The Muppet Movie (A)
1980
Having stayed in L.A. after finishing school, Drew had never gone to
New York. The Muppet movie gave him that opportunity. After
Jim Henson chose Drew to do the poster for his first movie the next
step
was for Drew to go to New York to conceive the idea and to photograph
the
Muppets as reference for the piece of art. Drew, along with a
group
of
creatives including Jim Henson, conceived of the idea of the "Gone
with the Wind" pose with Kermit and Piggy as the main image. If
you
are going to the big city that is surely the way to do it.
A little personal insight. At the time of doing the painting
Drew lived 114 miles from Hollywood out in the country side. So
he
painted what he knew, the countryside as the Muppets approached
Hollywood,
with a California road sign like the one near his home.
After Drew had done the painting Jim commented on how Drew was able
to paint the Muppets as we see them, not as puppets but as real living
individuals. Subsequently, Drew became the unofficial Muppet
artist
because it was only Drew that painted the Muppets the way Jim saw them.