Rich Wilkie's Biography

Rich Wilkie's Bio:

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		At age 8, my mother enrolled me in Park and Recreation art classes – where I developed my love for Art and the tingling sensation turpentine causes on my skin. In grade school, I spent much of my class time drawing in my text books, turning them into flip books of kung fu fights and motor cycles popping wheelies, riding into walls and exploding. After my teacher saw my fine work, I got to practice erasing. In high school, I caused my first row by submitting a series of drawings to the student art show, of my muse, a nude woman, breaking out of an egg. I learned the price of free speech. In college... well, I dropped out of college. My teachers convinced me, all I needed was to express myself and that I should not corrupt my mind with a formal education. I spent several years in the grocery industry fighting back the hordes of rats and shoplifters. But my muse kept calling me back. I returned to college... and then I dropped out again... and then went back and dropped out. I ended up spending a year in the desert painting abstracts and battling scorpions in the dry heat. In the early 90's, I managed an Art Co-Op, Gallery 57 in Fullerton. Again, I return to school, but this time I focused on refining my skills as opposed to getting a degree. I struggled to combine my career with my passion. At one point, I had 49 hours a week of life drawing classes, refining my craft and preparing myself... for something. Disney offered me a job as an assistant animator and I accepted. In the first two months, I learned more about art then in all of my previous years of "study". A paycheck is a great incentive. At Disney, I worked on Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules. Some of the shows I have worked on since leaving the Mouse House include, Happily Ever After, Tangerine Bear, The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, Sammy, The Oblongs, Stuart Little, Dragon Tales, Spider-Man, Maya and Miguel, Bratz, Xiaolin Showdown, Scooby-Doo, Unstable Fables, King of the Hill, Casper's Scare School, Clutch Powers and The Adventures of Team Lego, Curious George and most recently I worked on DJ and the Fro for MTV. Thank you for the gander, Rich