The story behind 100 Mickeys...
By Eric Robison

When I received the proposal to paint 100 Mickeys, I was excited and anxious to begin. I packed up my paints and brushes and flew to a little island in the Caribbean to commence this ambitious undertaking.

The inspiration of Nature's colors there and the occasional plunge into the river was enough to initiate a great start. I returned two weeks later with the first 21 Mice in my suitcase. That was easy. The next 79 were a bit more challenging and took 16 months to finish. The challenge was trying to make each one different in pose, style, or medium. As well as paying homage to the history of Mickey.

It is a collection of paintings that I'll never forget achieving and a dream project for any artist to take on. I am honored that I was asked to perform such a feat. I want to thank the Disney Company for allowing me to express myself in so many ways and I am honored to represent Walt's wonderful creation - Mickey Mouse...An American Icon.

MM 076 - Alphabet Soup

"Look carefully… M-I-C-K-E-Y is spelled out throughout the subliminal image of Mickey."

MM 077 - Red Rage

"It was Halloween and I wanted to paint a "devilish" Mickey…he turned out to appear
"enraged" rather than "devilish"."

MM 078 - Bad News

"Here's Mickey sneaking quietly away, until someone catches him. Uh-oh!"

MM 079 - Bedtime Blues

"Sometimes when we're young we don't want to go to bed… I have three children like that."

MM 080 - In the Garden

"This rose garden painting was intended for my wife's birthday…I needed a canvas… so I painted Mickey into it. I made it up to my wife by painting another."

MM 081 - Allez!

"After watching the U.S. Open on TV, I was compelled to create a "Tennis Mickey"… it came out more like ping pong."

MM 082 - Envy

"Green with envy. I needed an excuse to use green. Influenced by pistachio ice cream… what other pieces were inspired by ice cream."

MM 083 - Waiting in Gray

"Here's Mickey waiting in a queue line at Disneyland. I originally called it "Button Eyed Mouse."

MM084 - White Line Study

"This was the fastest sketch in the collection. I just liked the pose."

MM 085 - Into the Clouds

"A tribute to my brother."

MM 086 - Trouble Brewing

"Little Troublemaker…innocent and excited…not knowing what's to come…
wearing yensid's hat…do you know what yensid is backwards?"

MM 087 - Store Bag Mouse

"This is one of many "Red Ear" pieces. Can you find the others?"

MM 088 - Bonne Fete

"The second largest canvas of the collection there is a huge chunk of paint stuck
to his mouth. I achieved this by throwing handfuls of pure pigment at the canvas."

MM 089 - Winking Mouse

"I wanted Mickey to glow."

MM 090 - Cellar Suspense

"This was originally called "Mickey and the Spider" changed later to "In The Cellar" [then changed again]. I painted it with a dinner fork. It was the week of Halloween,
my favorite holiday."

MM 091- Self Impression

"I was pretending that Mickey was the artist and that he painted himself."

MM 092 - Bad Ear Day

"Instead of a bad hair day… Mickey has a bad ear day."

MM 093 - Dimples Mickey

"Dimples…inspired by my son Charlie at 6 months old."

MM094 - Oh!

"This was my expression when I was first asked to paint 100 Mickeys."

MM 095 - Brave Little
Tailor 2

"From the "Brave Little Tailor"… I loved his drooping cheeks."

MM 096 - Kabuki Mouse

"The background is the very first painting of the 100… it's how it all started… it is actually 100 Mickeys in itself…the largest painting of the collection as well…and the most paint used…very thick…very important piece. The foreground: I had been fascinated with Kabuki theater…thought that I would try it with Mickey."

MM 097 - Running Underwater

"Originally called "Swimming With Shoes On," it was summertime and I had just returned from the beach."

MM 098 - Classic

"Interpretation of a classic. I couldn't resist making one button blue."

MM 099 - Copper

"This was the last one that I painted of the 100. I was very happy that day! I loved
this copper paper…I tried to paint an Egyptian style wall painting of Mickey…I didn't
like it so I simply did a face. I smeared raw powdered pigment over the relief of the paper."

MM 100 - Prince

"The only digital piece in the collection [that was chosen]…there are two other digital paintings that are bonus cards can you find them?"