The Art of Bob Doucette
Bob Doucette’s whimsical and highly saturated paintings come from the world of dreams. Sometimes bordering on surreal, his imagery is a product of a decade of theater work, puppetry and twenty-five years in the world of animation. As an animation director he was responsible for many well known animated children’s programs for PBS including, Chloe’s Closet, Dive Olly Dive and Clifford’s Puppy Days. He started in animation at Warner Bros. and was involved with many classics like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. His independently animated films won him many prestigious awards and honors and his MFA thesis film Pink Triangle, the first animated film to depict the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis, is in the permanent collection at the New York Public Library.
As a doll maker Bob has been in galleries since the early ‘90s. His Ben Franklin doll, created for the White House Christmas tree in 1999, is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Many of his dolls are in the private collection of Demi Moore and have been featured in books, magazines articles and TV programs.
Bob earned a BFA at Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA at CalARTS and studied both illustration and animation. He was born in Waterville Maine and at present lives in Peoria with his husband Tom and his cat.
Miguel Rocha
Peoria, Illinois based artist, Miguel Rocha, creates in the age-old art form of traditional printmaking. He specializes in the relief printing technique. Each print begins utilizing carving tools to hand carve linoleum or wood blocks to reveal the image underneath.
Once he is finished carving the block he applies ink over the block with a rubber brayer. Next, he lays paper on top of the block to transfer the image. His process for this step is done with a printing press or by hand depending on the size of the print. He draws inspiration for each piece from his life experiences.
The artist studied at Aims Community College in Greeley, Co. This is where he learned to work in this medium and where he completed his Associates degree in liberal arts.
Everything about this process really resonates with the artists’ desire to create. The labor-intensive form of traditional printmaking to create each piece is both patience and technical art form that intrigues Miguel, which keeps him learning and improving with each piece he creates. Being able to master each process to make a print is a reflection of his life, it is about the journey along the way. Which he says “each step in the process is just as important as the end result." He asks every viewer to follow the journey and finish the story.