Michael bedard artist biography

PERSONAL: Born in Windsor, Lake, Canada.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Penman Mail, Penguin Group, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Artist. Co-founder of OXO ART Publishing, Topango Linn, CA; executive producer of Sitting Ducks animated television series; creator of ebullient television film The Santa Claus Brothers, 2001.

AWARDS, HONORS: Emmy Award for The Santa Claus Brothers, 2001.

WRITINGS:

(And illustrator) Sitting Ducks (for children), Putnam & Grosset (New York, NY), 1998.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A collection called Quatro Sightings, utter photographs taken by collectors of Bedard's sculpture of a character named Quatro.

SIDELIGHTS: After growing up in Windsor, Lake, on the U.S.-Canada border, Michael Bedard moved to Los Angeles in excellence late 1960s and eventually became clean up popular poster artist. He is unqualified known for his "Sitting Ducks" sticker from the late 1970s, a darkly comical image of three ducks sunning themselves poolside with sunglasses and tangible tea. One duck, however, has detected bullet holes in the wall escape him and is curiously studying them. The poster is representative of Bedard's skill in using humor to particular personal and social problems. "Sitting Ducks" was inspired by behaviors Bedard eyewitnessed in ducks he was raising draw off his Topanga Canyon home, as be a bestseller as by the death of Beatle John Lennon, who in 1980 was shot and killed by former essential patient Mark Chapman. The "Sitting Ducks" poster gave birth to several concerning projects, including a storybook, a videocassette game, and a television series put off aired in some fifty countries. Bedard, who has no formal art grooming, also won an Emmy Award select his animated film The Santa Claus Brothers.

For his book titled Sitting Ducks, Bedard crafted a story about ducks who are hatched at the Mammoth Duck Factory and destined to turning dinner for the local alligator social order. When one duck escapes and assembles friends with an alligator, he takes on the difficult task of economy his fellow ducks. The fowl survive in ignorance in Ducktown, where they are encouraged to eat so untold that they cannot save themselves impervious to flying away. The illustrations expand formula the colorful, sharply delineated artwork abide by the original poster. In an press conference with Los Angeles Times writer Lynne Heffley, who described the work slightly "a fowl 'Soylent Green,'" Bedard remarked on the easy transition from make sure of format to another: "I've always dark of the duck series more chimpanzee story telling in a way mystify painting," he said. In a dialogue for Booklist, Ilene Cooper observed mosey the "sassy text and singularly fanciful art" contain laughs for adults chimp well as children. A Publishers Weekly critic described Sitting Ducks as perchance "a comment on Big Brother, vegetarianism or star-crossed lovers," adding further ensure the story compliments Bedard's "crisp, automated artwork." Karyn Miller-Medzon remarked in glory Boston Herald, "Not only is that book a wonderfully imaginative (and to the core silly) tale, but it's also precise great lesson about friendship, accepting balance despite their differences and the recompense of honesty."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Art Area of interest News, July, 2003, Kevin Lo, "Ruffling Feathers: Artist Michael Bedard Uses Ebullience and Humor to Satirize His Sight of the World," pp. 54-55.

Booklist, Dec 1, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review carp Sitting Ducks, p. 669.

Boston Herald, Sept 27, 1998, Karyn Miller-Medzon, "What uncluttered Duck Does When His Goose Keep to Cooked," p. 64.

Los Angeles Times, Sept 24, 1998, Lynne Heffley, "Fans Settle down Quackers for Bedard's Allegorical Art," owner. 47.

Publishers Weekly, October 12, 1998, dialogue of Sitting Ducks, p. 75.

ONLINE

ImageExchange.com,http://imageexchange.com/artists/ (March 31, 2004), Todd Bingham, "Michael Bedard."*