Disney-inspired artist displays collection

From a pair of ballet shoes incised into a metal plate, to the oily gloss of a wave as it rolled toward a rocky shore, students witnessed an assortment of pictures, that depicted a diverse array of creativity.

Jack Marsh Larsen’s gallery of “Etchings and Paintings” was open to the public in the Boswell Hall Corner Gallery on Thursday, Sept. 22. A gallery walk began the day at 10:30 a.m., followed by a presentation and lecture at 1:00 p.m., and finished with a closing reception from 5-7 p.m.

Larsen was born in Glendale, Calif., where his father illustrated for Walt Disney’s Animated Classics from 1932 to 1941. It was this, he said, that drove him to want to pursue a career in art. At the age of nine, Larsen said he told his father that he wanted to become an artist.

“He told me to learn everything I could possibly learn about it,” said Larsen. “He said ‘don’t specialize.’”

Art major Michelle Flansburg said Larsen’s style reminds her of famed PBS television art instructor Bob Ross.

“It does evoke a slight Bob Ross feel, just being landscape,” said Flansburg. “Especially the forested areas with the happy trees and the little cabins.”

She said one particular painting, “Bridge in the Fog,” aroused her interest, with its attention to small details and well-blended style.

Most of the art depicted different scenery in his hometown of Eugene, Ore. and Lincoln City, Ore. This included several paintings of ships, which, Larsen said, were among his personal favorites and best represented his illustration influence.

At the age of 18, Larsen joined the military and worked at Patterson Air Force Base in a unit that designed and built displays. Larsen said they paid full tuition for him to attend the Dayton Art Institute, University of Dayton, Ohio.

After graduation, he apprenticed Robert J. Smith, who taught him the art of grinding oil paints, restoration, and advanced techniques in oil painting. Larsen is now best known for his oil paintings. He also makes intaglio prints, a form of printmaking in which images are engraved into a surface, most commonly a form of metal such as steel or copper.

Larsen then became employed at the Geary Agency as art director, working on accounts for Neal Sedaka, Wayne Newton and Tom Jones. Larsen also designed exhibit displays for Clairol, Redkin and L’Oreal.

Larsen’s exhibit was arranged and sponsored by the Citizen’s Counsel for the Arts.