Description

My Diary Toad by Rob Bishop

This piece of art is etched on maple wood.

Rob Bishop is a Hertfordshire/Essex based mixed media artist who studied graphic design at college and model making at University. Rob Bishop just loves wood. For several years he has worked as a cabinet maker and by combining all his skills he has developed a unique style of artwork that has caught public attention.

Rob uses a mixed media approach to his work which combines digital art, wood work and painting. He will digitally manipulate an image, etches it onto a 12mm maple veneered board then hand paints the piece by using many layers of wood stains, spray paints and lacquer. When satisfied with the image a final layer of lacquer is applied followed by a hand polished finish to produce originals or a series of original variations and finishes with a hand made frame. He produces either a large one-off original or a series of 10 or 45 whereby each image is hand finished and coloured to ensure uniqueness in every piece. Both the artwork and frame are finished with a thumbprint signature. No two pieces can ever be the same each therefore are truly original.

Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio, is a fictional character who primarily appears in Nintendo’s Mario franchise. A humanoid with a mushroom-like head, Toad was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and is portrayed as a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom and is one of Princess Peach’s most loyal attendants, constantly working on her behalf. Toad is usually seen as a non-player character who provides assistance to Mario and his friends in most games, but there are times when Toad takes centre stage and appears as a protagonist, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2, Wario’s Woods and Super Mario 3D World.

While Toad is the name of an individual, it also refers to their entire race (much like Yoshi and Birdo). However, in early games, the species was called Mushroom Retainers, in Japan they were called Kinoko-zoku, literally “Mushroom People” (which is an alternate name used in earlier localizations, along with “Mushroom Retainers”). In the Mario franchise, there are also some other individual Toad characters (e.g., Toadette, Toadsworth, Toadbert, and Captain Toad). The most prominent trait of a Toad is its large head that resembles a mushroom in shape and color – historically speculated as them wearing a mushroom hat, as portrayed in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, but eventually ruled out by Super Mario Odyssey director Yoshiaki Koizumi. Another common point of most Toads is their traditional vest.