that crazy blur next posting. Hang on to your Finks, folks.

Happy Birthday To My Redhead.

2009-06-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Once again we are apart on your special day, so here is wishing you all the love and happiness i could give if i was home. So from all our friends, family and all your many students, we wish you a very Happy Birthday. Oh yeah, And a scooter too.

Jammin' with Jimmy

2009-05-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

Stuck away from home on Memorial Day? Denied baseball, the usual backyard movie party with the gang, and noooo Redhead? Then it's time to go to Jimmy C's and finish up some side jobs.

First on the program was to get a TMNT jam piece done for the guys at gogreenmachine.org.

Chris Allen, who took over the Archie Series TMNT books after me, will be doing the other side. For my side, the request was for MAN-RAY. The last time I drew that guy was the first issue he appeared in. So I did a quick thumbnail, and crossed checked it with an image I found on the good old internet

With that done, I sketched it out on some nice cold press board. Chris is doing the coloring, and this board will take the colors just fine. It's amazing how FAST it all came back to me. During most of my time on the TMNT comics, I was working full time at Warners Animation, pencling the books on the weekends and doing the covers on my lunch breaks at work. A crazy schedule for sure, and that's why the books had that sort of loose, thumbnail storyboard feel.

Next, I grabbed my trusty Windsor & Newton Series 7 brush, and did a quick ink job. "Captain Marvel" artist C.C Beck taught me how to ink using this tool, and it has served me well over the years. I learned a ton about inking from one of the masters of comic book art when I was a kid. I was damn lucky, if you ask me.

And before you knew it, he was done. Big chunky lines for a really big chunky dude. I'm sure the pose is total Jack Kirby. During my early years in comics, I had the chance to talk to Jack at shows. He took me to lunch once, and he gave me some tips about bulk and dynamics. It never failed me. Thanks, Jack, and the grilled cheese sandwich was swell, too.

While I was catching up on projects, Jimmy was, too. The king of Kustom Art was busy working on a sign for Dena's shop.

Jimmy's work is the best I have ever seen, and hanging out at his place is like going to school again.

His work is always amazing, as you have seen on "Blog Fink" before.

Every time I looked up, he was at something new.

Here he's painting up some awesome shift knobs he cast for the gang at Mooneyes Japan. LIKE, WOW, MAN!!

The next thing on my agenda was to knock out a tin sign for a friend of mine. My old trench buddy from Pixar, Dave Fulp, wanted a one of a kind tin sign for his dad's shop back in Texas. So I got on it after the TMNT jam was done.

Once I got Finky done, I started on the lettering.

Not being a dope, I asked Jimmy for a refresher in lettering. Jimmy said, "Heck yeah, buddy! Stand back!!"

We blocked out the info and balanced the sign out. Then I got down to the nuts and bolts of lettering. With help from Jimmy, that is.

I'm never too proud to relearn something, and it always pays off.
The sign came out great, and I got some new tips on how to make my lettering better.

If i'm going to be away from The Redhead, I might as well make it worth while, right? Regardless, it was a productive weekend, and it's always fun when you get to hang with Jimmy at the shop of mirth. As for Dena's sign?

Like, wow, man.

Top of the world, Ma!

2009-05-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, Woody, Paul's here. Do you want to go up the hill for lunch?

The hill being the one behind Omation.

My old pal Paul Claerhout from DNA, now at "O," is part mountain goat, and he came across a little lunch spot on top of one of the ridges here in San Clemente. It looks easy enough..

...and then there's this grade thing...

...and once you get here, there is more of that grade thing. Jeez!

While making the final ascent, even the most chatty of groups stops talking and starts working up the trail...

...everybody but Woody. He could not resist the amazing cell phone reception up here. It must have sounded like an obscene phone call, what with all that heavy breathing going on.

Once you crest the hill, it's a nice, tree-lined walk to the table at the top of the world.

At this point, you regain your composure and can start talking again.

The views are wonderful, and the studio looks really small from up there.

After you claw your way up the hill, the picnic table looks really wonderful.

Lunch is always good outside if you live indoors and work at the computer for a living.

