BY TALISHA WILLIAMS
Special Correspondent
Illustrations can be elaborate and meticulously
created and say nothing, or they can be stick figures offering some of
the sharpest commentary on today. An exhibition of cartoons running until
Aug. 23 at the Chester Public Library at 11801 Centre St. in Chester highlights
the power and possibilities of drawing.
The creative and collaborative display of cartoons titled
"Cartoons wil an Opinion" features the work of local cartoonists
David Bromley and Phillip Bowles and their cast of vibrant caricatures.
Bromley said the exhibit features 57 framed cartoons
that are primarily black and white editorial comics.
Bromley said the show is balanced with drawings for all ages. It includes the famous "Everyone Likes Pizza" comic for younger children, "The Quiet Guy" for teenagers and "Clyde Clydebagger" for adults.
In the Pizza Delivery Guy material, the bright colors appeal to the kids and the adults get the humor.The humor is more sophisticated, Bowles said.
Bowles created "Mitch, the Pizza Delivery Guy" character in his own likeness from his days as a college kid at Virginia Commonwealth University, hair and all.
"The pizza character 'Mitch,' I see him being very popular," Bowles said. "I think through him we can create other characters, I think he could really go somewhere."
"The Quiet Guy" is a teenager character that
was suggested to them by an art director friend. "Clyde Clydebagger,"
a corrupt politician, was not intended to be a recurring figure.
"Phillip redrew a politician I sketched, and I
liked his version so much I suggested we continue to include him in our
work. The last name is a play on the 'carpetbagger' type of exploitation
that occured after the Civil War," Bromley said.
The Chester cartooning duo is known together as "Composition
House." Bromley explained the meaning behind the name that's slowly
becoming more known in Chesterfield.
"Composition House" is based on the role composition'
plays in various art forms, from cartooning to music, and the word 'house'
is professional slang for an ad agency or commercial art studio,"
Bromley said.
They both came from an artistic background as VCU art
majors. Bowles teaches at VCU and Bromley is a former VCU art professor.
The two artists met after they graduated and began collaborating as a
team.
"We were influenced by comic books when we were
young," Bromley said. "Phillip was published in VCU's Commonwealth
Times when he was an undergraduate, and my first published cartoons were
after I finished graduate school."
Bowles and Bromley enjoy the positive feedback they recieve from
their work.
"It's always fun seeing people's reactions to the
cartoons, especially the kids," Bowles said.
The artsy pair encourages everyone to come out and enjoy
their artistic creations.
"It's a show with a little bit of something for everybody, so bring
the family and share a couple laughs. A laugh will go a long way,"
Bowles said.
The exhibit is free admission for all.
______________________________________________________ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF DAVID BROMLEY