for tens of thousands of dollars." Jean thought that this profession would fit Homer. In the episode, "Start here tomorrow 7/17/95" is written in blue paint on the Simpsons' garage door. The date refers to Scully and Julie Thacker's anniversary, which was on July 17, 1995. In the episode's setpiece, the Simpsons visit a hardware store. The segment was inspired by Jean's father, who owned a hardware store that Al Jean used to work in as a child. Later in the setpiece, Homer tries to construct a barbecue that he bought from the hardware store. The scene was also conceived by Jean, and is executive producer and former showrunner Mike Scully's favorite setpiece. While the designs of Homer's new art friends were not based on anybody in particular, the "German guy" was drawn to hold his cigarette in a "European way" by animation director Jim Reardon. When visiting the Springfield museum, Homer and Marge see a painting showing Akbar and Jeff, two characters from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening's comic strip Life in Hell. The painting's frame was also signed by Groening himself in real life. The painting next to Groening's was drawn by Scully's friend Tom Gagnon, who is an artist. Some of the paintings in the episode's second act were also drawn by friends of Dean Moore. At one point in Homer's dream, the Vitruvian Man appears and attacks him. According to Groening, there were "some controversy" over whether or not the Vitruvian Man would be in nude or not, as he is in the original painting. In the episode, he is wearing a jockstrap. At the end of the episode, Springfield is flooded with water, and Marge is seen painting a picture on the Simpsons' roof. Her painting was drawn by staff animator Amy Clese, who drew it as a recreation of a painting by J. M. W. Turner, an English Romantic painter. According to Dean Moore, the painting was "pretty difficult" to animate, as it was drawn with a lot of washes and gradients. He added, however, that he was "very happy" with it. "Mom and Pop Art" features American contemporary artist Jasper Johns as himself. His lines were recorded over the telephone, and Jean stated that it was "extremely exciting" to have him appear in the episode. The episode also features Italian actress Isabella Rossellini as Astrid. Jean stated that her performance was "terrific" and