Mar 18, 2011

The Fred Moore Expert: Tim Walker's new book and booksigning

James-also known as Tim-Walker holds one of Fred Moore's original, well-worn pencils, along with a photo of Fred advising Ollie Johnston






One of the oldest friends of the Blackwing Diaries is a gentleman I met through our mutual interest in Fred Moore.  I'd heard of him in the 1990s mentioned at Warner Bros as a guy who knew funny timing--as in Bob Clampettesque funny--so I already liked him, but it wasn't until five years ago, after reading an essay about the late, great Moore on these pages, that we met. He immediately offered to share his amazing collection of Fred's drawings, as well as many of his private photographs, with the readers of this blog.  Talk about riches...

I've known quite a few collectors in my time, some with world-class collections that have taken years and a lot of money and effort to acquire, but it's not terribly common to find one with the open-hearted generosity of Tim Walker.

Tim's an animation artist of the old school, and his puckish sketches are all the more remarkable for having been done by completely re-training himself to draw using his left hand after he began to lose the use of his dominant right hand to the Parkinson's disease.

 Parkinson's is a dread scenario for anyone in any walk of life, and for an artist using his hand and arm in his work it's particularly tough, but Tim refused to stop drawing, forcing himself to use his left hand instead.  That's pretty astonishing, and inspiring.
He's collected a sketchbook of his called "Drawings From The Left, or Parkinson's Pictures", and it's filled with his buoyantly rounded, charming drawings. Tonight from 6:30-9 he's having a signing in Studio City.  Highly recommend you drop in, hang out and chat a bit about drawing, cartoons, or maybe about some of the golden age Disney artists Tim's an expert on.  He's a very cool guy.

5 comments:

TheZealot said...

This was just what I needed today!

Sweet Lily said...

Wow, wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Floyd Norman said...

I wasn't even aware of Tim Walker's Parkinsons until I met him at the first CTN Expo. I confess I was amazed when he showed me the sketches he had done with his left hand. This was an incredible comeback for an artist who was sure his career was over.

I've known Tim and his wife, Susan for years. I'm truly impressed by what he's accomplished. And yes, he is a very cool guy.

patrick mate said...

Tim is the Man!!!!I'm so glad we met him and his wife I guess it must have been karma it is rare to meet people with identical view on things.Jenny thanks for this post!.Tim you are the best!

Gwynn.D.Earl said...

I love Fred Moore...

Don't know if this would be any interest to you:

What's NEW from
BAD-EYE-DEERS animations
http://vimeo.com/27086612

Gwynn