Bill Mayer (illustrator)

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Bill Mayer
Born (1951-10-25) October 25, 1951 (age 72)
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationRingling School of Art
Known forIllustration, fine artist
Awards
Websitethebillmayer.com

Bill Mayer (born October 25,1951) is an American illustrator who works in a variety of media and combinations of media, gouache, oil, airbrush, scratchboard, pen and ink and digital, as well as a variety of artistic styles.[1] In 2021, he received the Hamilton King Award,[2] widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in illustration.[3]

Early life & education

Mayer was born in Birmingham, Alabama and until the age of five, lived in a home built by his parents on the property of his grandfather.[4] He would be the oldest of six children born to Louis A. Mayer and Lorene Cruse Mayer. The family would relocate to Memphis, where he first attended public school at Willow Oaks Elementary. At the age of eight the family moved to Rochester, New York and Mayer attended Cobbles Elementary in Penfield. The family would move to their permanent home in Decatur, Georgia in 1963 and Mayer would attend Southwest Dekalb High School, Towers High School and graduate from Columbia High School in 1969.[5]

Mayer began attending the Ringling School of Art at age seventeen, and it was there that he met his future wife, Lee.[4]In the first year at Ringling, he arranged a plan to have other students complete some of the work he didn't want to do. He had one student doing his perspective work, another doing the lettering and his girl friend (and future wife) Lee doing his art history. At that time, once you were attending Ringling you had to be invited to come back after each quarter. Of Mayer's initial class of 150 students, there would be 30 graduates. The Ringling curriculum primarily focused on drawing and painting and it wasn't until the third year that Mayer was able to attend a class specific to a career in commercial illustration.[5]

He would graduate from Ringling in 1972 at age 20. After graduation Mayer would be employed by two art studios in Atlanta that had illustrators on staff: Graphics Studio, 1972-1973 and Whole Hog Studios, 1974 -1976. At Graphics Studio, he would work along-side future Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame inductee, Thomas Blackshear, as well as the designer Brad Copeland who Mayer would work with later and win a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal under his art direction in 1985. Warren Weber showed the young artist the basics of air brushing during this period as well as demonstrating how to create and show thumbnails and sketches to clients for approval. As with most of the studios at that time Mayer was called upon to do a variety of styles and techniques. Other illustrators he worked with in these studios would go through the illustration annuals of the time and borrow stylistic aspects of what they saw. After seeing this, Mayer realized that the only way to have his work look original was to stop looking at other peoples work and create what naturally came from his own imagination.[5]

Early in 1977, Mayer would dedicate himself entirely to work as a freelance illustrator and incorporate under Bill Mayer, Inc. in 1978. Initially working for clients in the area in and around Atlanta, his first corporate clients would be Coca Cola and Chick-fil-A.[5]

Career

Mayer’s artwork has been commissioned by many publications, institutions, and Fortune 500 corporations. His creations have appeared in virtually every known media including films, books, magazines, stamps, posters, advertising and packaging. His clients have included the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC and a series of posters for the Tour de France. Corporations such as DreamWorks Animation, Cartoon Network, Mattel, Hasbro, Delta Airlines, Levi’s, Jose Cuervo, and IBM, along with many others.[2]

Below is a list of some of the more publicly recognized commissions done by the artist.

Print

In 1998 the US Postal Service would release the Bright Eyes stamps in which Mayer depicted a hamster, a fish, a cat, a dog and a parakeet, with designs by Carl Hermann.[6] The Postal Service printed 180 million stamps in this collection, in sheets of 20.[7]

Beginning in 1997, Mayer established a long-running relationship with the Hartford Stage, in which he was annually commissioned to do the poster for their production of A Christmas Carol.[8] His 1999 poster and his 2002 poster would win gold medals from the Society of Illustrators.[9] After 13 years, the final poster in the series would appear in 2010.[10] Thematically, the entire series of 13 posters would feature Mayer's depiction of Tiny Tim.[8]

Between the years 1986 through 2016 Mayer would create seventeen cover illustrations for albums for the band The Rippingtons[11]

A reoccurring theme in Mayer's work is the use of animals, particularly frogs.[12] The annual Dellas Graphics Calendar, art directed by Jim Burke was a long-running frog-themed calendar and Mayer would participate as a contributor in the majority of them. His 2008 contribution to the calendar was additionally used as the cover of Workbook in 2010,[13] his 2011 contribution would win him the Patrick Nagel Award for Excellence from the Society of Illustrators West[9] and his 2005 contribution would win a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators.[9] Lightware Projectors would use Mayer's depictions of frogs in an ongoing advertising campaign,[14] as well as IHOP.

