Alex Toth was a very prolific pen pal, and all those doodle pages were sent with letters to his friends and fans. There must be thousands of similar pages out there.
Alex Toth once said: “For the first half of my career I was concerned with discovering as many things as possible to put into my stories – rendering, texture, detail. For the second half of my career, I have worked as hard as I could to leave out all those things.”
I actually prefer those doodles to finished, polished pages. So rich and inspired! From the master's brain directly to the paper, uncensored, fresh, wild, crazy! I love some of those pages as much as any, say, Krazy Kat Sunday or Kirby/Sinnott Fantastic Four, because they are, regardless of their simplicity and spontaneity, expressions of a superior artistic mind.
Here are some excerpts from Alex Toth’s introduction to ‘The Alex Toth Doodle Book’, by Alex Toth & John Hitchcock (Octopus Press 2006):
“Why doodles? Living alone as I do, have, for 16 years now, I’ve turned more and more to having a pad before me on this tablefull of clutter, a small TV, jugs of markers, pen, pencils, etc., ... radio, music tapes, tons of mags/books, etc., keep my wheels turning, alert, aware, of wotnhell’s going on out there in our diminishing, noisy, evernastier world – everhoping for good news, to cheer me on – but, no, too rarely so, damn it – so, as I fuss and fume over too-much bad shocking depressing outrageous news and/or stuff labeled ‘entertainment’, I’m doodling, reflecting or deflecting the content of all of it, as it filters thru the little gray cells and lowers my boilingpoint, I doodle – like a pianist’s finger-exercises, playing bits, or all, of a piece, or just venting spleen – counterpoint, at times, to bad news, I might draw happier imagery – as balance – as escape – yes – and this, while thinking in many directions, fleetingly or at length, often surprises me, with reactive results – links to my past, people, places, things, events, that I’ve seen, recall – and bits of countless silent / sound / live / animation / movies / shorts / features / theatrical / TV / flit in and out – faces, of all sorts, pop-up, lots, and accidents with them hook up – to others – I catch lookalike-faces spilling out on paper – and sometimes label such, does this look like an actor / actress / public figure, of then – or now? I see resemblances – others may not – ever! Such little moments may bounce me into other related characters, subjects, etc., assessing results, as worth noting – or dismissing them as mere fillips – of mood – a curious brew of flashes. Investigative doodling of architectural subjects, of planes, cars, gadgets, ships, etc., or casual abstract / geometric / designs – patterns / textures / light and shadowplays on 3dimensional objects / figures / faces – all intrigue me! I love to doodle as many variations as I can of racial, ethnic, regional, native facial / figural types, avoiding others’ cliches, stereotypes, offensive distortions – yet, too, if in a loose cartoony mood, I’ll play with those shorthand renditions. ...
My bias is for smaller ones, 8x10”, or the 6x9” notepads, 200 or 100 sheet, drugstore / supermarket types, inexpensive, blank or lined, for us, the blank’s best – smaller drawings are easier to control, proportions-wise, handling, and it forces one to simplify, deal with shapes, form, mass, the overall, so one doesn’t get distracted with fussy details – tickling – technique – for it’s own sake – no grandstanding / showboating / just think: “No one’ll ever see my doodles” – so you can freely mess-up / tear up / change mindset / approach / do as you like – enjoy the process of investigating / experimenting / discovering – you – revelations – of alla prima – direct – lead – or ink – or even light/ medium gray bulletnose markers. ...
Doodles, exercises, betters one’s pro’, paid for, work! It’s preparation, homework, study, introspective self-education, stretching, pushing up, out, to higher levels of observation, execution, basic drawing / interpretive skills – rendering – composition – the whole ball of wax!
Life drawing, of course, the great teacher – lots of it! Learning the abstract interlocking forms / shapes / weights / lines / tonal masses / of face / figure / anything – you’ll do it – for you – love it, too! The more, the better – for you! You will always be your own best teacher! Doing more thinking than drawing! But doing lots – of both! For you!
See, observe, remember! Increase wider interests / curiosities / about everything!! Figure ‘em out, your subjects – know them! So you commit them to memory – and, 30 yrs, or days, later, you’ll remember them, be able to draw them – well! Understand what you see – really see! It’s fun to learn – stretch your limits – bust thru! Truly see – the beauty – in commonplace subjects – and the uncommon – exotic – complex or simple – find ways to depict the complex simply. ..
There are 111 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.
109 through 111 shown.
+
Art Details
| Artist: |
Alex Toth (All)
|
| Media Type: |
Marker |
| Art Type: |
Sketchbook |
| For Sale Status: |
NFS |
| Views |
551 |
| Comments: |
0 |
| Added to Site: |
12/7/2005 |
About the Owner
Doodles 01
Artist: Alex Toth (All)
551 Views
+
Art Details
| Artist: |
Alex Toth (All)
|
| Media Type: |
Marker |
| Art Type: |
Other |
| For Sale Status: |
NFS |
| Views |
476 |
| Comments: |
0 |
| Added to Site: |
8/23/2005 |
About the Owner
postcard 2
Artist: Alex Toth (All)
476 Views
+
Art Details
| Artist: |
Alex Toth (All)
|
| Media Type: |
Marker |
| Art Type: |
Other |
| For Sale Status: |
NFS |
| Views |
727 |
| Comments: |
0 |
| Added to Site: |
8/23/2005 |
About the Owner
postcard 1
Artist: Alex Toth (All)
727 Views
There are 111 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.
109 through 111 shown.
Search This Gallery
Art By Type (within this Gallery)
Art By Popularity (within this Gallery)
Art By Year (within this Gallery)
|
Art By Artist (within this Gallery)
|
About the Owner
|
 |
Contact the Owner
Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner,
but, you must be logged in to use this feature.
|
Splash Page Comic Art
