Gary Fasen
Humorous illustrator Gary Fasen provided an interesting link in my transition from amateur to professional artist, giving me my first summer job at 16 drawing caricatures at Six Flags Great America.
Learning airbrush technique had been one of my life goals since being inspired by illustrator Drew Struzan's movie poster illustrations in my childhood, and working for Gary’s airbrush business was my singular chance to obtain it. So I approached Gary about working for him as a t-shirt airbrush artist. However, after seeing my adolescent drawing skills, Gary suggested I consider drawing caricatures instead. He convinced me, and after a couple of months training I was ready to unleash my rookie work upon the world.
My position entailed working 60+ hours per week, drawing from life for twelve-hour shifts, often without a break. Drawings were kept to five minutes per person, and painting had to go just as fast. It was unparalleled training. I developed intimate working knowledge of facial anatomy and expression. I also had to entertain while I draw, steering the conversation to get just the right expression from the sitter at a particular moment. All of this was spectacular preparation for what was to become a great love of mine: portraiture. It also made every 8-hour day I worked afterwards seem like I was somehow bucking the system.
Gary and I always had an interesting relationship. I was just a kid when I started working for him, and he must have cussed me out that first year more times than I care to remember. That's how he was, although he generally sweetened up towards the end. Besides a temper, I also picked up from Gary a relentless work drive (which I already had, but it was strengthened) which was a good primer for working on my own in the studio. Gary was a classic workaholic, setting an impassable example of working all the time. He was a great guy, and my experience working with him spurred my development as an artist.
Through this apprenticeship I was introduced to a great group of people--Steve Fasen, Gary's brother, one of the best teachers I have ever encountered; Roger Hurtado, who trained me in airbrush and is the most skilled airbrush artist I know, and a great flock of artists who have remained friends of mine ever since. The same apprenticeship produced celebrated artist Tom Richmond, plus a whole slew of Chicago painters such as Grigor Eftimov and Scott Powers.
I worked with Gary over a period of five years. Gary recently suffered an unfortunate and tragic early death. May you rest in peace, Gary.
My
Mentors
Ed
Julian
Gary Fasen
Bill Utterback
Ron DiCianni
Jered Woznicki
Michael John Angel