Ep 59 - Ron English : View Master

John Dalton - gently does it . . .

I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with iconic pop artist Ron English. Ron has been painting for the last 35 years. He was making street art before it was hip or cool, before that term had even been coined. Back in the 80’s he was liberating billboards by altering their ads to highlight what the manufacturer didn’t want you to know. His billboard work famously brought about the end of Joe the camel, the cartoon character created by camel cigarettes to capture the pre-teen market. Ron’s art is whimsical, satirical, and courageous. His skill level is high. He can oil paint with the best of them. As well as fine art he produces art books, art toys, and in the last couple of years he’s been creating satirical consumer products and placing them in supermarkets.

The time flew by, we talked about many thing, see the list below, yet we only scratched the surface of the huge body of work Ron has made, and the depths of the person.

Here are the main points of what we talk...