Meet Doug Bloodworth

In 1974 Doug earned a degree in Commercial Arts and went on during the early stages of his career to work in several genres of the art world.  From painting caricatures to billboards, Doug’s pursuits steered him towards the mastery of fine art techniques and a working mentorship with Marv Gunderson, the exclusive artist for the Marlboro brand. Painting iconic works on billboards all over the country was a highlight early on in his career and he still draws from the inspiration and lessons learned during the tour.

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Buses & Billboards

How It Started

From the late 70's to the early 90's I painted signs and billboards which not only provided great practice, but also provided enough income to support our growing family (our daughter, Bini is pictured next to the Marlboro Man). We used artist oils and I still use a lot of those painting techniques today.

Buses, Buses, Buses

With the invention of a two-way window material, the bus advertising exploded in the mid 90's! With a crew of artist friends I painted hundreds of illustrated buses all over the world settling in Orlando, FL for over 10 years.

Here is a glimpse into my past...

Billboards
We painted the Marlboro bulletins in San Diego. Most were 30ft tall and 90ft long and were painted on wooden panels 10ft x 4ft. After completion they were taken apart and loaded in trucks destined for different football stadium parking lots over the country. One exception was a 42ft x 90ft at the O'Hare airport in Chicago. The designs were changed every six months.
Movie Studios
While contracting in Dallas I was approached to paint three identical 10 x 10 wooden panels of Sylvester Stallone in the movie 'Over the Top'. At that time Los Colinas was big in movie and TV commercial production.
You're Going to do What?
Ed Angel and his crew set them up and in an airplane hanger and drove a truck through all three! They taped Fullers dust and glitter to the back side so there was a sparkle to the dust. Really fun times... I went on to do several projects with Ed and was amazed at what goes on behind the scenes.
All in a Days Work
This was a normal days work in Pensacola, FL working for Lamar Outdoor. Painting the dress was a real lesson in patience. You can see the worker on the scissor lift applying the clear coat for size.
Marilyn and Starry Night
This was small as billboards go... 10ft x 10ft but loaded with goodies. Van Gogh's Starry Night for the background was genius by the designer and really fun to paint!
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Signs, Signs, Signs
Here you see a good example of everyday projects. Coke made great use of Outdoor Bulletins. I also did several small billboards for Disney's MGM theme park in Orlando. The other signs I designed for Lion Country Safari in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Doug's Story

After getting a degree in Commercial Art & Advertising my first job was designing outdoor bulletins for Lamar Outdoor. I left there on whim to do caricatures at Six Flags and Bush Gardens but after a season, returned to Outdoor. This time trying my hand at painting the huge pictorials. This lead me on a 15 year quest to master the art of Photorealism. I painted the billboards and even illustrated buses for about 25 years always doing a few paintings on canvas every year with my goal always being to pursue fine art.

On my 50th birthday I realized that time was slipping away and after talking with my wife Karen decided to focus more on paintings. I had no idea what I would paint! Karen had a background in children’s photography and helped me set up and light the still life’s that I use for reference in my paintings. I loved the dramatic lighting and used comic books and snacks…..a lot of them being the products that I had painted all those years. I really enjoyed this and painted my products as they really were (I love painting the crumbles) and bags maybe wrinkled and upside down. I considered it almost anti-advertising. The hand lettering skills that I acquired doing the signs really helps me in painting products and even reproducing newspaper lettering! I also discovered that I have a slight obsession with the car token in the Monopoly game and have painted it in different styles and positions numerous times. I attribute this to while playing the game as children my older brother Eddie always got to be the coveted car and I usually was stuck with a lame piece like the thimble or baby shoe. I realized my obsession after selling my first Monopoly painting (the Car) at an art show. I felt a feeling of loss after selling it and tried to buy it back from the collector but he said, “sorry but No” and have been painting that car ever since.

I also love and paint scenes from movies….film noir….westerns…the Big Lebowski?!

Most recently I have really enjoyed arranging compositions using objects/comics sent to me that have special meaning to other people. This is so much fun! If you have an idea for a painting, don’t hesitate to reach out using my contact page.
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