Here's the map if you ever get up this way. It's really a nice trail...on the way down, that is.

I will keep hauling myself up here with my bag lunch till the In and Out truck shows up at the studio again.

Happy nose bleed, everybody!

Where the hell have you been?

2009-05-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

A fair question that. I am down in San Clemente at Omation Studios. Not sure if you folks out there have noticed, but there hasn't been many animation jobs around. This one came up, and I took it.

The schedule is crazy, so I haven't had a moment to tend to "Blog Fink." And since I'm not home and I don't have a computer where I can use it when I do have a second to post....well, you get the idea.

Here is a quick overview of what's been happening for the past month away from the Wacom.

I got the chance to head to L.A. for another visit with my buddy-pal Steve. I took the Surfliner and had a wonderful ride. It's the only way to travel.

My objective was a night at the Doll Factory to see Tara Armov and the girls of the "Fight Crew,

and to hit the after-party.

Chris Sherrod joined us for drinks and a "Sharpie-off with Tara Armov."

She did her awesome roller-girl tats.

And I whaled out some classic Finks.

Busta and Chris also got Finked.

It was duel to the death, with the winner being Jack Daniels.

Just another fun night with my Fave-O-rite roller girl.

On my return to work, I found something that would make my day - and ruin Coop's.

Is that the In-and-Out truck in my little parking lot?

It is, Coop. It is!

The burgers were free, and the phone call to Coop went okay...

...till I told him they were free. That did it. "@#$%^&&*!!" said Mr Coop.

Well, before you knew it, I was on my way home for the A's home opener.

The Redhead was starting her eye surgery treatments and could not meet me for the game, so Roger Colton filled in.

I sure missed baseball, and it was great to be back in the Coliseum once again.

Maybe one day I can work in the Bay Area, live in the house with my wife, and enjoy a full season of A's baseball again.

Well, before you knew it, I was on the plane Sunday and back at Omation Monday morning to receive my new toy, "Story Machine" Woody Woodman!

Woody and I had been a team at Laika before the layoff last year, and now we set our sights on our new production here at O. Are they in for a surprise!

Anyway, I will try to get this blog kick-started again. Life very interesting and crazy right now, so hang in there and keep checking back.

Blog Fink Re-Runs Vol 2

2009-04-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Jack Benny's American Idol from January 29th 2007

It's true, I love Jack Benny! If American Idol was like this i would almost think about watching it.

And Now "Blog Fink Reruns"

2009-04-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

I am out of town this month so it's time for some greatest hits from Blog Fink's video past. Updates on the way in a week. So while you wait, enjoy a Buster Keaton music video.

A classic clip from his work at Columbia.

Drive-by

2009-03-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

My friend Craig Good sent me this e-mail:

So I'm in the Big O Tire shop having them extract a nail from a tire
(which fortunately was too short to puncture it) and was thumbing
through the latest "Drive" magazine. There's an article on the Big Daddy
Roth stuff at Harrah's. Then I see a picture of a trike and think, gee,
that looks familiar; I wonder if Kenny...

And then I see the caption.

Neat!

It's been a while since i saw my name it print in DRIVE magazine. Ed Roth use to write columns for the magazine, and thanks to the editor at the time and now Florida resident, Scott Ross, I would get a mention or two, or Ed and I would do up a cover.

Well, this email came as a big suprise.
A nice three-page article with lots of photos of the Roth Exibit up at the National Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada.

Ed told me to donate the trike to that museum once I was done showing it. His wish was that it would sit with the rest of his crazy cool creations at the National.

The day we got back from Ed's funeral, I called Executive Director Jackie Frady at the National and donated it.

I'm really proud to have people see how it came out, and very happy it was approved by the man himself. Once thing calm down around here, I will break open the builder's book and take you all through the restoring of "Roth's High Flyer." I think you will dig the ride.

She sure came a long way.

Three favorites

2009-03-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I joined a huge turnout of railroad crazies who attended yet another "Winterail" show in fabulous Stockton, California.

