Tim Bowers's Blog

Working with P.J. Funnybunny

 A new P.J. Funnybunny book was released this week. P.J. Funnybunny stories are written by my good friend, Marilyn Sadler. The book's characters were originally created by Roger Bollen. The P.J. Funnybunny books are adored by fans around the globe. 

I first met Marilyn and Roger, in 1989. I was getting started as a children's book illustrator and they had been very successful in publishing with several of their characters, including P.J. Funnybunny. Roger was also a popular comic strip artist with his syndicated Animal Crackers strip.

I have always tried to learn from the best, so I arranged a trip to their home. With portfolio in hand, I traveled to Cleveland and spent an afternoon with Marilyn and Roger, hoping some of their success would rub off on me. It was a great trip and they were extremely kind and generous with their time. Roger mentioned that he was thinking of stepping back from his strip, Animal Crackers, to focus on other projects. He asked if I had an interest in possibly helping with the strip. I was stunned. I had not anticipated such a huge opportunity and wasn't sure what to say. I was just starting my children's book journey and realized that a commitment to a comic strip would be very time consuming so I humbly declined.

 In recent years, I've had the chance to work with Marilyn on some of her other projects. Roger Bollen died in 2015.

Fast forward to the present. Marilyn mentioned that her publisher was interested in producing more P.J. Funnybuny books because of a renewed interest in the characters. I asked if I could submit samples and be considered for the project. Even though cartooning wasn't what I had been currently doing, I have a long history of cartooning, starting from the very beginning when I was a kid. My cartoon style is very similar to what Roger was doing so it wasn't a long stretch to consider the project. I created some samples and sent them to Marilyn. I tried to be as true to Roger's style as I could. The character of his line and the colors that he chose. All the while, thinking of the Animal Crackers opportunity that had come and gone, years ago.

When Marilyn and the publisher seemed very pleased with my art samples, I felt like I had come pretty close to the spirit of Roger's work. In an unexpected way, it almost seemed like I had come full circle to help Roger, not with Animal Crackers but with P.J. Funnybunny.

 

New CARDS AND STICKERS...from the dog!

Bow...WOW!!



I just got this email with one of my newest doggies on the cover. Check out the newest cards and stickers... FROM THE DOG. You'll find the dogs, here.

This is from a recent sale email which expires soon, so click over there and get 'em, soon!So, if you are a dog lover, greeting card lover or a Tim Bowers lover (wait...forget that last one), you'll want to pick up some of these cards. The prices are dog-gone GREAT!

...I heard that FROM THE DOG.

Bloom where you are planted.

Twenty years ago, I decided to build an art studio. I was inspired by a drawing of Norman Rockwell's studio (in one of his books) and started with that basic idea. I wanted a great working space, tall ceilings, natural north light during the day and plenty of good lighting to use for the all-nighters. Lots of shelf space for books and storage for whatever else I picked up as inspiration.


I made a cardboard, to scale model of the building and put it on the driveway, near the spot where we planned to build. That gave me a good idea of how the daylight would come through the windows. I gave my cardboard model to a local builder and they drew the plans to build the structure, next to the house.






I've worked in a variety of spaces and this was, by far, the best place to work. Not all of my best work was created in that studio but it was a really nice place to use for those twenty years. There were some really beautiful sunsets behind the studio. In the winter, I didn't have to drive to work but I had to shovel a path to the studio door before I could start painting.




We recently moved and my new studio is in a different space. A much different surrounding but I will fill it with things that inspire me, make sure the lighting is good and start anew. There are plenty of ideas, waiting to be painted. New stories to be crafted and opportunities to grab ahold of. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here's to the new adventure, the next chapter... 2018 will be a great year!

"Sunday Painter" places in Miniature Show

I am (very) happy to report that my miniature painting, "Sunday Painter" received an award by the Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. 


I'm showing one image of the painting with it's frame. The other image includes a penny to show the scale of the painting. I had to get out the tiny brushes for this one.

The acrylic on board painting placed third in the portrait category and will hang in the Annual Exhibition, next month.

The 2017 Exhibition opens November 19, 2017, through January 6, 2018 at The Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD. For more information, including pictures of all award winning artwork, follow this link:

https://www.mpsgs.org/MPSGS-Exhib.htm

If you are in the Md area during the show, stop by and check out some really excellent miniature artwork.

Some SWEET artwork is baking at the studio.

