Corel Painter Master - Chet Phillips

Name: Chet Phillips Occupation/Profession: Illustrator Employer: Freelance Location: Dallas, TX

Chet Phillips has presented his slightly off-center view of the world under the guise of a freelance illustrator for more than 20 years. He purchased his first Mac® 14 years ago, along with Painter™ Version 1. Painter is his exclusive choice of image creation software, and he has upgraded through every version. He divides his time between working for corporate, publishing, advertising and design companies and displaying his work in galleries and shows. As usual, no electrons are harmed in the process. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Julie.

More foolishness is available online at www.chetart.com.

Says Chet Phillips:
Newspaper publication illustration is a challenging and rewarding process. Unlike book and magazine illustration, the deadlines can be short, ranging from one week to later that same day. I've experienced every variation of rush over the last 24 years of newspaper assignments. The artist-friendly controls and Natural-Media® features of Corel® Painter™ have always been the perfect solution for me as a commercial artist managing daily creative challenges.

The creative art director of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asked me to create a cover illustration for its weekend-guide supplement. The focus was on the upcoming summer arts and cultural events. Two standout events that needed to be highlighted were performances by the touring company of the musical The Lion King and an exhibit of the works of the artist Piet Mondrian. The art director described her idea of a lion in an animated roar pose, with the megaphone shape of his roar providing an area for headlines and text. The various events would be arranged in this space with horizontal and vertical line borders, similar to Mondrian's famous Composition series of paintings.