Mick McGinty(1952-2021)

Mick McGinty was raised just across the river from Sioux City in northeast Nebraska, and grew up in the small town of South Sioux City. His parents, Mike McGinty and Dorothy "Mudge" McGinty (née Love) were hard workers, with Mike working as an over-the-road trucker and Mudge working at the local beef packing plant, IBP. Growing up, Mick had an average exposure to art. He attended South Sioux City High School, where he was encouraged by teachers to think about pursuing a career in art because they saw promise in his work. After graduating in 1971, he spent two years in the Army, serving a year of that time in South Korea. During that time in Korea he was often asked to use his artistic talents by creating logos and murals of various kinds which was a welcome diversion from Army life. After his release from the military in mid 1973, he eventually found his way to Southern California a year later in 1974. He immediately found work at Knott's Berry Farm drawing pastel portraits at Bell's Portrait Studio. For the next three years he produced thousands of portraits and commissioned pastel paintings for visitors of the Park while also attending Fullerton Junior College. While still in Fullerton he married his wife Kerry in 1976 and after earning his AA Degree in 1977, moved to Pasadena to pursue his Bachelor of Arts Degree at Art Center College of Design. He entered as a Third Term Scholarship Student and graduated with High Honors with a BA Degree in Illustration in 1979. Soon after graduation he was hired by the legendary Willardson and White Design in Santa Monica, California. In the four years as a studio artist there, as well as the freelance he was able to begin from his illustration portfolio of hundreds of nationally known clients, he did art for Movie posters, including ones for Shock Treatment (1981), Qui veut la peau de Roger Rabbit (1988), and L'héritier de la panthère rose (1983), album covers such as 'Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings' by The Police and 'Restless Heart' by Whitesnake, and advertising artwork for companies such as Dr Pepper and Magic Mountain. In the 1990s he began illustrating Video Game covers, and the art that he did for the Street Fighter series is likely his best known work. Mick was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in August 2021. He died six weeks later on the 18th of September.