a PAIR of walts

Influences

Nothing happens in a vacuum. We are the sum of everything around us—both the prescence and the abscence of things material, intellectual, or emotional.

Walt Disney, 1946
Wikipedia, Public Domain

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
—
Walt Disney

Walt Disney was a complicated guy. His flaws will always be debated, but his influence is undeniable. One thing seems clear—he had an extraordinary ability to bring people together and cultivate their talents to realize a creative vision. A perfectionist at heart, he held both himself and those around him to incredibly high standards. And here’s a guy who, at 53, decided to take on an untested, massive project—Disneyland—simply because he wanted to do something cool. He was both a product of his time and a visionary of a brighter, happier future.

Growing up in Southern California, a trip to Disneyland was always the highlight of my year. That sense of wonder has never faded. The meticulous attention to detail, the fully immersive experiences, and Disney’s relentless push to innovate feed my creative, nerdy soul to this day.

Walter Cotten

What can I say about Walt? He was one of the coolest people I’ve ever met—an artist in the truest sense, a professor, a mentor, and a friend. He never told us what to do but instead challenged us to question how and why we made our creative choices. His mantra was simple: “More. Better. Faster.”

I’ll always cherish the smell of printing ink, the taste of cheap beer, and the creative collaborations we shared. Walt believed all culture ended east of the Rockies—sorry, man, I crossed the divide. But thanks for shaping me into the maker I am today.

Gone too soon, but never forgotten.

Image courtesy of Peter de Lory ©

A smattering of what piques my interest

I’ve always believed you can learn a lot about a person by the books they read, the movies they watch, and the music they listen to. So, here’s a not-so-exhaustive list of my influences—some shaped me early on, some are current obsessions, and others are old but newly discovered. Lately, I’ve been diving into a lot of Musique Concrète .

Like pizza and Kool-Aid Blue Raspberry (not a paid endorsement), these are the things I’d be happy to be stuck on an island with.

ARTISTS

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Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Mary Blair
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Claude Coats
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Rolly Crump
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Yale Gracey

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Keith Haring
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Edward Hopper
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Käthe Kollwitz
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Mark Rothko
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Adam Savage
Egon Schiele

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Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
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Johannes Vermeer

AUTHORS

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Douglas Adams
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Charles Bukowski
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Italo Calvino

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Philip K. Dick
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William Gibson
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Frank Herbert
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Dan Jones
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Robert Jordan
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Somerset Maugham
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Christopher Moore
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Jonathan Stroud
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J.R.R. Tolkien
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Barbara Tuchman
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Andy Weir
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H.G. Wells

MOVIES

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Amelie
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Army of Darkness
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Big Trouble in Little China
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Blade Runner
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Coraline
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Fantasia
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The Fifth Element
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Golden Voyage of Sinbad
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The Goonies
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Isle of Dogs
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Juno
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The Life Aquatic
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Moana

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Nausicaa
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Nimona
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The Matrix
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Shaun of the Dead
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Star Wars
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Wings of Desire

MUSIC

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Terry Allen
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Colin Benders
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Bongwater

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Patsy Cline
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Miles Davis
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Lana Del Rey
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Freakwater
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The Gourds
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Billie Holiday
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Jolie Holland
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James McMurtry
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Alexi Murdoch
The Police

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Portishead
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Primus
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Marty Robins
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Igor Stravinsky
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Upsammy
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Gillian Welch
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Hank Williams

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
1973, Columbia Pictures

Seated Woman With Bent Knees
Egon Schiele
The National Gallery Prague

Adam Savage
Adam Savage's Tested

Igor Stravinsky
ETH-Bibliothek, Zuric

Colin Benders
Photo: Carsten Stiller

OG Disney Imagineers
Disney

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