Native Angeleno David Weidman made his name in the ‘50s and ‘60s as a backstage animation genius—he was the guy producers called to develop characters, draw backgrounds / layouts and conceptualize advertising spot campaigns. His CV includes the unproduced animated version of Finian’s Rainbow, Mr. Magoo, Fractured Fairy Tales and sex & acid flicks for the academic scare market.

But his true love was and remains graphic art, the two-dimensional confluence of image, color and language. For years, Weidman sold his silkscreen and serigraph posters to gift shops, later opening his own showcase gallery on L.A.’s traditional avenue des arts, La Cienega. The ever-independant Weidman produced prodigious amounts of work, developing continuing cycles such as posters commemorating imaginary holidays (National Egg Week, National Beer Week), faux ancient Chinese wisdom (“Confuseman say…”), and a seemingly endless array of daffy, gorgeous critters, monsters and heroes. The work reflects Weidman’s urbane, playful wit and is often suffused with personal mythology in ways that distinguish it from most pop illustration.

Weidman’s palatte is steeped in the sophisto-‘60s: cool blue-greens, organic brown-oranges, a perfect purple to make your eyeballs turn happy flips. A post-war student of WPA muralist Rico Lebrun, he always considered himself a fine artist, in competition with gallery exhibitors rather than fellow mass marketeers. But he was also a self-described guerilla artist, following his muse to Mammon’s dismay. The average cost of an original Weidman poster was $5 for much of his career; at $40 today, the new-old stock remains a bargain.

These days, Weidman devotes himself to archiving his output and making witty figural teapots and dog-shaped cannisters in the airy, art-filled hillside house he designed more than fifty years ago. His website continues to evolve, and features many of the gorgeous posters he designed in the 1960s. --Kim Cooper

Weidman on the tube: look for our man’s vegetables on the set wall of That ‘70s Show.

Visit www.weidmanart.com to dig or own original prints and posters.