Artinsights Welcomes Toby Bluth

 

 

Reston Town Center, VA – ArtInsights Animation and Film Arts Gallery, the only gallery to represent animation and film in Virginia, will be premiering the art of famed Disney illustrator Toby Bluth in a show to open on April 28th with a personal appearance by Mr. Bluth from 2 to 7 pm in their gallery.  On display will be the originals of the first five limited editions released at Disney World and Disneyland, as well as others he created especially this exhibit. 

 

 Mr. Bluth, a long time animation artist of renown who most recently acted as art director for The Tigger Movie and Disney’s The Three Musketeers,  is one of a very few artists selected to represent Disney with limited editions of his art in the Disney parks and galleries around the world, and ArtInsights will be the first to feature him since the release of his art at Disney.  The show will include original watercolors and limited editions and will run through June 4th.

 

“We’re so excited to be premiering the originals for the first limited editions released by Toby”, says co-owner Leslie Combemale.  Included in the show are images of Snow White, Bambi, Dumbo, Fantasia, and other Disney classics, many of which he interpreted for Disney storybooks.  Combemale continues,  “His art is selling so quickly, before we can even frame it for show.   Most of the originals are sold already, but now we’re taking commissions and all the collectors have been willing to let us keep his art for the show.  We had a flood in February and had to be closed for a month, so the success of this show is a welcome part of our reopening.”  The limited editions of the originals are available to have dedicated by the artist at the show, and an original rendering by Mr. Bluth is included with every commission sold during his appearance.   

 

Believing that how one remembers a film is often different from the film itself, Toby Bluth paints what he perceives as the collective memory of the film experience and taps into the emotional essence of the story. Chiaroscuro, the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for dramatic effect, is a key component in Bluth’s work. The blue shaded undercoat or chiaroscuro effect that is the genesis of every original, adds depth, life, as well as warm and cool shadows to each scene. He also refers to this process as “painting the light and the air”.  

 

 

Inspired by the work of legendary illustrator Gustaf Tengrenn, whom Walt Disney recruited to work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bluth is passionate about his craft. A multifaceted artist, Toby’s creative endeavors do not end at the tip of his brush. He is an accomplished writer, director, designer and a veteran of the American musical stage, having performed and or directed in nearly one hundred musicals, both on Broadway and beyond.

 

 

 

ArtInsights, established in 1994, is a privately owned gallery located in Reston Town Center, in Virginia.  They are doing well with the addition the art of the cinema to their specialization of creating and developing collections of animation art from Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera, and all other major studios.  With more than 30 combined years of experience in the animation art field, owners Michael Barry and Leslie Combemale work closely with individuals and corporations to ensure the integrity of their collections.  In addition to being one of only 10 Chuck Jones Signature Galleries in the country, ArtInsights is Virginia’s only animation gallery and is the only gallery in the Washington Metropolitan area authorized to represent Warner Bros. and Hanna Barbera animation art to the public.  They also have exclusive rights to sell original illustrative art by Harry Potter book cover artist Mary GrandPre, and are one of a handful of galleries worldwide authorized to sell originals by famed cinema artist John Alvin, who has created posters and art for over 130 movies including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.