This was another weekend of train porn, with its dealers' room and slide and film presentations. I have blogged the details of what the show is all about in a previous post. It's just trains - trains all day long. Before the dinner break, there is a program called "Three Favorites." For this program, you get to pick three favorite images from your photo files. These are projected on the big screen, and you (and the rest of the train photographers) get the chance to be part of the show. Once again, here are my entry's for this year:

Atlanta and West Point 290

The NASA Railroad over the Banana River

and 656 getting cleaned out in the back of the FEC New Smyrna Beach shops.

I love the lunch bag tossed out of the cab there on the ground.

The presentations are super-slick, well-researched and a joy to watch. It was great to be included in the company of such talented camera folk and learned railfans. If you get the chance to make it out for Winterail next year, do so. You will have a great time, and if you bring your three favorites, you can be part of the show, too!

http://www.winterail.com

Canned Fink

2009-03-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

In an effort to move some inventory out of the old garage, I decided to paint up this sweet baby.

I sketched out his Finky face in Stabilo pencil.

I mixed up a mess of One Shot,

and began blocking in his colors. The blue candy metal flake was crying out for a Rat Fink in his original dead grey hue.

I kept adding layer upon layer of Finky makeup to his grotesque features.

While waiting for the paint to flash a bit, I sketched out Ed's logo on the top of the can and lay down some silver to pop it.

With that done, I started the line work on Finky.

BAM! Instant Fink: Just add line-work.

I did a quick, freeform flame pattern, and proceeded to lightly sponge in the flame tips like Ed and I would do at shows when you had no spray gun around.

From there, I went after the flames with my Bobbo brush. Very loose with a thin-thick line.

I then knocked out Ed's Logo in silver and red. Ya got to pay tribute. And the flies. You can't forget the flies!

With the flies buzzing around, I took on the bottom with my trusty Mack 12 and knocked out his Finky name...

and some highlights...

all with the same brush. I Looooove my #12 Mack.

Oh, and yes, more flies, please.

I accented the Roth Tribute decal with a few well-placed pinstripes with my "Ed Roth" brush that Coop sells.

And as you can see, it all came together just great. So at "brushes down." I posted it up on eBay to see what happens.

I RARELY have any time for this sort of thing nowadays, and the last can I did that was not done at a charity show was like 5 years ago. If you would like to add this to your garage or living room, just check out the link to the eBay auction, and best of luck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280321069983&category=156997&_trksid=p3907.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D15%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54

At this posting, I am having a hard time not keeping it for myself. Can you blame me?

Organ Transplant

2009-03-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

One of the joys of living in the East Bay is a night out at the Paramount Theater.

For only $5, you get to see a news reel, cartoon, vintage trailers, Deco-Spin-and-Win and a classic feature film.

Not only is the show worth the trip, the theater is a show place. It's jaw-dropping from the moment you walk in the lobby.

Here is the first thing you see. Just stunning.

And as you work your way in and find a seat, there are dozens and dozens of eye-popping things to look at. But, sadly, one is moving away.

For 20 years, Mr. Jim Riggs has played that wonderful 80-year-old Wurlitzer theatrical organ. This, to me, is half the reason to come to the show.

Whether sinking into the stage while blasting the Paramount news reel theme to start off the show, or musically heckling the Deco- Spin-and-Win folks, Jim's work has been a joy to hear.

His treatment of classic silent movie music is just amazing. You have never heard better in the modern era. And his versatility is just astounding.

Jim is moving soon to Kansas, where he'll get to play some great Wurlitzers. I will miss him, with his back to us all, playing along with the movie credits or just making the theater's happy hour the best piano bar on the planet.

Jim said he will be back from time to time to play special dates and to see his daughters, who live here in the Bay Area. I suppose in his absence, I will have to listen to him on the old iPod and clap along as he and the "Mighty Wurlitzer" sink into my memory of his happily playing away.

Enjoy your new life in Kansas, Jim, and thanks for all the years of the great music.

Buster Keaton will never ever sound the same again.

http://www.paramounttheatre.com/

Speedweeks Sojourn

2009-03-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

Since last I posted, The Redhead and I ran away to Daytona Beach for Speedweeks.

I had found out I had a free flight coming on American Airlines, and it was time to cash in. I arrived a day before she did, so I had some time to check in on the DeLand Depot

In 1988, I was part of her first overhaul, and I had heard she'd gotten another one.

