Tim Bowers Art Blog

And the award goes to...

2012-02-17T23:42:00.001-05:00

Tonight was the 43rd annual NAACP image awards presentation. One of the books that I illustrated, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band was nominated in the Outstanding Literary Work- Children category. Our book wasn’t chosen but it was pretty cool to be considered for such an award. Kwame Alexander, the author of the story attended the L.A. event. Soon after the airing, the winner’s list was published. The Rooster stood proudly on the nomination list but wasn’t selected, this time. Regardless of tonight’s results, he’s still a winner! (…and Kwame looked great in his black tux!)

... back to the drawing board!

Looking for a new pet? …how about a dinosaur??

2012-02-03T12:56:00.003-05:00

My newest book is out this month and it’s a beauty! The production quality is top notch… a really thick cover, slightly embossed title on the dust jacket and a music cd, embedded on the inside of the back cover…nice!

Dinosaur Pet by Neil Sedaka and Marc Sedaka, published by Imagine! (an imprint of Charlesbridge) just hit the shelves and the song is already a tune that I can’t get out of my head. What a fun project and Neil Sedaka is such a gifted singer/ songwriter… not to mention his talented son, Marc, who also has a very impressive writing resume’. What a great team!

The artwork was created with acrylic paint on a textured surface. I gessoed the board before I painted the images. Then, after laying in the areas of color, I painted (dry brush technique) over the image and gesso brushstrokes to get the texture that you see in the final art.

A few art notes: Some interesting props have been recognized in the art. The red piano, seen in the book is very similar to one that was featured on the cover of Neil Sedaka's 1977 album, A Song. The black and white zebra chair (above) is extremely similar to the one that is on his web site banner. Coincidence?… maybe, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

I was told that Mr. Sedaka liked intense color so I pumped up the chroma. This is the most saturated color book that I’ve done, thus far.

So, it’s February and a great month to think about picking up a dinosaur pet. Well, at least the book.

For more info about the book, visit:

www.imaginebks.com/children/dinosaur_pet.html

To see more images from the book, visit:

www.timbowers.com/pages/art_childrens_bk.html

...back to the drawing board!

I love, I love, I love my dinosaur pet. Yeah, sweet dinosaur pet. (There I go, again!)

New website for the new year...

2012-01-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

I just updated the ole' website. It took me a little longer than expected (that sounds familiar). I still have a few pages to finish but at least the main stuff is in place.
A new year, a new agency (East West Literary Agency) and a new website... welcome to 2012!

www.timbowers.com

I hope it's a good year for all of us!

Mind Your Manners…please.

2012-01-18T10:41:00.001-05:00

Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur: A First Book of Manners by Judy Sierra politely hit the shelves this month. My newest book, published by Knopf features a cute little pig-tailed girl and a large spotted dinosaur with a small flowered purse.

From goodreads.com:

A little girl is shopping in a grocery store when—surprise!—she meets a dinosaur. Don't worry. The dinosaur is very friendly. She's polite, too. In this funny story, told in lilting read-aloud rhyme, the girl has numerous opportunities to be helpful to the clumsy shopping dino and demonstrate when to say "thank you," "excuse me," "I'm sorry," "You're welcome," and other niceties of life. Tim Bowers's whimsical illustrations bring an extra dimension of fun to Judy Sierra's hilarious picture book fantasy. Altogether, Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur is an entertaining and painless way to show preschoolers why basic manners are a good thing to have.

If you have a chance, check it out…please.

The art was painted with acrylics on 3-ply Bristol board.

I’ve been having some problems with the Bristol, lately. I have used it for over twenty years without any problems but something has changed in the paper. I’m not sure what. It is sometimes inconsistent with the way it responds to paint washes and makes it difficult to get a really smooth color wash. I contacted the company that makes the paper (Strathmore) but they couldn’t explain the changes. Another artist, C. F. Payne had the same problem and switched to another board. Are any of you having a similar problem? What board would you suggest? I want a good acid free surface that is thick enough for washes but not so thick it takes a forklift to get a batch of art to the post office. I’m using illustration board for my current book but I’m not wild about the cardboard backing on the paper.

…just wondering if you have any words of wisdom..?

Goldfish tours Michigan.

2011-10-29T17:28:00.002-04:00

I recently toured Michigan to share my artwork and my children’s book: Memoirs of a Goldfish (published by Sleeping Bear Press), which is the featured title for the 2011 "Michigan Reads!" One State, One Children's Book Program. Target is a sponsor of "Michigan Reads!" Thanks to their support, the Library of Michigan provided a hardcover copy of the book and programming materials to all public libraries, elementary schools, Head Start and Michigan School Readiness programs across the state. In addition, the author (Devin Scillian) and I have been visiting libraries and schools across the state.

