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| "Louise": photo, collage & digital. |
2GN2S
Creator Of Maxine
John
Wagner, Hallmark artist since 1970, says Maxine was inspired by his
mother, his maiden aunts and his grandmother, the woman who bought him
art lessons when 'fill in the pumpkins' was about the extent of
his art classes at St John's Catholic School in Leonia, N.J
says both his grandmother and his mother encouraged his artistic interests. He eventually attended the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and landed at Hallmark as part of a new artists group. But it was the birth of the humorous Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) in 1986 that added a new dimension to John's professional life. The Shoebox way of seeing the world unleashed his talents and he created Maxine.
Why the name 'Maxine'? 'People at Shoebox started referring to the character as 'John Wagner's old lady,' and I knew that would get me into trouble with my wife,' John says. The Shoebox team had a contest among themselves to name the character and three of the approximately 30 entries suggested 'Maxine'. John says the name is perfect.
Maxine herself is not one of my favorites, but I thought the evolution was interesting?
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| Spot-billed Toucanet |
Thanks for coming by today.
5 comments:
Masterful. I love how you used the colors of the Black flag with this portrait. Very effective. :-)
Thanks, John. It is a very simple collage I did a long time ago.
Today's smiles are especially true. I love each of them.
Louise is such a pretty girl.
I hope the plumbers could finish their work.
Thanks Elenor, they can and finally located the source of the leak, so now to fix it and repair the damage!
I find it interesting that you are not particularly a fan of Maxine. I find her sense of humor similar to mine.
I so loved the video that I showed it to Stan: so interesting.And it is nice to learn something new everyday even when one is considered a senior. Thank you for all the effort and creativity you spend in producing your daily blog. You rock!
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