Disney Treasures: A Well Dressed Conscience

DISNEY TREASURES COLLECTION: A WELL DRESSED CONSCIENCE

Michelle St. Laurent

MEDIUM: Giclée on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
SIZE: 16" x 12"
EDITION SIZE: 1500
ARTIST: Michelle St. Laurent
SKU: DFA-T-WDC

ABOUT THE IMAGE: Inspired by Walt Disney’s Animated Classic Pinocchio!

ABOUT THE MEDIUM:  Each Treasures On Canvas Collection Features stunning Limited-Edition artwork by many of your favorite artists. All titles are released in limited editions of 1500 and arrive beautifully gallery-wrapped and come complete with a Certificate of Authenticity. Officially Licensed artwork by Disney.    

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Michelle St. Laurent was born and raised in New Jersey, the oldest of four children in a large Italian family. At a young age, Michelle was inspired by Italian Renaissance painters Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. She began painting at the age of 6 and asked for new paint sets and sketchbooks on every birthday. In the first grade, she entered a poster contest creating a painting of all the Disney characters marching in a parade. The judges disqualified her because they could not believe she had done the painting by herself without tracing. Her disappointment fueled her determination to become an artist.

Michelle made it her goal to become a Disney Artist when her family moved to Florida at the age of 16. She worked in the Magic Kingdom throughout high school then attended the Art Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, majoring in Advertising and Design. After gathering years of experience, Michelle was hired by Disney Design Group where she spent ten years creating artwork for Disney’s Theme Park Merchandise. She trained, worked, and was inspired by Disney legend Ralph Kent. Another 5 years working with Disney’s Park Events team as an Art Director creating large-scale sets and props for all the major park parties, festivals, and press events.

Michelle began painting for the Disney Galleries in 1998 and became a true Disney artist. Over 20 years now her talent evolves with each piece. "Through my paintings, I aspire to recreate the classic Disney magic, which allows each of us to be a kid again.” Her art feeds her life’s passion and her family fuels her passion for life.

ABOUT THE FILM: Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1883 Italian children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It was the second animated feature film produced by Disney, made after the first animated success Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

The plot involves an old woodcarver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. The puppet is brought to life by a blue fairy, who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be "brave, truthful, and unselfish". When he tells a lie, his nose grows longer, and when he tells the truth, his nose resumes its normal size.

Pinocchio's efforts to become a real boy involve encounters with a host of unsavory characters. The key character of Jiminy Cricket does not appear in the original book, though a 100-year "wise, old" cricket does. The film was adapted by several screenwriters from Collodi's book. Pinocchio was a groundbreaking achievement in effects animation, giving realistic movement to vehicles, machinery, and natural elements such as rain, lightning, smoke, shadows, and water. The film was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 7, 1940. Though initially being a box office bomb Pinocchio was the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award!