Product art

Working with the design agency Needham, Harper & Steers, Mayer would create the original packaging illustrations for Big League Chew, a shredded bubble gum that comes in a pouch, introduced in 1980. At the time Big League Chew was put on the market, Mayer was coaching his son Jason in little league and he became a celebrity to many young baseball players at the ballpark when it was found out that he did the art. In the 1990's the packaging art changed, but senior designer at Wrigley, Gary Rose would credit Mayer as not only being a huge part of millions of childhood memories, but also being an important part of what made Big League Chew a successful product.[15]

Produced in 2004, The Cartoon Network would distribute character-based tarot cards illustrated by the artist as a promotional item. The cards, art directed by Jay Rogers were never sold in stores.[16]

Mattel would commission Mayer for board game packaging illustration in 2017 with the release of Flippin Frogs, art directed by Tim Douglas[17],in 2018 with the release of Rhino Rampage, with art direction by Mark Rosenbluh.[18] and in 2005 with the release of Piranha Panic, art directed by Ninnette Wood[19]

In 2020, Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co. would release a 24 year old whiskey under the brand name Muckety-Muck, with label art by Mayer and typography by Jason Carne.[20]

Film

Mayer provided character designs for the 2007 Dreamworks film The Bee Movie[21] as well as character designs for the 2011 20th Century Fox film Rio[22]

Mayer's poster illustration for the film General Orders No. 9, released in 2009 was art directed by Bob Persons.[23]

Bibliography

  • Teeny Weenies: The Intergalactic Petting Zoo: And Other Stories, written by David Lubar,published by Starscape, 2019[24]
  • Teeny Weenies: Freestyle Frenzy: And Other Stories, written by David Lubar,published by Starscape, 2019[25]
  • Warrior Queens: True Stories of Six Ancient Rebels Who Slayed History, written by Vicky Alvear Shecter, published by Boyds Mills Press, 2019[26]
  • Super Bugs, written by Michelle Meadows, published by Scholastic, 2016[28]
  • The Monster Who Did My Math, written by Danny Schnitzlein, published by Peachtree Publishers, 2007[31]
  • On My Very First School Day I Met..., written by Norman Stiles, published by Milk & Cookies, 2005[32]
  • A Giving Tale, written by Cleve Willcoxon, published by Willcoxon, Cleve 2006[33]
  • Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion, written by Brad Kessler,published by Spotlight Books, 2004[34]
  • Golf-O-Rama: The Wacky Nine Hole Pop-Up Mini-Golf Book, published by Hyperion Books 1994[36]

Exhibitions

Solo

Memento Mori; Love, Art and Flowers that Bite, curated by Tim Jaeger, Patricia Thompson Gallery At Ringling College of Art in Sarasota, Florida, 2020[37]

Group

Mayer has exhibited in multiple group shows including the Society of Illustrators Annual Show many times as well as others. Below is a selected list of group exhibitions he has exhibited in.

  • BLAB! 14th Annual (2019)[39], 9th Annual(2014)[40], 8th Annual(2013)[41] Corpo Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, curated by Monte Beauchamp

Honors and awards

Mayer has been the recipient of numerous awards over the course of his career, including 10 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals and 145 Certificates of Merit from the Society of Illustrators, 10 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals, 18 Bronze, 4 Patrick Nagel Award of Excellence, 1 Best of Show and 183 Certificates of Merit from the Society of Illustrators West, 21 Certificates of Merit and 24 awards of excellence from 3X3, 123 Certificates of Design Excellence Show South, 17 Certificates of Distinction from Print and 23 Awards of Excellence from Communication Arts.[5]

A partial list of awards as well as honors are listed below.

Stylistic approaches

Throughout his long career Mayer has utilized a wide variety of mediums and styles in his finished work. This variety of styles came from a desire to create what he considered an appropriate visual solution to any given project.[5]

Mayer had early success with a loose cartoon sketch style when in 1980 when his packaging art for the bubble gum Big League Chew was first released.

The artist has utilized a scratchboard technique in advertising campaigns for Jose Cuervo, and in a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winning entry entitled Reading Skeleton.

A combination of airbrush and digital has been used extensively in a whimsical cartoon-like way by Mayer, perhaps best exemplified by his Demented Little Beasties series, but also utilized in much of his work for children's books as well as his Martini Frog which would win a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 2005.[9]

Simple pen and ink, sometimes combined with color integrated digitally is also used extensively in the artist's work. A work entitled Creative Carnival done in this technique would win Mayer a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 2012[46], and his NPR poster also executed in pen and ink would win a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators West in 2011.[9] The pen and ink work is also combined frequently with collage, such as in his Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winning entry Queen of Swords from 2011.[47]

Often working very small and then having the works enlarged to fit the final print size, Mayer's interest in these works is to see all the line work and all the imperfections, blown up to a scale where one can see what is going on. An example of this technique is his cover illustration for The Max Awards 2008. Another example of working much smaller than the final printed piece is a work executed on glass with brush and ink titled The Death frogs for which he would receive The Patrick Nagel Award for Excellence in 2011.[9]

Mayer creates surreal realistic paintings in gouache which have also resulted in award-winning works, most notably in his Hamilton King Award winning piece Red Riding Hood and his Le Nouveau Chapeau de Marie which would win Mayer a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 2015.