Even in the dark, she looked great.

The station agent gave me a quick tour before the northbound showed up.

It was a classy job...

right down to the freight room that had been heavily damaged by a fire started by transients before the our rebuild in '88. Wow.

Once The Redhead showed up, she was off to hula dance at Disney, and I had her drop me off at one of my old tracks, New Smyrna Speedway.

The Florida Modifieds division was wrapping up its last night of racing, and I wasn't going to miss my old class run.

The first race I ever entered was here at NSB.

I really loved the old high banks at this track.

The northern modified division was in town that night along with the Florida modifieds.

The track gave everyone a chance to come down and meet the drivers and take pictures, and, yes, I sure did.

I settled in and waited for the feature. Then I remembered my little camera had a recorder in it. So here is a clip from the race.

The Florida modifieds really put on a good show here. And I really miss running on this track in that division,
So after it was all over, I hit the pits to say hi and to find my old pit stall.

And there it was, with someone in it.

I had a great night, and as I told The Redhead, if we went home tomorrow and I had not seen anything else, that would be just fine.
My favorite view of the whole trip - out of turn four and heading for the flag stand. I used to love seeing this view from the cockpit of the old #55.

There were plenty of side trips. I hit downtown DeLand...

and checked out the Athens Theatre and my old studio office, and made a quick trip to Bellini's to see my buddy Scott.

He still makes the best open-face hot pastrami sandwich on the planet. Plus, he was one of the sponsors of my race team back in the day.

Around the block, my good friend Cliff at Cliff's Books was happy to see Mike Kazaleh's new comic show up. And, frankly, so was I.

We also got scolded for being away for so long. "Ya need to come back more often, ya bum!" Yes, Dad.

I stopped at our all time fav-o-rite barbecue place, "King's Taste" in Eustis for some killer yellow mustard ribs. Once you have them, you will know why they snuck them on the Space Shuttle. I would bring them to Cale Yarborough's trailer at the track, and one year Derrike Cope qualified for the 500 just to get some. True story.

I ran a rack of ribs to my folks' place in Oklawaha, and you would think I brought them a bar of gold. And for all of you who asked, as you can see, they're doing just fine.

The night before the big race, I took The Redhead to Volusia County Speedway for a night of dirt track racing.

This was my other week-to-week track, and when I raced there, it was paved.

Now that it's dirt again, I can see why everyone said that this was what the track was meant for. The cars tore around it with no problem. On seeing that, it all made sense to me.

I don't think The Redhead knew what she was in for. She got covered in dirt and dust, and that never happened when we ran here. She would stand on the truck bed with her stop watch, writing down my lap times and yelling at me to go faster.

Well, there were fireworks at the start of the race. And I had stupidly forgotten my camera.

We had a good time seeing the old place, and if you're going to see only one dirt race, I would see it here. And I guess she did.

Next morning, we headed for Daytona International Speedway. Thanks to the folks at the Speedway, we had park-and-ride tickets, and we got there in no time. We had tons of time to look around and spend time at what my pal Corey calls our new camp site.

I just wanted the bike, that's all. I wonder if it runs on "single barrel"?

It was nice to have all that time to look around and see things. Well, before you knew it, they were coming down pit road.

And the green droped, starting another season of racing I've been waiting for.

Most of you saw the race, so I won't bore you with the details. But with 50 laps to go, the skies opened up.

There was no way for the race to continue - the rain just kept coming till the wee hours.

But we had a great time, and The Redhead was able to rinse off all that dirt from the night before.

Before we left our Florida property, we had a day to explore around the old place.

A walk down the hill to the main line...

...and the wildlife refuge next door. This is our property line back in Florida.

Nice huh?
Well we then buttoned up the cabin and headed back to California.
The Redhead and I are still looking for work, and this whole little trip took the edge off. We are rested, ready and looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead. The good omen came when I was making my connection at DFW and found that there was a Cousins Barbecue place right by my gate.

This was our fav-o-rite place for barbecue when we lived in Keller, Texas. A harbinger of good things to come. Like a good dinner!

