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Show Journal r ND A BACK P AC Thursday, March 30, 2006 V ':x j E L E P I TO Ehzabeth Bowler, R 586-199- 2 , x V I V , X i S ! 9 8 s V - X J I 1y f n rf ART', SUUs Art & Design Department, is regularly asked to illustrate books and create portraits, in addition to teaching drawing and illustration courses. Sowards has been published in at least 10 books during the past five years. His Ben Sowards, artist-in-residen- in Wflt' COURTESY OF BEN SOWARDS work has enabled him to work with prominent people like Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of Health & Human Services, and President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints. His artwork can be viewed at www.bensowards.com. y Artist inspires students by sharing skills By KRYSTLE WHITNEY kwhitneysuujournal com ned American illustrator As worid-renoNorman Rockwell once sard No man with a conscience can just bat out illustrations Hes got to put all his talent and feeling into them That is exactly what Ben Sowards, said he tnes to do when creating artwork Art has always touched me, he said When I see the truth m art it moves me 1 would like to think that my artwork has touched others as well Having illustrated pieces published in at least 10 books during the past five years Sowards said he has probably drawn hundreds of illustrations during his life Art & Design Department Chair Eric Brown said he thinks all of Sowards illustrations are beautiful He is a wonderfil realist, and his first love is realists paintings, he said He can paint a beautiful portrait and can capture the likeness and narrative very well Sowards said a big part of his illustrations are in portrait form, which are both challenging and rewarding at the same time Being an lllustratoris like nothing else, he said It is an exciting and rewarding career By painting people and lllus rating books he said he is allowed to meet people such as President Thomas S Monson, a counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints, whom he wouldnt have normally met It has opened so many doors for me, he said Just this past weekend, I was able to present Mike Leavitt with a portrait He said President Steven D Benmon asked him in February to paint a portrait of Secretary of Health & Human Set vices w e, Michael O Leavitt This allowed him to go to Washington, D C to meet and photograph Leavitt It was a great opportunity he said was able to go through the White House, where I had the opportunity to see all of these great portraits that I had only seen in books Brown said when he first met Sowards, he thought he was a very sharp man He is very successful professionally, and we are grateful to have him at SUU,he said Dixon Leavitt, a junior art major from Cedar City said he agrees Sowards is a great asset to the university I think Ben is a great pi ofessor, he said He really knows his stuff, and he always has great professional advice because he been the has in practicing illustrative field Sowards said he enjoys teaching at SUU because of his students and the class sizes Itsaone on onebasis "hesaid Itsgreat to have professors aware of students I know I might change some of my classes to better influence how they (specifically) woik Leavitt said he values Sowaids' input wdien making a decision on his own work I go to him whenever I have a question on an illustration or project, he said like to get his opinions on my works and he is always willing to work with me Sowards said he likes teaching students because he loves watching the light go on inside of them after they figure out how to work with ait I like to watch them move from Yeah I know how to mix colors this way to what the power of art reall is, he said Brown said Sowards also likes to go to the places he will soon illustrate He wants to see the illustrations so that he can be as realistic about the place, he said He likes to catch the flavor of the 1 1 place, and he does a good job with it He said Sowards recently returned from a trip to England for an illustration he is doing on a book about A Christmas Carol, by Chari es Dickens Sowards said it is essential to travel and see places he will be illustrating because it gives his works a more realistic style It would feel fake if I didnt see it, he said He said the same goes with painting a portrait Having the model in front of him is better then looking at a photograph to paint a portrait, he said When standing in front of a portrait, you should be able to see what they are like just as you would if they were standing beside you, Sowards said Having such a love for art at an early age, Sowards said he has one memory that has really stuck with him As a child, Sowards said he loved drawing eagles He said he felt proud one morning when his father asked him to draw a picture to keep m his w allet and My parents encouragement influence, as well as all of my teachers, helped me develop more of my talents m illustration, he said Sowards recalled a time when he entered one of his first regional drawing contests He said the drawing of his eagle was disqualified because the judges thought he cheated That was better than winning for me because they thought I was so good that they wouldn't accept my draw ing he said Because ill usti ation is centeied on human emotion and real experiences he said he likes watching and learning from people he knows If I made people up it wouldnt feel real, he said I have already used so many people in this community that I wouldnt be able to list them all t A V x ,1V S- c- ' A IV' ' , I t t |