When I refer to painting action figures, it's always in reference to the little messy globs of paint on the toys themselves, but the subject of today's interview thinks about action figures and paint in an entirely different way. Robert Burden takes the small objects so close to our hearts, the cheap plastic we love so dearly, and he turns them into amazing works of art, bringing out both the childhood joy and adult appreciation in every stroke. Read on for a look at the paintings and the mind of an action figure artist.
Robert standing in front of one his paintings, showcasing the true scale of these pieces.
Articulated Discussion: Please give us an idea how your love affair for action figures and art got started. Is there a certain toy that started your passion and leading to the art side of things, or did the passions develop separately and eventually just merge together?
Robert Burden: As a boy I loved action figures as much as any other kid from my generation. Growing up in the 80's, it was almost impossible not to covet these things. You'd watch the Saturday morning cartoons, and then if you were lucky, at some point you got to go to the toy store and see the real thing. A real tangible object that could spark your imagination for weeks. It would be like watching Terminator and then walking down the street and seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can safely say that the first things I ever remember drawing as a kid were my toys. It started with little animal figurines (My mom says a polar bear was the first thing I ever drew), and then progressed to GI Joe's, He-Man, Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, etc. I stopped drawing my toys obsessively when I stopped playing with toys. Right around puberty, like almost every other kid, I lost my interest for toys. A little over a decade later, while searching through boxes of old toys in my parents home, it was like discovering a box of buried treasure, except the treasure was no longer captivating to me. I wanted to try and recapture that amazement that I had for these things when I was a youngster, and so I began making very large, very detailed, very colorful and ornately framed paintings of these once talisman-like objects.
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AD: Can you take me through the process of painting an action figure. I look at them as purely physical and 3-dimensional entities, and can't imagine trying to translate them into another medium. Do you start with the figure in hand? How do you decide on poses or angles? Or do you really even think about it at all?
RB: I usually want the painting to be a profile image, or a straight-frontal image of the toy. I try my best to reduce any substantial narrative from the painting. I'm not interested in telling a story with these objects. The stories exist in my memories from childhood, and they would mean nothing to anyone else, so I'm trying to glorify the toy, but also categorize it like inventory. I start with a sketch and a photo as a guide for the initial drawing, but for most of the painting process I'm just looking at the toy itself.
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AD: I've already picked out my favorite piece of your creation, the Street Fighter Blanka from Hasbro. That toy itself has a very prominent place in my heart, and that painting definitely caught my eye and adoration. Do you have a favorite piece, either from a nostalgia standpoint, or even just one you're most proud of as a work of art?
RB: I'm glad you like the Blanka. For me, the Battle Cat painting(s) are important to me. It's the only toy I will ever paint twice, so I guess it's pretty potent subject matter for me. I'm pretty proud of the Voltron though. It's 11 feet tall, and I had to paint a lot of it on a ladder while making a time-lapse video of the progress. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. It's funny you know, all of these things had so much nostalgic value to me, but after I spend hundreds of hours staring at them and painting them, that nostalgic value goes away. I can't look at them the same way again. I guess it's kind of like saying the same word a hundred times in a row, eventually the word loses its meaning.
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AD: What can we expect from you in the future? Will any toy lines we haven't seen yet be showing up soon? Will you ever take a shot at painting modern figures or are they too fresh for artistic interpretation and appreciation?
RB: I will never paint any modern figures. My rule is that I'm only going to paint toys that I had as a kid, or toys that I really coveted as a kid. There's a lot more different types of action figures on the way. Making them is difficult, expensive, and takes a lot of my time, so I'm lucky if I can get 4-5 paintings done each year. I have to choose my subject matter wisely, because I don't want to be making these things forever, just for another few years, and then move on to something else. I already have preliminary sketches for about 12 more pieces (Star Wars, Marvel, Bravestarr, Dino-Riders, TMNT, among others).
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AD: You might have already answered this one in the first question, but just in case it's different, what's your all-time favorite toy?
RB: Battle Cat, Headstrong, Bebop and Rocksteady, Thirty-Thirty. Kind of an animal theme, I guess!
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AD: So where can we find your work? Any events coming up soon, or new pieces going up for sale? Fill us in, I'm quite curious.
RB: I've got a couple of group shows coming up. In November, Voltron will be on display in at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco. The opening is on November 14th. If you're in California, come on out! The new Battle Cat Statant painting will be on display at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles in January, 2010. I'm not entirely sure when the opening is for this show. You can check my website for updates on upcoming shows and events. I also have limited edition prints available for sale on my website. The prints are still kind of expensive, but they cost a lot for me to make, and a lot for me to ship (shipping is included in the price) but there are some pretty good deals on the site right now. If you're interested in throwing down a lot more money for an original, you can send me an email and I'll let you know the prices and availability.
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You can find Robert Burden's work on his website, Robert Burden's Toy Box. It's a great looking site with even more cool pieces like those featured above. Keep an eye out for Voltron, Penguin, and Krang, a few more of my personal favorites. If you're interested in buying a print, be sure to visit his store, and if you'd like to contact Robert about buying an original, you can doso at rob@robertburden.net.
I want to issue a big thank you to Robert for taking time to answer our questions, and another big thank you for making such fantastic pieces of art based on our little hobby.
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