VanAResumesSMONK.html

Van Allen Animaton ,Video and Art Resumes

www.uptowntalent.com/keithv

Tales of an Itinerant Animator

Keith Van Allen has worked for over 20 years in the film,animation,illustration and commercial art industry.He began his art education at approximately age 3,under the tutlelege of his father,Russell C. Van Allen ,a natural teacher and talented landscape and wildlife painter as well as cartoonist ,and was drawing in perspective before the age of 5. He was soon influenced by Disney and Warner Bros. animation as well as Mad Magazine,classic painters such as Vermeer and Rembrandt, Americans such as Charles Russell and Norman Rockwell ,George Inness,and a host of other media bombardments available at the time, usually with a close tie of influence with his father, with whom art was a shared experience. A love of comedy and acting emerged around age 8, also under the influence of his dad ,a very funny and loving man ,as well as great TV comedians of which there were many. A propensity for acting out characters with his fingers or toys while spining his head to create“swish-pans”,or ”iris-outs” with his hands or “fades” with his eyelids, could lead to embarassing moments when discovered by unsuspecting people such as his nieghbor Betty Wade.After his awkward explanation she reminded him he'd be late for the school bus.

A subconcious appreciation for 20th Cen. modern art developed thru various stylized animation shows as well as a series of tiles by Salvador Dali which were unknowingly sitting around the house all those years.At one point young Keith remarked,”you know ,this guy’s good”.Around 1994,Keith informed his mother that coffee pots must no longer be placed on the tiles. Throughout childhood,encouragement and advice by Richmond commercial artist Charles Kalman was also influencial.
          Film awareness began at age five as well at the hands of Bob Clampett,Friz Freleng,,Chuck Jones and of course Disney,as well as watching his dad thread up the ol' Bell &Howell to show Kiko the Kangaroo but it was when at age 12 he discovered Hitchcock (as a director)in a concious sense,mainly through“ Rear Window” ,that led him to start making short films.Keith did’nt take art in high school,he took band,and it was there he learned caricature,(usually drawing the band teacher).His love for music increased greatly , also under the influence of his uncle, Kenneth Van Allen, a music teacher ,which led to his first music compositions.Two other interests now emerged, that of poetry and writing , (from the Van Allen family tradition of throwing poems at each other), and architecture ,from the work of his grandfather ,D.Wiley Anderson, locating and studying many of his turn-of the-century Richmond buildings, much encouraged by his mother.Mixed in with all this was a constant barage of jokes and cutting up whether from his dad and his brothers,or his moms sisters and brothers,there were no shortage characters and creative spontaneous exuberances.If all this sounds like an education by relatives,to great degree it was, and formed much of Keith’s deepest influences.
          After attending V.C.U.,where he developed a great love of art and film history,Keith worked with his animation teacher Steve Segal at Candy Apple productions in Richmond doing animated TV commercials.This led to a career in animation that took him through many TV shows ,among them ” Tazmania”,starring “Taz” for Warner Bros.,”Doug”,”The Care Bears”,Curious George”,”The Raccoons”,and a great many TV commercials and corporate films,designing,storyboarding,writing, directing and animating in various capacities for different clients,including “Sears”,” MacDonalds”,”Bovril”,” Chester Cheetos”, and many others.
    Early on he worked in New Orleans for Fox Productions where first thing he got to animate was the Super Dome,that an a giant bee standing over it and driving a volkswagen,and later a snowman with an icecream cone on his head.This could only happen in animation and only in New Orleans.Soon it was up to Canada where he had fun with a lot of greta people doing raccoons who fought aardvarks and bears with "things on thier tummies".Again only in animation.Once they had a full dress dinner in the middle of the Rideau River,but unfortunately that didn't get in the film.He also did design and concept work for the Martin Agency for Kelloggs,Gieco Saab,Target Stores and many other clients.In 1989 he founded Van Allen Animation productions,in Richmond Va.He has also acted in many commercials and films.His first and fondest job however ,was bagging groceries at Ukrops,where he spent most of his time drawing cartoon signs,making comedy feature films starring the employees,featuring Tommy Toney as the renowned "Super Bagger", (famed caped crusader of gross retail merchandizing),or just doing imitations or other comic diversions for the customers.Occasionally he’d actually bag groceries.
        Nowadays ,Keith is screenwriting and dedicating his talent mostly to his “visions”,those projects, independent feature films,books,music,etc. as well as acting, that reflect the best he has to offer in service of a better world through entertainment and education.They include projects not only of hand drawn and computer animation ,but mixes of media,combining live action with animation and other special effects,with themes rangeing from the metaphysical to environmental,from humourous to horrific, from spiritual to religio-philosophical,often with a strong musical content,always with emphasis on interesting contrasts of characters as well as compellingly artistic settings,and places,whether simple or exotic.These projects range from shorts to features,with the technique flexing to meet the subject matter.