Moondoglovesyou - Precious trinkets of art left for you to find
If you’ve not come across a moondogloves you tag then you must have had your head in the clouds.
I spoke to Lloyd Ellis the man behind this infectious phenonmenon to find out more.
Angel: When did you first get interested in art?
Lloyd: I’ve always been interested in art. As a child I was always drawing, writing and watching television. I think programmes like Take Hart and Blue Peter really inspired me to make stuff. My parents were always helping out my little art projects. I always loved cartoons and comics too so I think they were a big influence on my need to draw. I used to make my own little comics and picture books and art was always my favourite subject at school.
A: Tell me about your creative background? Did you study at university?
L: The art lessons at my high school were quite basic (drawing a potted plant was as complicated as it got), so I left school wanting to study art but not really ready for
university. I took a foundation course at Tower Hamlets College which was a real exercise in using your imagination as there were few resources. Often we were encouraged to make art from stuff we found in the streets and in skips. It stoped us being too precious with our work and our materials and to think creatively.
I also got to try video and photography that got me thinking beyond just drawing and painting. After two years there and teaching art at a US summer camp I went to Maidstone for my degree in Communication & Media.
A: How was the experience?
L: I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. The course itself introduced me to a wide and
varied selection of creative design and art theory and techniques especially video art and animation. It was at college I also started my moondog comic as an attempt to start a college zine but it ended up being mainly my cartoons and stupid jokes.
A: What was the first creative job you got paid for?
L: After college I got a job with Richard Ollive Animation working on the Tetley Tea commercials. It was very exciting to be working on something I’d grown up with. Then the second job I had was working at Warner Bros. on Space Jam. It was only for a few months but I got to work with Bugs Bunny and Marvin The Martian et al. That was pretty amazing.
A: How did it feel to be paid for your creativity ?
L: It was fabulous. I worked for five years as an Effects Animator on various films and TV shows. I also did a few storyboards and character designs. I loved being paid to draw. I would work all day and night to get as much done as possible and couldn’t believe I was getting paid to do what I loved doing.
A: How did moondog loves you come about?
L: I wanted to set up my own website for my moondog cartoons and nonsense and my then-girlfriend suggested the name. I think it was partly inspired by Paul Frank Is Your Friend and partly from those signs that say Jesus Loves You. I thought, why do they get the monopoly on love?
Part Two coming soon
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