Here we have arguably the best print from the mixed bag, late-in-life portfolio that Wood did called WALLY WOOD'S WEIRD SEX FANTASIES. It was a signed and numbered limited edition published by (not THE) Richard Pryor. Woodworker A. L. Sirois was Woody's assistant during that period and has this to say about the project today:
I did work on it. His health was generally pretty good at that time, with his
drinking under control, though not his smoking; that never was. Of course, I
smoked too in those days so I didn't really notice. But he got essentially no
exercise, little fresh air, did not eat well, and incessantly drank an evil brew
of tea and saccharine that was constantly cooking on a hotplate in his studio.
Even then I thought it was foul!
He moved his studio from his house to a seperate building, and was without
electricity so he ran an extension cord from the house. I think he established
the outside studio (which had no windows) because he was distracted by the noise
from the busy road next to the house. I never liked it, but by the time he did
that I was working less for him at his place and more at home.
It WAS a fun project. He was working on THE WIZARD KING at this time, too, so
there was a lot of good artwork floating around and he was in a very creative
period. Plus he had a lot of friends in and out: Ralph Reese, Bill Pearson, Nick
Cuti, and others. It was a good scene much of the time.
I did a lot of backgrounds, most of them, in fact, and some painting
(airbrushing). I enjoyed the larger format of the drawings, for a change, after
all the comics work. His planning abilities were good, and he'd get several
boards set up so that he could be finishing one while I was working on
backgrounds for another, or doing tighter pencils on blue breakdowns. I rifled
his files for swipes, and since I had a lot of SF stuff of my own we would
occasionally go through that.
The thing I remember most about it is that he made the drawing look so damn
EASY,and I knew it wasn't. When he was interested in what he was doing, as he
was here, he couldn't put a bad line on the page; it was really pretty much all
golden.
I did work on it. His health was generally pretty good at that time, with his
drinking under control, though not his smoking; that never was. Of course, I
smoked too in those days so I didn't really notice. But he got essentially no
exercise, little fresh air, did not eat well, and incessantly drank an evil brew
of tea and saccharine that was constantly cooking on a hotplate in his studio.
Even then I thought it was foul!
He moved his studio from his house to a seperate building, and was without
electricity so he ran an extension cord from the house. I think he established
the outside studio (which had no windows) because he was distracted by the noise
from the busy road next to the house. I never liked it, but by the time he did
that I was working less for him at his place and more at home.
It WAS a fun project. He was working on THE WIZARD KING at this time, too, so
there was a lot of good artwork floating around and he was in a very creative
period. Plus he had a lot of friends in and out: Ralph Reese, Bill Pearson, Nick
Cuti, and others. It was a good scene much of the time.
I did a lot of backgrounds, most of them, in fact, and some painting
(airbrushing). I enjoyed the larger format of the drawings, for a change, after
all the comics work. His planning abilities were good, and he'd get several
boards set up so that he could be finishing one while I was working on
backgrounds for another, or doing tighter pencils on blue breakdowns. I rifled
his files for swipes, and since I had a lot of SF stuff of my own we would
occasionally go through that.
The thing I remember most about it is that he made the drawing look so damn
EASY,and I knew it wasn't. When he was interested in what he was doing, as he
was here, he couldn't put a bad line on the page; it was really pretty much all
golden.
Al Sirois-2009
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