Toy story

Toy story. oil on board. 6"x4"

Available by emailing   nigelmasonart@yahoo.co.uk

I've never been a collector as such but, occasionally I come across objects that have some resonance for me. One such item was the strange red tricycle shown in the painting. The character popping out of the back is Zebedee from the 70s children's program Magic Roundabout.

The Magic Roundabout has entered the cultural consiousness of the British Isles (I don't know how the rest of the world views it). It was a surreal program, with animal characters that were familiar to children and a wierd character (Zebedee) who had a red face with spots on the cheeks, a moustache and got about by means of a spring! Lots of conspiricy theories have sprung up about the hidden meanings woven into the program - but really it was a fairy story for kids. 

It's not that I'm a fan of the program - I was too old to really get into it. Its that I marvel at the effort, build ethic and expense that promoters of the program went to in a bid to keep interest alive. The object itself is pleasingly designed with an articulated body, bright colours and a mechanism (the yellow knob on the back of the vehicle) to make the character pop up. Its tough and durable - all the yellow parts are plastic, the red parts metal. It all still works and its 40 years old. All this effort to make a 3D illustration of a TV program!

I bought the plastic cowboy from a car boot sale (10p). I discovered whilst designing a cake for a child's birthday that sets of Cowboys and Indians are not on sale any more - not politically correct probably.

 I loved watching Cowboy films as a boy. The dress was exotic - all  leather and denim. Tons of buckles, straps and belts. Holsters, guns, knives, bows and arrows, lasso's and whips. Goodies and baddies, clearly defined through dress, horses and facial expressions. I identified more with Indians - cunning, wild and lived off the land, made stuff. But the most heroic of all was the guy that rode "shotgun". He got the high ground, a rocky outcrop, bell tower or on the back of a wagon, stagecoach or train. A lone wolf.

The figure seemed to fit in well to this little tableau - it seems that even if your a children's character, going for a ride on your tricycle, you need someone riding shotgun.