"Autorama Fink" Part 2

2009-02-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Time for more cars and painting stars for the Sacramento Autorama!

Along with the amazing painting going on at our hall, there was some pretty amazing paint going on with the cars this year, as you can see.

I'm a huge fan of scalloping, and I love the blue scallops on this baby.

Here's a great old-school truck that's a gas.

Check out the '50's show interior treatment.

There were tricked-out bikes,

quarter midgets,

and a very cool old stock car.

In one of the halls, they were celebrating the Merc.

A rather flat Sam Barris, king of the customizers, stopped in for a photo shoot. The man did great work.

I really dug this old barn-find Merc, too.

I found another old truck like mine. I hope she looks that good some day soon.

This Foose-built ride sounds as good as it looks.

The dash is all speakers. Best sounding ride I ever sat in.

No matter where you looked, there was cool iron everywhere.

And some great glass, too. Check out this tricked-out buggy.

Complete with killer stripes!

And speaking of that, back at our hall, the painters were whaling away on some more greatness for the auction.

The Redhead had started another panel,

and I was painting up a green 30-gallon can.

The loudest can in the whole place.

Once done, I just passed it down to our gang of East Bay stripers.

Everyone got some licks in.

And it got cooler with every painter.

And speaking of cool, check out all the goods here. Nice panels...

bowling pins...

super graphics...

surf boards...

and even a few oddball items like this.

The great work was piling up everywhere you looked.

And the work just got better and better.

Eggie knocked my eyes out with this weirdie.

This guy has it down in spades. Like wow, man.

I had the last panel to do, and proceed to fink it up.

The Redhead was finishing up her panel, and next to me,
Mr. Wim was busy putting his signature self on the 30 gallon can.

Look, Ma, gold leaf!

So at "pencil (or brushes) down," The Redhead had finished up.

Mr. Wim was comparing mugs.

And I was finked to the max.

Before you knew it, Artie was kicking off the auction, and the stuff was flying off the stage.

And the can? Well...

it went to this unstoppable father-daughter team. Thanks, you two!

And The Redhead's panel went to my old home town of West Palm Beach, Florida.

We raised a ton of money for the UC Davis Children's Hospital, and also raised a lot of hell, too.

And my prize for the show? I got The Redhead's first panel she ever did at a show from the auction. It will now sit in a place of honor here in the garage.

Thanks go to my pal East Coast Artie for putting on such a great show and to all my striper friends, old and new. Well done, gang! We raised more than $21,000 in 3 days in a sour economy for the kids at UC Davis Hospital. MAZOOMA!

"Autorama Fink" Part 1

2009-02-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hi, Gang, Here we are at the Artie party! This time, it was at the Sacramento Autorama.

Stripers from all over came to give of their brushes for The UC Davis Children's Hospital.

Once we got there, the party was in full swing.

The Redhead and I set up and got busy to make the first auction of the day.

Artie threw me a green metal-flake toilet seat to get whaling on.

And The Redhead started on her panel as well.

Kustom Shop supplied their awesome paint, and that just made it easy.

I continued on with the outline

and then all the details.

The Redhead finished up with the pony panel

and before you know it, we were done. You would never think she had really never done a panel jam before.

And as for me, the seat went up wet and brought more than three hundred bucks for the kids.

And that was just the start. More fun and foolishness from the show next post. Here's the lovely and talented Phoenix with The Redhead. Go Redhead Nation!

And, no, Phoenix, I'm not staring at your, uh.. well I guess I am now.

Well, more cars and crazy painters next posting.

The work train goes south.

2009-02-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

Back down to L.A. on Train 716, the southbound "San Joaquin" today for more job interviews.

Once back, The Redhead and I head to the Sacramento Autorama to another charity pinstriping event this weekend.

What a line up!

2009-02-02T22:18:00.000-08:00

Taken at one of the many Rat Fink Reunions at Mooneyes in the '90's.

From left to right are Greg "Coop" Cooper, Ileen "Trixie" Roth, Roger "The Cruse Director" Colton, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Ken "Mitch" Mitchroney, Roman "Where's my sandblaster?" Figun and Steve "DJ Steveboy" Boyett. This was at the close of yet another out of control reunion, and it let me know how much I miss Ed and all the crazy fun and nonsense we use to have at the shows.