Here are a few more pics from the book tour…

And of course, no book tour is complete without a Santa, escorted by a couple of giant flamingos.

Many thanks, to our friends in Michigan. It was a great trip.

For more information about the Michigan Reads program, visit:

www.michigan.gov/.webloc

Golfish swims onto itunes

2011-10-26T00:09:00.000-04:00

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian (published by Sleeping Bear Press) and illustrated by Tim Bowers (me) Is now available as and app. through itunes.

The link to check it out is:

http-//itunes.apple.com/us#830B

Creative renewal = classical realism (part 1)

2011-09-29T12:29:00.000-04:00

Another unfinished painting, a self-portrait using the sight-size method. I'm not sure why I didn't finish... I think the model stopped showing up.

I’ve shared an interest in realistic painting and cartooning since I was a boy, growing up in Troy, Ohio. My career has taken me in both directions but usually in the direction of cartooning with a bit of added realism. Every once in a while I get a feeling of discontent, wanting to paint but having a full schedule of commercial work ahead of me. There have been times when I just have to take a break from my illustration assignments to look for a creative boost.

That’s what happened nearly 20 years ago. I was looking through my American Artist and the Artist’s magazines for some inspiration. I could always count on finding excellent articles featuring some really talented painters on the pages of those magazines. One artist that caught my attention was Richard Lack, a painter in Minnesota. I started reading about the classical realism group of artists and the atelier system of art training. I eventually called Mr. Lack on the phone and spoke to him about his work and asked if there were any of his students in the Ohio area. He was very helpful and gave me a name of a former student, living in the Cincinnati area.

Carl Samson is an immensely talented painter and I lived a few hours drive away from his studio. I called Carl and spent a day picking his brain about classical realism, the traditions of painting and looking at some of his excellent artwork. He was conducting a weekend workshop as an introduction to drawing from the cast, portrait painting (using the sight-size method) and landscape painting, plein-air. I signed up for the workshop and found that Samson was an excellent teacher, sharing a wealth of information and history as he demonstrated each direction. I was inspired, to say the least.

I returned to Columbus and set up a still life in my basement. Using the sight-size method, I started to paint. I would work on the still life between illustration assignments. Unfortunately, the tomatoes that I used in my still life began to age and change color during the process. I guess fruit and vegetables aren’t the best thing to paint if you can’t do it quickly. It was a mess and I had to improvise to complete the painting.

Still life with (aging) tomatoes.

Next, I set up my French easel on the bank of the Scioto River, just south of the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, in Dublin, Ohio. I spent a few hours on the rocky edge of the Scioto River, capturing a view looking up-stream. I was having a great time, really focused on the process. I didn’t notice the water rising until it was surrounding my easel with my paint box nearly floating, next to my feet. It seems that the O’Shaughnessy dam had been opened for some reason and the rocky, river edge was disappearing under the rising water. I’m sure that Carl would have come prepared with waders and finished the painting, partly submerged. Anyway, I have an unfinished river painting from that experience.

Landscape with dam water rising (from the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, just up river).

Through the years, I’ve used some of what I learned from Carl Samson and others painters, in my illustration art. I’ll write about that next time.

I think every artist needs a creative boost, once in a while. I enjoy creating art for illustrations but wish I had more time to pursue painting, without deadlines, art direction and having to consider a commercial format. That’s my goal. Balance.

Check out Carl’s work…

www.carlsamson.com

SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT!

2011-09-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

I am really excited about my newest book, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band by Kwame Alexander (published by Sleeping Bear Press). It's a project that allowed me to combine my art, a music theme and humor... it doesn't get any better than that!

Kwame put together a great little story with some very funny characters, including: Duck Ellington, Bee Holiday, Thelonious Monkey, Ella Finchgerald and Mules Davis. He also included a glossary at the end of the book that describes the actual Jazz musicians that inspired the book characters and other jazz vocabulary.

As I researched each Jazz character, I found that all of them had something I could use in my art that would tie the book character to the actual Jazz great. Thelonious Monk wore some pretty cool hats and I added one of them to my monkey character. Some photos showed Duke Ellington wearing a top hat and playing a light colored piano, so I used that information when designing "Duck". Miles Davis wore sunglasses in a lot of photos that I found, so "Mules" sported some jazzy sunglasses. Each one wore something that I could include in my artwork to reflect the actual Jazz character.

