Richard Amsel is probably best remembered for the distinctive art deco-meets old west style that he brought to such iconic movies posters as McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Shootist and  Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Be sure to to check out Adam McDaniel’s tribute page on The Art & Artistry of Richard Amsel. Its fascinating to see how his style translates to different genres. I love his early pop-60’s stuff. The lace collage work on the Hello Dolly poster is brilliant. And I would kill for a nice print of his Incredible Shrinking Woman illustration.

Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I really wish I had been in the room when this commercial was being pitched.

Yes, that’s Charles Nelson Reilly.

Posted by Jon on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I couldn’t remember the name of the book I wanted to get for Cito when we found ourselves at Borders last night. Kadir Nelson’s We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball is one of the NewYork Times best illustrated childrens books for this year. I can’t afford the Kadir Nelson Marvin Gaye print I really want, so getting a couple books full of his amazing illustrations that I can share with Cito makes much more sense.

Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

My elementary school had a kite day every year.  Around lunch time, all the kids would go outside onto the football field and fly their kites.  Pretty much every kid had a Gayla kite because they were cheap and you could get them at Skaggs Alpha Beta the night before kite day.

I usually rotated year to year between the Fantazma Gordo and the Bat.

Gordo is still my favorite representation of an Eagle ever made.  His drumstick legs, his giant head/little body, and reverse french manicure.  Love it.

Posted by Jon on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

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Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Monday, November 17th, 2008

I have been meaning to expand on my two previous posts on Buffalo Architecture but an N.Y. Times architecture reporter came up with a most appropriate summary that I can’t improve upon.

Above is a pic of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1904 Larkin Building and the 1905 Darwin D. Martin House, as but one example cited in the article.

However, the associated slideshow is all one really ought to review.

Posted by JPK on Monday, November 17th, 2008

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Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Monday, November 17th, 2008

“For the one-time gangster who built it, it is nothing less than “the eighth wonder of the world”. The less charitably disposed dismiss it as a glorified barn, fire hazard and eyesore.

But on one thing everyone agrees: Nikolai Sutyagin’s home is certainly different.” -thetelegraph.co.uk

Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Monday, November 17th, 2008

Renecito will lift his shirt for anyone now. Thank you uncle Jon.

Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Saturday, November 15th, 2008

“Academy Award Nominated Short Film that debuted at EXPO ‘86 in Vancouver.”

Posted by René Garcia, Jr. on Friday, November 14th, 2008