Artist Profile: Kim Gadbois

Pfeiffer Photos: Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations and a bit of personal stuff.

Kim: My name is Kim Gadbois, I am a 25 year old artist from Montreal, Canada. I work 40 long hours a week in a video game company mostly trying to figure out a way to become a freelancer. I would either like to be my own boss or make a switch to work in the animation industry. I like chocolate cake, cats (I have the most adorable kitty) and my boyfriend, who is also an artist. I stated traveling last year and I can say that seeing the world and discovering more countries has quickly become one of my ongoing goals in life.



PP: Apart from creating art, what do you do?

Kim: I am a ballet dancer! Not professionally of course, but I started to dance when I was three years old and have continued to train at least once a week since. I must say that it is very difficult to find a balance between art and ballet because they are two activities that I have to squeeze into my spare time, and they both require a strong commitment in order to achieve success. Apart from these pursuits, I work every Saturday in a dance supply store. I sell pointe shoes and leotards all day long and I love it!



PP: What first made you want to become an artist?

Kim: Watching Disney's animated movies at a very early age , I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to become a Disney animator. I would spend my days copying VHS covers of the movies, practicing my coloring and painting skills, and imagining how great it must be to work for The Mouse. This ambition has stayed with me ever since but I realized my passion in animation school. When I learned that there are other jobs that support the animators in the industry--background painters, illustrators, in-betweeners--I decided perhaps that was the best route for my talents and interests.



PP: Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.

Kim: I usually start with a quick sketch in my sketchbook. Depending if I want to make a painting or just a drawing, I will redo the sketch onto a canvas. This is the crucial step because sometimes I don't like the real drawing as much as the quick doodle I originally created and it takes time to figure out how to make it work for a finished piece. I also like to work digitally in Photoshop. In my Etsy shop, you will also find other art projects like crochet and Swarovsky rings. When I discovered Etsy in 2008, and I saw all of the different arts and crafts that people are offering there, I had a craft attack and wanted to try a bit of everything! I have finally decided to stick to promoting my drawings and paintings. I am also considering offering prints of my original works.



PP: What artists have influenced you and inspire you to create?

Kim: Apart from Disney artists in general, I have to say Eyvind Earl (who also worked for Disney). He was a genius background painter popular in the 1940's. He was the art director and painter for the Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. Earl had such a mad attention to details and his work is simply magical. I'd also have to include Marcel Marlier, a Belgian illustrator famous for creating the Martine series of children's books. These books contain some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen in my life and it's notable that he dedicated all of his career to creating this series. I would say that you can find a little of his influence in my drawings. These days I am influenced and inspired by art blogs created by students from every animation school in the world. I follow bloggers living, studying and working in California, France and Canada--all three areas have a high concentration of talented artists. I spend a lot of time watching what other people are creating. It helps keep my creative juices flowing.



PP: Where else can people find your work?

Kim: I have a deviantART gallery with almost all of the illustrations I display on my blog, Pantoufle de verre. I also sell my acrylic paintings on Ebay but always announce these offerings on my blog first. I may attend the Toronto Fan Expo this year. It is a convention where you can sell anything related to comics or cartooning and meet up with other artists. Networking and making connections in the art world is always helpful to my career!



PP: Oh, and just what does Pantoufle de verre mean?

Kim: The translated title of my blog would mean something like: Glass slipper in gravel!


The paintings, sketches, drawings, illustrations and animated film displayed in this post are the original creations of Kim Gadbois, and several can be found for sale in her Etsy shop, deviantART gallery and on Ebay. Enjoy more of Kim's work online at her Flickr Gallery.

Inspiration Tuesday

"Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a Disney fan."

Yes, it is true, I like Disney. More specifically, I admire Walt Disney and his creations, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

I never visited Disneyland as a child; my first experience was that of a 27-year-old adult. The world of Disney opened my heart and eyes much like a child's. A feeling of safety, of joy and of wonder is a good experience of any lifetime. The video included at the end of this post is one of my favorites on YouTube. I love it because it's a such a great collage of video clips from another ordinary persons adventures at Disneyland. Notice I said adventures? That's what it's about when we visit Disneyland...it's not just another amusement park, it's a place for wonder and adventures for everyone!

Chris and I have no children and because of this our family does not understand why we would choose Disneyland as a favorite vacation destination. Many adults think that Disneyland is just a place for kids to have fun. Because it is an amusement park, the singular attraction must be the thrill rides. Disneyland is about so much more than the rides and is definitely not just for kids. From the moment you walk onto Main Street, USA, you are believer. Deny it all you want, but take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad to Tomorrowland and you'll be whirling around on the Astro Orbiter faster than a 5-year-old can say "Mickey Mouse"!

Admittedly, arguments have been made against Disney's mass-marketing and commercialism but for those who look past the corporate mechanics, Disney is about more than media, consumer products or theme parks with rides. It is about entertainment, and teaching by entertaining is an effective way to bring knowledge.

Some would say that a vacation to Disney equals a very high price tag. As an almost all-inclusive destination, however, the Disney experience provides a lot of bang for the buck. Where else can you go that has so much to do--theme parks, shopping, dining, adult nightlife, interactive theatres, history, world cultures (EPCOT), technical innovations, world-class architecture, Broadway quality stage shows, elaborate parades, top-notch fireworks and laser displays, award-winning golf courses, water parks, and Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba--all in one place?

Once upon a time, drawing a tiny mouse, an idealist believed that he could change the world so he bought an orange grove and built his dreams. Disneyland and Walt Disney World embody altruism, idealism and capitalism at it's best--the very epitome of the definition of Americanism. It is a source of joy and imagination. At Disney, the bad is forgotten and good seems to conquer evil. Wide-eyed excitement is seen in the faces of children and adults from all walks of life. You can see that they seek the same thing as you--fantasy, adventure and a magical experience to take them away from their everyday lives, if only for a few hours or days.

Different cultures become one as we forget the troubles of the real world all around us. It is a place where people of all ages visit to have fun in a world that is sometimes much too serious. Serious is good, but so is fun and a balance of both is the best. Walt Disney built a place that helps us to laugh, to think, to dream, and to do--not just in Anaheim, but wherever we are--no matter what race, religion, gender or age you might be.

Disneyland's cultural impact on society has been woven into our daily lives, from learning to use your imagination to innovative technologies that could improve society. The greatest influence of the parks that Walt built have been in his positive view of the future. Disney managed to find ways to appeal to kids and to the kid in all of us. He used money to create magnificent parks and ground-breaking films that have generated millions of careers and made people's lives richer. Walt summed it up best in his dedication speech on opening day, July 15, 1955:

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

Color photos displayed in this post by Chris & Tina of Pfeiffer Photos copyright 2008. Black and white photo of Walt Disney is copyright protected and used by permission.