Welcome to Stage Nine & G.Willikers! Toy Emporium
2010 'Destination Sacramento' Disney Artwork Release
Stage Nine Entertainment Store and Disney Fine Art are proud to announce the upcoming release of the 4th edition in the Sacramento "Destination" series.
Introducing "Disney's Magical Inspiration"
by John Rowe
Saturday, June 26th
Noon - 3pm
In the Vault at Stage Nine
Public Unveiling and Signing
With the Artist John Rowe
The voice of "Mickey Mouse" Bret Iwan
and Bill Farmer, the voice of "Goofy"
Disney's Magical Inspiration Pricing
| Standard Edition | Premiere Edition | Lithograph |
|
Edition Size: 80 Dimensions: 18"x27" Studio Embellished $650 Framed $895 |
Edition Size: 10 Dimensions: 24"x36" Artist Embellished $1295 Framed $1595 |
Edition Size: 500 Dimensions: 18"x27" Unframed $129 Framed $369 |
John Rowe Biography
John received his training at Art Center College of Design and began his career as an illustrator. His paintings have appeared on movie posters, books, billboards, magazines and advertisements throughout the country and around the world. Seeking an additional outlet for his creative vision, John began his Horse Series, bringing together equine beauty and power with emotions of the human spirit. When the publishers of Walter Farley's The Black Stallion saw John¹s work, they were inspired to re-issue this classic series, commissioning 24 new paintings by John for the covers.
“My artwork is meant to recall the beauty, majesty and mystery of the life we live, and the world we live it in. Painting the small delicacy of the light on a child¹s face, or the overwhelming power and grace of the sky at sunrise, is my attempt to capture some of that wonder. John Rowe Racing Midnight Giclée on canvas 30 x 19
Through my work I hope to remind you and myself how truly wonderful, complex, and vivid life is. Whether we are looking into the eyes of someone we love, or struggling just to breath, life is a priceless gift."
John has maintained a successful painting career for nearly 20 years. His studio is in La Canada California, where he lived with his wife and two children. He received his art training at Art Center College of Design, and has worked with clients throughout the United States and around the world.
Bret Iwan Biography
New comer to the voice acting stage, Bret Iwan, has been a
Disney fan for as long as he can remember. The Pasadena
native grew up in a creative home, and knew early on that he
wanted to pursue a career in the arts.
In 2004, Bret graduated from the Ringling College of Art and
Design in Sarasota Florida, with a BFA in illustration. His
passion for two dimensional story telling, led him to a career
with Hallmark Cards.
After a twist of fate in 2009, Bret relocated back to his hometown in
Southern California to begin his current career providing the voice
of Mickey Mouse for the Walt Disney Company. Though unexpected, he
views his new role as a great responsibility and honor, as he
plays his part in an extremely magical legacy.
Bret currently resides in Glendale, California.
Bill Farmer Biography
Ever since he was a kid, Farmer was enamored with cartoons. He grew up in Pratt, Kansas, and Saturday mornings were always fun for him because cartoons would air. He learned he had a knack for doing voices and of all the characters he liked, he liked none of them better than Goofy. He always liked watching cartoons, never dreaming that one day he would get to actually be the voice of Goofy.
Farmer's first job, at the age of 15, involved doing voices, especially those of Western stars like John Wayne or Walter Brennan. He and his friends would sometimes go through fast food drive-thrus and order foods in his voices. In college, he found work in radio and TV and then moved on to stand-up comedy as an impressionist until he moved out to Hollywood where he voiced Goofy since 1986.
During his stand-up years, Farmer worked at a comedy club called the Comedy Corner in Dallas. Tuesday nights were open mike nights there and he had just taken a job at an electronics store. He had just recently stopped working in show business and radio and he missed his audience. So he went to the club on Tuesday nights and he created his own five-minute routine. Starting on March 16, 1982, he started going to the Comedy Corner every week and started working on his routine and it became a career inside of six months. He worked at the Comedy Corner from 1982 until he moved to California in 1986.
Farmer's decision to move to California came from a Dallas commercial agent who suggested that, given his talent for voices, he should try his luck in California. He was recently married, but he and his wife talked it over and came to an arrangement. She stayed back in Dallas while he commuted for a year after he got an apartment. Then four months after his moving out to Hollywood, his agent asked him if he could do any Disney characters. His very first animated character audition was for Goofy. When he auditioned for the voice, he studied all the cartoons with Goofy in them, especially the ones released in the 1930s. He studied the hilarious laugh and the distinctive "gawrsh". He inherited the voice of Goofy (as well as Pluto and Horace Horsecollar), around the same time Tony Anselmo inherited Donald Duck, and Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor did likewise for Mickey and Minnie Mouse, respectively. Bill believes that cartoon voices are not about funny voices, but rather acting. His mentor was the late Daws Butler, the voice behind many of the old Hanna-Barbera characters. Daws put it in Bill's mind that when doing cartoon voices, you're not merely doing a funny voice, you're an actor and the acting is premier and that you have to think like the character you're doing and he is also best known as the voice of Goofy in A Goofy Movie in 1995 and as the voice of Goofy in the sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie in 2000.
