Unbelievably Imaginative Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles
Very generously Mike has agreed to give a very forthright biography. I hope you feel as I do that this is a highly talented individual who luckliy for puzzlers does illustrations for cartoon jigsaw puzzles. Look out below for details of Mike's Jig It competition where teams challenge each other to finish a Mike Jupp cartoon puzzle in the quickest time for Big Cash prizes. Next one is 21st July 2007 I hope you enjoy this amazing insight into Mike, all in his own words. MIKE JUPP- BIO Adopted at 3 months - Raised in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Primary school in Bognor. Secondary school at 'Lancastrian' Secondary Modern in Chichester. After a further education year at Chichester Polytechnic, began Dip.AD course at The West Sussex College of Art. (Worthing.) 1965-68. Studied vocational Graphics ( In the same group as Gerard (Leo) Sayer.) Became the College's first animation student! Graduated 1968 with Diplomas in Graphics, Illustration and Advertising Design. 1969. Designed the'Nimrod' 2-seater sports Buggy. Created 'The Dreamstone' & 'Bimble's Bucket'
1970. First professional job as graphic designer on a Chichester Free-Paper (The Promoter) Moved to London. (Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Muswell Hill, finally Kilburn) 1971-74 .Worked as designer and cartoonist with American Incentive Agency 'E.F. MacDonald, 140 Park Lane, London. Became Freelance in 1974. Signed up by the 'Archer Art Agency' of Baker Street. Worked in Advertising and Publishing. 1977. Worked on comic illustrations in New York U.S.A
Moved to Hurstpierrepoint in East Sussex. Then to Amsterdam to work on 'No Man's Valley' and 'The Bluffers' (Publishing and Animation character design) for Frank Fehmers Dutch Publishing project. 1984 Fehmers sent MJ to Novato, Marin County, Northern California to Art Direct the TV series of the 'Bluffers' cartoon series that MJ had designed. MJ presented his own 'Dreamstone'project, to Animation Studio Head Jerry Smith. Helped by Smith and Star Wars Director George Lucas, 'Dreamstone' eventually went into production. MJ travelled to South Korea to direct the 5 minute 'Pilot'
Back to the UK in 1986. Moved back to family home in West Sussex. The 52 episode, four part, award winning series of 'THE DREAMSTONE' first aired on ITV in 1990 and ran until 1996. This was followed by MJ's second TV series for production company MGP, 'Bimble's Bucket' which became 26 half hour episodes for ITV. Commissioned to do a painting for Steven Spielberg! 1991. MJ, 43 married Nikki, 23. 1998. Bombshell when MGP dispensed with MJ's services. There followed several years in the wilderness. MJ created several projects, including his first novel, 'Retribution'. (Woodfield Publishing) ----------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles---------------- Began creating Jig-saw Puzzle illustrations for Waddingtons, Falcon/Jumbo and Hasboro. (Ed note: the start of the wonderful Mike Jupp cartoon jigsaw puzzles) With Gibsons Games, MJ has created one of the World's most successful Jig-saw puzzle series, the 'I LOVE...' Collection. (Ed note: the first Mike Jupp cartoon jigsaw puzzle I saw was I Love London!) MJ lives in Bognor Regis with wife Nikki and daughters, Eleanor (13) and Merrin (10) And Loki the Doberman. -------------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles------------- Modus Operandi (Ed note: the scene of the Mike Jupp cartoon jigsaw puzzles) The trouble with children and dogs, is that when you feed them, they grow! After years of living alone in my mother's house, it came as an upheaval when, after getting married, Eleanor and Merrin were born! All was well until they outgrew the box room! I had used the spare bedroom as a studio, but it was the only logical place for the girls to go! Equally logical was that my garage had to be turned into a studio! That happened in 2004. The little car that I designed in 1969 was unceremoniously dumped out into the cold of our front garden. The 'Nimrod' languishes there even now, under a car cover and camouflage netting!