The paintings were created with oil paints on Bristol board. I started with a pencil drawing, then a burnt umber acrylic underpainting, followed by a complete coating of acrylic gloss medium to seal the paper from the oils. After that, several layers of oil paint were added to complete the image. Lastly, a final clear coat of Liquin was applied to create a more uniform paint surface.

The Rooster hits the bookshelves this month so check him out!

Here are two really great videos from Kwame... very funny stuff!!

GO, POPPY, GO!

2011-03-27T13:58:00.000-04:00

I just received word that my newest book, Dream Big, Little Pig! By Kristi Yamaguchi, has debuted at number two on The New York Times Best Seller list. I couldn’t be happier about such great news. Way to go, Poppy!

Poppy

I’m now represented by Rubin Pfeffer and the East/West Literary Agency. I’ve known Rubin since my very first book was published in 1986. He was a wise guiding voice then and continues to be a great influence in my children’s book journey. I look forward to future projects with Rubin and Deborah Warrren at East/West. I mention this as we celebrate our first collaboration, Dream Big, Little Pig!

THE FUTURE ON DISPLAY

2011-03-14T22:12:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege of serving on the panel of judges for this year’s Columbus College of Art & Design’s Art of Illustration exhibition.

AOI at Rivet Gallery

The exhibit features the best of CCAD student illustrations and is organized entirely by students. I was part of a group of professional alumni jurors, which included- Linda Bittner (CCAD, ’88), Tim Bowers (CCAD, ’79), Eric Fortune (CCAD, ’99), and Scott Hull (CCAD, ’77) as well as Illustration Chair C. F. Payne.


		Award winning image and artist, Tyler Bolyard.

Awards, including prizes from various sponsors, were presented for best of show as well as first, second and third place. Additionally, five selections identified as “judges favorites” received an original work of art from the respective judge

My “judges favorite” selection was an image created by Tyler Bolyard (senior). Tyler is a very talented artist with a promising future. He actually had 5 pieces selected for this year’s AOI show, including a three-dimensional piece…awesome stuff! I thought I’d shine the ole’ blog spotlight on Tyler for a job well done. To see more of his work, check out: http://tyrassic.blogspot.com/

Bowers, Bolyard and "judges favorite" award.

The show opened March 5 at Rivet Gallery, 1200 N. High St. in Columbus (the Short North), and continues through March 25.

Wishing you the best-Tyler!

Well, back to the drawing board,
Tim.

Art Block for Ghana

2011-03-07T20:29:00.001-05:00

I had a chance to contribute to the Picture Book Project Foundation's Art Blocks for Ghana- a charity art auction of original works created by top artists within the animation and illustration community to promote boarding and education of orphaned children in Ghana, West Africa.

Your Move

A preview of the art was held in NYC and will now open in LA at Gallery Nucleus on March 12th, 2011. If you are in the area, check it out. There are some really great images that have been created for the event.

If you are interested in the auction or the art, you'll find more info. through these links:

March 12th 2011, 7pm-11pm
Gallery Nucleus Event and Launch of the Online Auction.

TWITTER (follow and mention Art Blocks)
@pbpfoundation

FACEBOOK (photos, updates and information) invite friends to "like" the page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Art-Blocks-For-Ghana/166672736692656

TO BUY TICKETS
http://artblocksla.eventbrite.com/

Auction Link
http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=43741

BLOG
www.artblocksghana.blogspot.com

WEBSITE
http://www.picturebookproject.com/PBP/artblocks.html

I hope it's a successful auction and will help a lot of children.

GO..GO...GOLDFISH!!

2011-03-02T22:33:00.001-05:00

NEWS...FLASH...

COVER

I was just informed that one of the books that I recently illustrated was selected for the IRA-CBC Children’s Choices 2011 List!

INTERIOR ILLUSTRATION

Memoirs of a Goldfish written by Devin Scillian, published by Sleeping Bear Press.

A great way to start the new month.

EVOLUTION OF A STUDIO

2011-02-13T17:50:00.001-05:00

Tim’s first studio

I’ve created my artwork in a variety of spaces during my career. As an employee at Hallmark, I worked in a small cubicle next to many other artists in small cubicles. As a freelance artist, I’ve worked in: a kitchen, bedroom, garage, basement, laundry room and for the past eleven years, in a space actually designed to be a studio.