Working process

Mayer works out of three production areas in his home in Decatur, Georgia. These begin with his drawing board area where he draws and keeps job jackets logically numbered with the year and a three-digit job serial number (like 2009015), and assigning codes to all the thumbnails and working sketches with job numbers so nothing gets put in the wrong file. The next area of the studio is the computer room where work is scanned and worked on digitally. Finally, the production room where artwork is stored, packages are wrapped and work for shows and competitions is prepared. Vertical bins are packed full of original artwork here. Each piece is carefully flapped with black drawing paper and tracing paper, and marked on the back with Bill's name and contact information as well as the usage that the piece was contracted for.[50]

Personal life

Mayer and his wife Lee (married May 18,1972) live in Decatur, Georgia. They have one son, Jason W. Mayer who was born in 1974 and three grandchildren: Forest, Zak and Dash. Forest works for Mayer as a studio assistant.[5]The couple's home is filled with books, art and cabinets filled with items collected over the years.[4]

References

  1. ^ Charley Parker (2010-10-14). "Bill Mayer".
  2. ^ a b c "Hamilton King 2021". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  3. ^ Gallo, Irene. "Hamilton King Award". Tor. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. ^ a b c "Bill Mayer – Failing is How We Grow". 2015-10-06.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Bill Mayer Interview". 2021-04-05.
  6. ^ "Bright Eyes". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  7. ^ Bill McAllister (1998-08-21). "Painters and Pets Vying for Your 32 cents".
  8. ^ a b "2010 Hartford Stage Poster". 2010-05-06.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Bill Mayer". 2011.
  10. ^ "2010 Hartford Stage Poster". 2010-09-02.
  11. ^ "The Rippingtons". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  12. ^ "Dellas Graphics Calendar". 2012-06-11.
  13. ^ "Wrkbk Cover". 2010-04-27.
  14. ^ "Lightware Projectors". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  15. ^ Jason Liebig (2012-02-06). "Big League Chew".
  16. ^ Callie Budrick (2017-10-13). "The Design and History of Tarot Cards".
  17. ^ "Flippin Frogs Game". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  18. ^ "Rhino Rampage". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  19. ^ "Piranha Panic". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  20. ^ "Muckety Muck, from Orphan Barrel". 2020-11-25.
  21. ^ "The Bee Movie Art Department". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  22. ^ "Rio Art Department". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  23. ^ "General Orders No. 9". 2010-04-26.
  24. ^ "Teeny Weenies". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  25. ^ "Freestyle Frenzy". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  26. ^ "Warrior Queens". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  27. ^ "Animal Farm". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  28. ^ "Super Bugs". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  29. ^ "Hide and Sheep". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  30. ^ "All Aboard!A Traveling Alphabet". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  31. ^ "The Monster Who Did My Math". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  32. ^ "On the very first day". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  33. ^ "A Giving Tale". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  34. ^ "Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  35. ^ "A Walk in the Rain with a Brain". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  36. ^ "Golf-O-Rama". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  37. ^ Mart Fugate (2020-03-14). "Fantasy gets real in Bill Mayer exhibition at Ringling College".
  38. ^ "Beautiful Bizarre Curated Exhibition". 2021-03-24.
  39. ^ "BLAB 14th Annual". 2019-09-07.
  40. ^ "BLAB 9th Annual Exhibit". 2014-09-25.
  41. ^ "BLABSHOW 2013 Group Art Exhibition". 2013-09-11.
  42. ^ "The Art of Illustration". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  43. ^ "Bill Mayer Named Show Chair for Annual No. 15". 2018-01-23.
  44. ^ "Bill Mayer Le Nouveau Chapeau de Marie". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  45. ^ "Jack Davis Distinguised Visiting Artist Lectures". Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  46. ^ a b "Illustrators 54 Winners". Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  47. ^ a b "Bill Mayer Queen of Swords". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  48. ^ "A Christmas Carol 2002". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  49. ^ "A Christmas Carol 1999". Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  50. ^ "Bill Mayer Studio Visit". 2009-05-02.



Category:1951 births Category:American illustrators Category:American magazine illustrators Category:20th-century American painters Category:American male painters Category:21st-century American painters

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