Which Artist's Work Will You Go Home with at the Red Dot Auction?

Dan has described himself as an artist trapped in a deputy sheriff's body, as described in a 2012 Press-Enterprise article entitled, "Sheriff's Deputy Doubles as Artist." While he prides himself on the work he does for his community in uniform, his true love is, has always been, and will always be, creating art. He has been creating artwork in one medium or another since he can remember, literally since the age of 4. He looks forward to a day in the very near future when the artist in him can break free at last so as to devote his full time to his passion, which, of course, is art.Dan is a self-taught artist in every sense of the term. His keen, inborn ability was recognized very early on during his school career. Every instructor he had recognized his natural abilities and would challenge Dan to try many different mediums, including acrylic painting, water color, pen and ink, pencil renderings, and stained glass. There was no challenge too great. Finally, his instructors had to admit that there was nothing they could teach him. It was as if he was just born with a natural understanding of how the paint works to perfectly blend colors and create shading surpassing anything they had ever seen.

Dan has mastered the ability to create digital art on an iPad using his finger in place of a brush, resulting in amazing custom portraits and other interesting subjects which he then converts to Giclee prints on canvas or paper. The true-to-life resemblance and attention to detail he brings to each piece will have you asking, How does he do that?

Dan has done many commissioned pieces throughout the years and has donated countless pieces of art to churches, college jazz band calendars, the Leukemia Foundation, and the Juvenile Diabetes Walk, to mention just a few.

Dan Bowden's passion for his art is stronger than ever before, and his commitment to his art has become the very definition of who he is. He describes it as the driving force which fuels his creativity to new levels each day.

Those who have seen his artwork often comment on the vivid detail, depth of color, and hidden gems to look for in each piece of art, as he incorporates the Dove of Peace in all of his work.

Upholding peace in his community as a deputy sheriff by day and creating unique images of peace for his community by night, Dan Bowden is a gift to us all to be appreciated for years to come. www.danbowdenfineart.com

Will you go home with Dan's artwork at this year's Red Dot Auction? Get your tickets at ChuckJonesCenter.org/RedDot. Pre-bidding is live at HA.com/759.

Calling All Artists! The 4th Annual Red Dot Auction to Benefit the Chuck Jones Center Needs You!

Dear Artists and Friends of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity,Preparations are underway for the Fourth Annual Red Dot Auction benefiting the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, coming in May. As you are aware, the arts and creativity in our schools and in our national conversation are always the first things to be eliminated or casually dismissed as unimportant.

In fact, it is creativity that opens the minds and hearts of all who allow it to; it brings greater freedom to their lives. It enhances one’s ability to solve problems and it opens minds to the differences that make each of us unique, erasing prejudices and bigotry. Creativity makes the world a better place.

Today I’m writing to ask you to donate a work of art to this year’s Red Dot Auction, to be held on Friday, May 9th from 7 to 10 PM at the Center in Costa Mesa, California.  Again this year the canvas is 12” square and as last year, we ask that you sign the artwork on the reverse.  You may prefer to work on paper or another substrate and that’s fine as long as we can mount it to the 12” square canvas for presentation the night of the event.

For those of you who may be unaware of the Red Dot Auction and how it works (or may have forgotten), here are the details: each artist contributes a work of art that is either painted on the canvas we provide you or creates a work of art that can be mounted to the canvas for display the evening of the auction.  The artwork should be signed on the reverse so that bidders at this silent auction will not know who has created which painting—although savvy collectors may be aware of your particular style and will jealously guard their bids, hoping to land a work by ______ or ____ ______.

You might ask, “What should I paint?” Chuck’s life spanned most of the 20th century and with such a wealth of inspiration why not the life and times of Chuck Jones? That should not limit you to cartoon-related imagery, although many of the most sought after works at last year’s event were inspired by his Looney Tunes creations; you might be inspired by his love of reading, his enjoyment of painting “en plein air” or the fact that he liked to square dance.

Whatever you choose to do, of course, is up to you; it is your participation that is most important to us.

Won’t you share your gifts with us and with the Center’s members and patrons?  If you will, please drop me a note at rpatrick@lje.com with your mailing address and I’ll get a canvas out to you or drop by the Center to pick up a canvas.

What’s that you say?  You’d like to contribute two works?  No problem!  Just let me know and I’ll send you two canvases.  Have an artist friend who would like to be a part of this exciting project?  Please send them my way.  Canvases are due back here no later than April 19th.

Thank you in advance for your generosity, time, and commitment to re-invigorating the creative spirit in all of us.

All the best, Robert

Robert Patrick, Director of Marketing