Hallmark artist cubicle

I’m not sure that it matters where I work. I’ve painted some of my best images in small, tight quarters. Maybe it’s different for each artist and depends on the type of art that’s created.
I think that it’s important to have a space set aside for creating your art, where you can feel comfortable, focus and be inspired. It’s nice to work in a space that minimizes distractions but over the years, I’ve found that it’s sometimes unavoidable. Good lighting is also very important and allows you to see color more accurately. Years ago, a drawing table and cup of coffee were the only things I needed but through the years, that has evolved into a need for storage space, a work table for cutting, sculpting, assembling, etc., along with a computer and files (for the business side of things) and book shelves for my books. A drying rack comes in handy when working on many illustrations at once (children’s book projects) and an area for projecting images (sketches) with an overhead projector. A cup of coffee is still on the list.

The kitchen studio worked when I was single. I ate at restaurants most of the time so the kitchen was available. It was easy to grab a snack and I could clean my brushes in the nearby sink. After I married, the kitchen wasn’t such a good idea. Then, an extra bedroom was a much better place to work.

Soon after college and marriage, my wife and I moved from Ohio to Kansas City and I worked at Hallmark. I also maintained a studio in our house, where the artwork for my first two books; The Toy Circus by Jan Wahl and Pajamas by Livingston and Maggie Taylor, were created in an unfinished basement room.

Basement studio

After years of working in all kinds of spaces, I’ve landed in a nice, big studio with good lighting, storage and a coffee maker, of course. It’s everything I could imagine as the ultimate workspace and it’s been great.

Current studio

I appreciate having such a nice place to work but the next studio will likely be smaller and that’s fine with me. As long as I’m comfortable, inspired and can focus on my work. There are pros and cons to each studio and the challenge is to adjust and be creative in whatever space we have.

Well, back to the drawing board.

Dream Big!

2011-01-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

I recently finished the artwork for a new book that will be published in the spring of 2011. Dream Big, Little Pig was written by Kristi Yamaguchi and will be published by Sourcebooks, Inc.

It’s such an honor to work on this project. Kristi Yamaguchi is an amazing person, a gold medalist in ice-skating, a winner of the popular television show: Dancing With the Stars and a champion for children through The Always Dream Foundation.

I really enjoyed developing the characters for her book. The story is funny, heart-warming and an inspiration to anyone faced with challenges as they follow their dreams.

Kristi Yamaguchi is the most recent gold medalist I’ve worked with, but she’s not the first. Many years ago as a high school student in Troy, Ohio, I landed my first job at a local sporting goods store. The owner of the store was Bob Schul, the only American runner to have won the Olympic gold medal in the 5000 m, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

I was a lousy sales person. After I botched a few customer returns, Mr. Schul, knowing I had talent in other areas, allowed me to be the store’s artist. I drew designs for jacket embroidery, team logos and various sport awards. We were both much happier when I was drawing instead of selling. Mr. Schul has been involved with the world of running for years. He’s been a coach and mentor to many others with dreams of becoming a winning runner.

So, I’ve been fortunate to work with two Olympians, using their golden celebrity status to benefit others. Whether skating, running …or drawing, becoming our best begins when we dream big.

Dream Big, Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi skates into your favorite bookstores in March 2011. I’ll keep you posted.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2010-12-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

I enjoy creating texture in my artwork. Much of my educational publishing work is done with this technique. I’ve also created a few picture books, using a textured surface to create the artwork. Though much of my art is more realistically painted, I find a certain amount of playfulness and experimentation when working with texture in a more graphic approach to the illustration.

This snowman is a small illustration in a holiday series that I created a few years ago. I wanted to incorporate a folk art influence and an overall texture in the painting. I usually start with a piece of three-ply Bristol and apply a thick coat of gesso, brushing in various directions. When the gesso is completely dry, layers of thin acrylic color are applied. Here, I start with a light brown wash, spatter the entire area with dark brown paint (using a toothbrush) then outline the drawing with black paint.

Now I paint semi-transparent washes of color (I like to see the spattering and under painting through the color washes) and dry-brush some shaded areas of the snowman with a light, gray blue.

With opaque white, I start to create some form to the snowman, being careful not to cover too much of my line work. I like to be able to see most of the paint layers, including spatters and under painting in the final image.

After the color is applied and the rendering is complete on the snowman, I continue to add decoration. Snowflakes, rosy snowman cheeks and some detail is added to other areas of the painting. I also start the placement of some hand-lettering at the top and bottom of the illustration.

Here is the finished illustration. After completing the image and lettering, I use an exacto blade to sweep across the surface of the illustration, scraping off some of the higher brush stroke ridges. It just adds a bit more interesting texture. I did this same thing a few years ago on the art for a book titled, Gorgonzola, A Very STINKYsaurus (Katherine Tegen Books- HarperCollins). This texture technique was also used on other books I’ve illustrated: Fun Dog, Sun Dog and Cool Dog, School Dog (Marshall Cavendish).