Here's another "chef" painting that I recently completed. I took a couple of pics while putting together this illustrative recipe.


It's funny to think that baking is a lot like painting. I mix and choose the right tools to work with...

apply some juicy textures...

and add the final touches... yum!

Here's a delicious detail of some of that sweet texture. Acrylic on gessoed board.
Back to the drawing board. -T.

The Blues are BACK!

Yep. It's that time of year. I just finished the artwork for this year's Granville Hot Licks Blues Fest and we're a couple of short weeks away from this great downtown event. If you are in the area, stop by, bring a folding chair and enjoy a day of great blues music, food, drink and pick up a poster or tee-shirt. See you there!



Back to the drawing board... -T.

I FOUND A BOX OF POODLES ON MY DOORSTEP.

Yes, a beautiful box of new books was delivered a few weeks ago. Vampoodle by Joan Holub ( Random House Books for Young Readers) arrived just in time for a perfect back-to-school reading choice. 


The crazy dogs from Joan Holub’s Step 2 reader Shampoodle are back and as spirited as ever! There’s a puppy party in the backyard, but the scaredy-dogs skedaddle when ghosts and ghouls begin to arrive. What should these pups do? Don costumes and join the Halloween parade! -Random House

Bowers ART goes to the kitchen.

I've got a few children's book projects that I'm currently working on but wanted to show some other art that I've been cooking up. I created a series of chef paintings. Here are a few in progress images.


As usual, I start with some sketchbook ideas. Here is the pasta chef, the wine chef and the dessert chef in the early sketch phase.


I tape the edges, gesso (with thick strokes using a large brush) the pieces of Bristol board and transfer the sketches onto the textured surface.

Work on the background and paint the checkerboard border.

Then, focus on the character, letting a lot of the texture show from the underpainting.

Here's a detail. I love to create texture, allowing different colors to peek through the top layers of paint.  So, there, you have it! My recipe for some fun kitchen art. Of course, you may need some reference for this one...maybe a bottle of Cabernet...or two.
NEXT TIME: It's that time of year to start another Bluesfest painting. Update to come.

RAPPY GOES TO THE SUPERMARKET

2017 has arrived like a strong gust of wind. New projects are lining up, new ideas are forming and a new children's book arrived earlier in the month. Rappy Visits the Supermarket is an early reader, full of fun and humor. The "rappin" story was written by Dan Gutman and published by HarperCollins.


You can see a sample of the book by visiting this link:

https://sample-c84e6276c9cb811becbcfff4eb281a3a.read.overdrive.com/?p=rappy-goes-to


Here's a sketch from the book. I try to create as much humor through facial expressions and body gestures as possible. I remember learning to read. Finding funny characters in the artwork usually got my attention. Still does.

So, why not start the new year with a new Rappy story? Pick up a copy and we'll share a few laughs in the supermarket. See you soon!

Four more books for my bookshelf in 2016.

I had four new titles published this year. I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunity to illustrate these very different books. The first was the fourth in the "Memoir" books, Memoirs of a Parrot by Devin Scillian (Sleeping Bear Press).


This book was expensive. I don't mean the purchase price... but the story is about a guy who buys a parrot and plays a ukulele. So, I needed to buy a ukulele. That was the expensive part.


Plus, I was also inspired by another ukulele strummer, Emily Arrow. She visited a nearby school and I sat in on her excellent presentation. Great music...with a ukulele named "Bow".


Oh well, I could have purchased an African grey parrot. That would have been even more expensive.

My second book of 2016 was Rappy Goes to School by Dan Gutman (HarperCollins). No, I didn't buy a dinosaur for this one. They are way too messy... and hard to house train.


The third title for 2016 was Buddy's Bedtime Battery by Christina Geist (Random House). A cute story of getting a child to slow down for bedtime. "Beep!" 

Then, dancing to the fourth book of 2016 is Footloose by Kenny Loggins (Moondance Press). Kenny Loggins (with Dean Pitchford) re-wrote the iconic song to become a kid's dance tune. A story about two children who discover that zookeeper "Jack" and the zoo animals wait until the sun goes down, then put on their dancin' shoes. 

So, there you have it. With Christmas just around the corner, I can think of four really nice gifts for that special child in your life. I'll be closing out the year, wearing my dancin' shoes and strummin' my ukulele. This is November (turkey month) and I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.
That's all for now. I need to practice my ukulele.