Up until recently, I had rendered all my work in Gouache. I learnt to use an Airbrush just after I had left college. I draw on Daler 'Illustration 'knot' Board using an 'HB' or 'B' propelling pencil. The leads on them are always sharp, no nasty pencil shavings and graphite dust! I draw over the pencil with a 0.4 nib Rotring 'Rapidograph/Variant'. I remove the pencil with a kneadable (Putty) rubber (eraser). Then, fill in the white spaces between the black lines with paint. That is,...I used to do that! Over the past 10 years I have had worsening eye trouble. The crunch came with a disastrous course of Hospital treatment which has given me glaucoma in my right eye. In 2002, Nikki bought us a computer. It has changed, and saved, my professional life! The only artwork I now do with traditional materials, is my 'I Love' puzzle illustrations. Everything else I render in 'Photoshop' Arthur C. Clarke said, " Science that cannot be understood is called Magic"...I totally agree! I don't know how I achieve the images with a mouse and a Monitor...but they're far better than I could ever do by hand! ----------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles---------------- Nature, has always been my first love. Why people have to go to church (or more likely, be seen going to church!) When all they have to do is open their eyes, and say thanks to Big G, I don't know? I also don't know whether it's a gift or a curse, but I've got a very peculiar imagination! Millions of people have... but I'm lucky, I can illustrate mine. My influences? Childhood Disney films. Sights and sounds of places long ago. Especially the Pleasure Gardens in Bournemouth during the 1950's. Lighting candles in coloured glass jars that would float off down streams...and walkways in the trees. Millions of leaves illuminated by yet more coloured lanterns. Magic!
Other influences?... The Art of UB Iwerks, William Hogarth, George Studdy, Caravaggio, Lawson Wood, Joseph Wright of Derby, Norman Rockwell, Frank Bellamy, Richard Dadd, Leo Baxendale....and, the great Winsor McKay. And music! The greatest of the Arts.Without Ravel's 'La Valse' and 'Daphnis et Chloe', I wouldn't have created 'The Dreamstone'...and my life would have been a lot different. ----------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles----------------
Teams challenge each other to complete a 1000 piece Mike Jupp cartoon puzzle in the quickest time for Big Cash prizes! 2006-07 record time - SANDY & KARAN WHITTINGHAM (Fishbourne, West Sussex)....Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes. New records were set at the July 2008 competition and it was so quick Mike missed it! The time was 59 minutes 18 seconds. Check out the website and get the full details. Also you can join Mike's blog and get full details for the 2009 competition early. Mike Jupp Cartoon Puzzle competition or contact tom@manornursery.com or phone o(44)1243 788971 ----------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles----------------
Interests; Natural History, Earth Sciences, Astro-Physics, History, Aviation and Pub Quizzes. About the only thing I have time for these days is participating in, and compiling/hosting Pub Quizzes! Could be worse? To quote Joe Walsh, "Life's been good to me"! Mike Jupp, Bognor Regis. Click here to visit his website
Mike Jupp. Mike’s view and history of Bognor Regis. Fascinating facts, photos and opinions. A collection of Mike’s artwork. Great stuff just to look at. I can spend a long time taking in the detail. All about The Dreamstone, that fabulous series. Aeroplanes and Aerographs, with MJ artwork for sale too. News and views on Jupp jigsaw puzzles, including a great picture of I Love Great Britain. Mike Jupp’s novel on Retribution which is inspired by a supernatural haunting. Including illustrations and excerpts. Photos and facts on the Jupp home-made car. Where did all these Nimrods come from? Info on Bimble’s bucket which is MJ’s second TV series. A brilliant part of the site is watch a cartoon in the making. All the stages of an illustration are shown, absolutely fascinating. Plus lots of details on fellow artists, jokes and the MJ weird file. ----------------Mike Jupp Cartoon Jigsaw Puzzles----------------
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