It’s exciting to wash, spatter, dry-brush, scrape and render, all on a single image. This technique is a nice break from my time consuming, tightly rendered painting. So grab your gesso, toothbrush and exacto blade... and have some fun!

Have a wonderful holiday and Merry Christmas!

Bloggin' the Blues

2010-10-11T11:21:00.003-04:00

The annual Granville Hot Licks Bluesfest recently rolled through town. I had the opportunity to contribute some artwork for the posters and t-shirts until this year. My schedule was so tight, I had to hand off to another blues fan artist. This is a project that I really look forward to. I love music... especially the blues. I discovered the annual event and jumped at the chance to make some blues art. I'm primarily a children's book artist and have been for years but I snag a project every once in a while that is outside the book.

Taking an assignment that is very different from your usual work load creates a chance to think a little differently, shift into another design and technique direction and just have fun creating something new that may end up in your portfolio. It may also lead to an exciting assignment in the future. I've done several other music related illustrations which I'll cover in a future blog entry.

The image below is a detail from the '08 poster. I am usually creating animal characters for my picture books so a chance to paint people is kinda' fun.

So, keep an eye on potential job opportunities outside of your usual stream of work. They may lead to other exciting assignments, add variety to your portfolio and create some additional self promotional venues. One of my blues poster images was accepted into the L.A. Society of Illustrator's annual exhibition. The painting was later displayed in a show at the Gallery Nucleus in California...the extra exposure was totally unexpected but extremely welcome.

Well, back to the drawing board.

Bowers by the Banks

2010-10-03T15:19:00.002-04:00

I just returned from a terrific book event. The Cincinnati USA Book Festival, Books by the Banks, was held on Saturday with over 100 national, regional and local authors (and illustrators) present.

It was a great day of signing books and making new friends from the Cincy area and northern Kentucky. My featured book was Memoirs of a Goldfish, written by Devin Scillian (published by Sleeping Bear Press).

Even before the artwork was created, I cracked up with laughter when I read the manuscript. It's a really cute and funny story. The characters were a lot of fun to develop, including Mr. Bubbles- the deep sea diver, Mervin- the slime eating snail and Fred- the unsocial crab, among others. Each illustration was painted with acrylic paint on 3-ply Stathmore bristol. Here is an image from an interior page of the book.

It was done in a technique that I've used for years on various projects and is one I'd like to share. The example below was created for Sunrise Greetings as a Father's Day card. I always begin with a sketch of the idea. Sometimes that goes through several revisions before a design is selected and I can begin painting the final art.

After the sketch has been approved, I transfer a line drawing to my board, including crop marks and a bleed area (which is the art that extends beyond the crop marks).

When the line drawing is complete, I lay in areas of local color with thin acrylic washes.

Then I start to render areas, adding texture, dimension and depth to the flat areas of the design.

I do this with additional layers of thin acrylic washes, dry-brush and scumbling techniques.

When most of the rendering of the image is complete, I add any other details that I feel would enhance the painting, including a bit of glazed color (as seen on the rosey cheeks of this little guy) and highlights (as seen on the eyes... my favorite part to paint).

That's pretty much it. I start with washes and add more opaque paint as I near the finish. I've had a lot of fun painting this way and it's a pretty straight forward technique. Try it and see what you come up with. Have fun!

So, I'm back from Cincy and ready to tackle another book project (which will be a future blog topic). It was great to hang with my illustration buddies from Cincinnati, including C. F. Payne, Loren Long, Will Hillenbrand and John Maggard (who came up with this years excellent poster design). I had to travel all the way to southern Ohio to meet a fellow Columbus area illustrator, Steve Harpster. It was a great weekend... now, back to the drawing board.

Christmas comes earlier every year.

2010-09-26T15:01:00.001-04:00

Well, here goes... I've finally decided to dive into the blog-pool. I really enjoy visiting other blogs and can definitely see the benefits of sharing information, experiences and thoughts on a given topic. I'm still not sure how much time it will take to maintain this project and still make art (that's what pays the bills, so far).

Anyway, I hope my blog will be helpful and give a glimpse into what I do and how I do it. Thanks for visiting.

As part of my first entry, I'd like to share a recent children's book, hot off the press. First Dog's White House Christmas was written by J. Patrick Lewis and his daughter, Beth Zappitello. It was published by Sleeping Bear Press and follows a previously published book, First Dog. All of the paintings created for this book, were painted with oil paint on canvas.