MEDIA ADVISORY Unprecedented Fourth Disney Destination Sacramento Art to be Released at Stage Nine at 10th Annual Disney Event on June 26 Special Event to Feature Talent Behind Disney’s “Mickey” and “Goofy” Characters Featured in Art Piece (Sacramento, CA – May xx, 2010) -- Stage Nine Entertainment Store and The Vault in Old Sacramento, in conjunction with the Sacramento Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Center for Sacramento History, will celebrate its tenth annual Disney event with a visit from the talent behind two of Disney’s iconic characters, “Mickey” and “Goofy” on Saturday, June 26 from Noon-3:00 p.m. Featured at the event will be the unprecedented fourth Disney “Destination Sacramento” art piece, quite an honor for Sacramento. This year’s piece by artist John Rowe is titled “Disney’s Magical Inspiration” and will feature the State Capitol amidst Sacramento’s Carnival of Lights Parade in 1895. Bret Iwan, the new voice of “Mickey Mouse” and Bill Farmer, the voice of “Goofy” will be present to sign purchased art. A special “key” will be needed to see the hidden part of the painting above the Capitol dome, which features parade floats from Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade. Few are aware that Sacramento’s Carnival of Lights Parade helped inspired Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade. The event will take place at The Vault at Stage Nine Entertainment Store, 102 K Street in Old Sacramento. Sacramento celebrated the arrival of electrical power with a grand electrical light parade in September 1895 during the State Fair. It was a chance to showcase Sacramento’s addition of power due to the recent completion of the Folsom Powerhouse. The State Capitol, depicted in the new Disney art piece, was apparently draped with so many lights that it was said to have been seen from 50 miles away. According to the book Old Sacramento and Downtown by the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center at the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation, Sacramento’s parade was the inspiration behind their infamous Main Street Electrical Parade which made its debut at Disneyland in 1972 and returned for its fourth tour in 2010, just completing a run at Disney’s California Adventure on April 18 and will launch as part of Disney’s Magic Kingdom’s “Summer Nightastic!” on June 12, 2010. Disney artist, John Rowe, will be available to sign purchased artwork at the June 26 event. Rowe’s paintings have appeared on movie posters, books, billboards, magazines and advertisements throughout the country and around the world. “My artwork is meant to recall the beauty, majesty and mystery of the life we live, and the world we live it in. Painting the small delicacy of the light on a child¹s face, or the overwhelming power and grace of the sky at sunrise, is my attempt to capture some of that wonder,” explained Rowe. The piece will be available in limited edition on canvas and paper. Canvas editions will be limited to 80 pieces for $650 each and an edition of 500 lithographs on paper will be available for $129. Pre-orders are available now. “We are honored to have another opportunity to work with Disney on such a special, unique art piece to Sacramento,” explained Troy Carlson, owner of The Vault at Stage Nine. “Last year Sacramento was the first U.S. city to have Disney commission three “Destination” pieces that feature a city of its size. Sacramento has so many great stories to tell that run parallel with Disney, that we are very pleased to bring a fourth historical story to life through Disney Fine Art,” added Carlson. -more- “For over a decade Stage Nine Entertainment has been one of the most influential entertainment art galleries in the country, and we are thrilled to have them as a Disney Fine Art partner,” explained Michael Young, CEO of Disney Fine Art. Stage Nine will bring the art piece to life by bringing the talent behind two of the featured characters to Sacramento to meet their fans and autograph purchased artwork. Both will be available for interviews on Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26, 2010. Disney talent will also be on hand at the Saturday event to meet and greet those purchasing the new art piece. Bret Iwan, the new voice of Disney’s iconic Mickey Mouse and only the fourth person to voice the character, is a newcomer to the voice acting stage but has been a Disney fan for as long as he can remember. The Pasadena native grew up in a creative home, and knew early on that he wanted to pursue a career in the arts. In 2004, Bret graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota Florida, with a BFA in illustration. His passion for two dimensional story telling, led him to a career with Hallmark Cards. After a twist of fate in 2009, Bret relocated back to his hometown in Southern California to begin his current career providing the voice of Mickey Mouse for the Walt Disney Company. Though unexpected, he views his new role as a great responsibility and honor, as he plays his part in an extremely magical legacy. Stage Nine’s Disney event will be a “coming out” party of sorts for Iwan as it is the first public appearance he has made as the new voice of Mickey Mouse. Iwan was chosen to take over the role after Wayne Allwine passed away last year. Allwine, who started his Disney career in the mailroom, was the voice of Mickey Mouse since 1976. Artist John Rowe made his first mark as a Disney fine artist when he designed the poster and book cover artwork for The Return of the Black Stallion film. His work has also been seen in posters and book art for the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Rowe created the concept of “Disney’s Magical Inspiration” in partnership with and exclusively for Stage Nine Gallery. “This stunning original painting illustrates Sacramento’s important contribution to one of Disney’s most beloved parades,” said Carlson. “John Rowe has created a painting that will capture the ‘then and now’ of these two parades, paying homage to both the innovative history of Sacramento more than 100 years ago as well as the stunning creativity of Disney for. It is a special piece for any Sacramento Disney fan,” added Carlson. The Vault at Stage Nine is partnering with the Rotary Club of Sacramento again this year by donating a portion of the proceeds of the sale of each piece to their “Polio Eradication” fund. About Stage Nine Entertainment Group The Vault at Stage Nine is a fine art gallery focusing on animation and entertainment fine art by major studios including Disney as well as Warner Bros. and many others. Stage Nine Entertainment Group is also a full-service developer of creative, unique exhibits for permanent or temporary display. Creative exhibits are on regular display inside of Stage Nine Entertainment Store and G. Willikers Toy Emporium in Old Sacramento as well as Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. Stage Nine’s State Fair exhibits will go international this summer, with the “It’s a Candy Nation” exhibit touring several Canadian fairs. For more information on developing a custom, creative display for your business, please visit Stage Nine Entertainment Store at 916-447-3623 or www.stagenine.com. ###
Bill Farmer has performed the voice of Goofy for the Walt Disney Company since 1987. His voice has been featured in classic Disney TV and movies including “Goof Troop”, “The Goofy Movie”, many Disney Sing-a-Long videos, “Mickey’s House of Villains”, and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” among many others.
