Introduction

The continuing art adventures of Doofus and the Duck and their Company of players, as created by my wonderful wife Emma during the time of quarantine: the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing through 2021. This is the seventeenth installment of works, the Company remaining at the height of their creative endeavors.

Without further ado, back to the Doofus and the Duck…

December 2021

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their occasional series of Iconic Screen Images, and in honour of the birthday of one of the Company’s earliest and most loyal supporters, their tableau of a famous scene from the BBC’s Andrew Davies/Simon Langton award-winning television adaptation of the much-loved Jane Austen novel, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, entitled “Pride and Prejudice – Surprise Meeting at Pemberley (1995),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Prideful and Prejudicial, though Very Handsome and Rich, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy

A rare treat! Bravo (particularly to the Costuming and Set Design Departments)!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of Pinchgut Opera’s staging of French 18th century composer and music theoretician Jean-Phillipe Rameau’s ground-breaking comic opera “Platée,” their tableau of a promotional photograph used for Pinchgut Opera’s staging of Rameau’s opera “Dardanus” where members of the cast and crew staged a “French invasion” of Sydney’s Fort Denison (locally known as “Pinchgut Island”), entitled “Storming Pinchgut! (2005),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Brave and Fearless Leader of the Expedition, The Mighty Production Manager Andre filsJean; and featuring the Purple Hippo as The Drummer, and the Little Sheep and Little Tiger as The Troops

Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the significant birthday of one of The Company’s earliest supporters and in commemoration of the United Nation’s International Anti-Corruption Day, their tableau of an advertising poster, created Czech/Slavic painter, illustrator, and graphic Art Nouveau artist Alfons Maria Mucha for a famous French beverage company, entitled “Moët & Chandon Crémant Impérial (1899),” featuring the Purple Hippo and the Little Tiger as A Pair of Door Knockers

Exquisite work from the Doofus as the archetypal Mucha diva. Outstanding!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their new series of Christmas Card Images, their tableau of a work by Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech (1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) created between the 1960s and late-1970s for the Barcelona-based Hoechst Ibérica, entitled “Felicitation de navidad (1961),” featuring a Little Blue Man as The Spirit of Christmas

A beautiful rendition of a forgotten work by a master of modern art, with echos of Velasquez for those with an eye to Spanish Art History. Wonderful work by Doofus, yet credit must go to the Costuming Dept for their delightful design. Brilliant!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their new series of Christmas Card Images, their tableau of an ink pen drawing by English artist, cartoonist, and illustrator Ronald William Fordham Searle, completed as part of a box set of cards, entitled “Christmas Card (1989?),” featuring Boxer the Stuffed Clydesdale as A Surprised Reindeer; the Purple Hippo as The Little Drummer Girl, and the Little Sheep as The Happy Christmas Trumpet Boy

Delightful and wonderful! Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their new series of Christmas Card Images, their tableau of a panel drawn by US cartoonist Gary Larson drawing for the “Far Side” series, entitled “Unbeknownst to most theologians, there was a fourth wiseman, who was turned away for bringing a fruitcake (1994),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Fourth Wiseman, and featuring China Baby the Lord’s Angel; and the Notre Dame Gargoyle, the Little Big Stone Head, and the Big Little Stone Head as the Three Wisemen.

Another outstanding Christmas Card interpreted by the Company. Wonderful!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their new series of Christmas Card Images, their tableau of a drawing created by American illustrator and author Maurice Bernard Sendak for the December 30, 1976 issue of the American music/lifestyle magazine “Rolling Stone,” entitled ““Some Swell Tree!” “Wild!” (1976),” starring Shaun the Sheep as A Wild Christmas Tree Thing; and featuring the Purple Hippo as the Little Boy, and the Little Sheep as the Small Girl

Another gorgeous interpretation of a “forgotten” Christmas scene. Beautiful and engaging!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their series of iconic Australian Advertising Images, their tableau of a scene taken from the supermarket chain Aldi’s Christmas promotion, designed and developed by the BMF advertising agency, entitled “Surfing Santa (2012),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Big Red Christmas Dude; and featuring the Purple Hippo and the Little Sheep as the Santa Surfettes

Another fantastic tableau from all concerned. Outstanding!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the coming Christian Festival of Christmas and as part of their on-going series of iconic graphic images, their tableau of a panel drawn by American artist and illustrator William Boyd Watterson II for his much-loved comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” entitled “Christmas Eve (1989),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as That Precocious Rapscallion Calvin; and introducing the Little Tiger as The Lovable Stuffed Tiger Hobbes

Once again the Company have excelled themselves! Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the post-Christmas holiday of Boxing Day and as part of their on-going series of iconic graphic images, their tableau of a panel drawn by American artist and illustrator William Boyd Watterson II for the first collected volume of his much-loved comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” entitled “Calvin and Hobbes: Vol 1 (1993),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as That Precocious Rapscallion Calvin; and featuring the Little Tiger as The Lovable Stuffed Tiger Hobbes

Who doesn’t love “Calvin and Hobbes?” Wonderful!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the end of the Year of 2021, their reimagining of their tableau of French early-Romantic painter Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault’s most well-known canvas, entitled “The Raft of the Medusa (1818-19),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as A Saved Fellow and Shaun the Sheep as Another Saved Fellow; and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Dead Fellow and the Little Sheep The Next Likely Dinner

An excellent revisiting of Géricault’s famous work that somehow seems the perfect statement to finish this year. Well done!