We recently had the chance to connect with Bob Doucette and have shared our conversation below.
Bob, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
A decade ago I had an opportunity to work with Disney Fine Arts creating artistic expressions of my favorite Disney films in paint. I tried to make it happen but I realized that if I did that then I would never figure out who I was as an artist. I wanted to know what my vision was before I committed to interpreting someone else’s vision. Fast forward ten years, I have several hundred paintings under my belt many many sales and I’m pretty confidant in my skills so when the opportunity arose again I went for the challenge. The economic atmosphere has been murky, to say the least, as of late, so I needed to find a new venture to keep me afloat. I see warning signs and I try and react quickly. A year ago I signed a contract with Disney Fine Arts in November 2024 and have been busily creating pieces for them ever since. The first year has been brutal, balancing my gallery career with the wants and needs of the Disney machine, but I have enjoyed the challenge. It has been a year of rediscovering my youth and applying all my animation knowledge into my art career.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Toboland is my umbrella company that encompasses all things in the world of The Art of Bob Doucette. My art is not just painting, it also involves sculpting and doll making which I do with my husband Tom Slotten. Tom creates the beautiful costumes for our art dolls and I sculpt them. That is why I named the company To(m)Bo(b)land so that it includes a bit of both of us in the name. Tom has always been a costume designer for theater and since 1990 he has worked with me creating art dolls on the side. We have done pretty well with the dolls, we have sold many and were commissioned by the White House to make a Ben Franklyn figure for the White House Christmas tree in 1999 which now resides in the Smithsonian. I worked for many years as an animation director with many credits on IMDB, including Animaniacs, Tiny Toons and Clifford’s Puppy Days. In 2013 I left my lucrative animation career to start a crazy life as a gallery artist. We left Los Angeles and moved to Peoria IL where I have involved myself with many amazing art projects, such as murals and chalk painting and an art tour that I created with a couple of artists friends called ArtHaus which combined historical home tours with gallery tours. Life is busy, but always interesting!
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child I thought I was ugly and stupid and unloved. I’m still working on not seeing myself that way but it takes lots of therapy to undo what your parents and your childhood sears on your soul. I have never been able to look in the mirror for very long but at this age I see my beauty through the eyes of those who love me, though it is hard to accept I have to believe my friends and husband. My mother and my siblings had some very direct and indirect ways of making me feel like I was not very smart even though I graduated from High School with honors, college as a magna cum laude and am the only one in my family who made it to a master’s degree I was told that it was “just” art so it doesn’t really matter. Feeling loved is the hardest part for me, i didn’t trust “love.” My mom never told me she loved me so I determined I didn’t deserve to be loved. Finally on her death bed she was able to say those word. It was a bit too late but it did a lot to help mend that wound. With all those faults I always pushed myself to achieve things and I see that now and appreciate how I overcame my obstacles.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
After I left my animation career behind and embraced the gallery life I feared I bit off more than I could chew. We sold our expensive pool house and down graded to a small house in Pasadena but our mortgage was still $3K a month and I bit my nails every month wondering if we’d be able to scrape up enough to pay our bills. I had knots in my stomach every day. We spent all our savings, including my 401K and was racking up the credit cards. Finally we sold our house and moved to Illinois, which relieved a lot of the pressure. We were able to buy our new house outright and get rid of our mortgage which did a lot for the health of my fingernails. There have been many times where I have had to get down on my knees and pray for an intervention, I knew I was on the right path but I was terrified we were going to fail. I try to have faith in us and believe that it will all work out and when that doesn’t help I say “Jesus take the wheel!”
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Sadly, I have no poker face. You get what you see with me. I’m honest to a fault and I’m filled with faults. I believe that my vulnerability has become my secret sauce. As an artists it is important to bring people into your work, by revealing your personal story. It’s natural to think that others wont be able to relate to your specific circumstances but the opposite is true. If you share your life honestly and specifically it almost always elicited an empathetic response.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I find that we live in a culture addicted to endorphins. I usually find great peace, joy and serenity when I create my art, but for some reason I need to get others to like it to validate myself. I need to get likes and comments on social media and I definitely need to sell all my work or I am a complete failure. Whenever I create a big solo show I feel let down after it is done.
So when I do the work, I get the comments and likes and I sell the piece I still feel something is missing. It is my mindset that is the problem, I don’t need to be validated by others.I already find great joy and pleasure in what I do and that should be enough. Do I want a pat on the back, do I want to be pointed out for my work, of course, everyone does. Give me an award of achievement but recognize that you have a life of joy you have created and that is the real prize.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bobdoucette.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_of_bob_doucette/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.doucette.52/
Image Credits
All photos are by me accept the one’s of me and they are by my niece Dawn Lopez
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