Hey, at least they didn't call out the SWAT team that year!

Elder Roth

2009-02-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

I had to finish up a few Finks this weekend. I gave the Mormon Quad a little class by adding a little Fink to it for my friend Dasha.

This was the second Quad I had done, and I'm sure Elder Roth would have approved. If not, I will be hit by a bus here today.

The second Fink of the day was a light switch cover my buddy Coop made and gave me. I had a gaping hole where my studio light switch had been.

Now Rat Fink can shed light on any situation here in my studio.

And while I was out...

2009-01-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

The ladies of Ka Hale Hula, the Redhead's halau that meets at our house, entertained at Further Confusion 2009 in San Jose. They presented a 30-minute hula program that took the con-goers on a musical tour of Hawai`i, beginning with chants and concluding with an audience participation number that packed the stage. I'm crazy-proud of all these ladies and my redhead. It sounds like they did a heck of a job while I was out looking for work down south.

You go, girls!

L.A. Story

2009-01-28T20:18:00.001-08:00

I split for L.A. last week to drop off portfolios and talk to studio folk about upcoming gigs I could work on.
I drove down in the trusty old Hondoo and stayed at Boyett's Parrot Jungle in North Hollywood. Steve, Maureen, Murdock and Alexander put up with me for the week as I continued looking for a nice picture to work on.
It wound up being seven studios in five days, plus I mailed out three other portfolios for out of town gigs. As of this post, it's still STUDIOS-12, KEN-0, but it's still early in the game.
Mr. Boyett's new book comes out in November, and he needed a nice picture of himself for the dust jacket. Guess who got the gig. I was originally going to meet Coop and the gang at the car show in Pomona, but this was an honor. So off we went to Point Doom and a nice gloomy Southern California day. All I had was my beat-to-crap Cool Pix camera, but I can flat turn AP quality shots out of just about anything. It was a fun shoot, and we got a few gems along the way.
It was a perfect day for a nice, somber picture.

Plenty of opportunity for mood....

Plenty of opportunity for fun, too.

Basically, I just followed him around and shot.

We finally nailed this one.

After the shoot, we headed off to the Doll Factory to see my other favorite redhead, Tara Armov.

Another great evening of girl busting action was going on.

As always, the girls put on a great show.

And for once, the Tara didn't get thrown out. Broadzilla did! Yikes.

After the match, we loaded up on Tara's new shirts

And as you can see, they are very awesome.

And we headed for the after party with the girls.

Lots of Jack was had, and we even drew on a few folks. Nice.

I try to build in a little play-time during the trips down south. I got the chance to visit Simon Wells on the set of his new picture, "Mars Needs Moms,"
and went to the Dome with Steve for a screening of "Grand Torino."

I hit the Autobooks shop on Olive. They always clean out my wallet.

And I hit Johnny's for a sandwich.

Stopped in at Imagi and saw my old Dreamworks trench buddy and blogger pal Bob Logan. Visited John Field for a quick evening of San Diego seafood and old movies, then dropped by to see old friends at Omation and drop off yet another portfolio.

It was so good to see my old pals from the DNA days. Glad they're all working and doing well. They are all damn talented people.
Even ran by Jimmy C's shop to say hi.

And this just in--

Ugly is now in.
On my way out of town, I had lunch with my finky pal Jeff Degrandis at the Smoke House across from the Warner lot. Sandra joined us, bike and all.

Next thing I knew I'm out of portfolios and heading over the Grapevine on my way home.

But not without a stop at the In and Out in Kettleman City for a quick burger and a poke the bulldog call to Coop, who had just gotten back to Ohio.

Oooooh the language on the other end of the phone..
Anyway, now I just make a few follow-up calls and see who wins the Kenny Lottery. Who will be our lucky winner? Stay tuned and find out. Till then, I'm taking a break from all the job hunting, and me and a bottle of Jack are heading for the garage.

So long Ricardo

2009-01-15T23:53:00.000-08:00

And thanks for putting up with us.