Artist Doug Bloodworth has spent decades perfecting his photorealism, moving from painting enormous billboards for major brands to creating intricate canvas works featuring nostalgic everyday objects. His career spans diverse projects, from massive Marlboro advertisements to detailed murals for sports stadiums and bus wraps for theme parks, all while honing a unique style that captures the essence of familiar items.
Key Takeaways
- Doug Bloodworth began his career painting large-scale photorealistic billboards.
- He learned advanced techniques from master billboard painters across the country.
- His work includes painting massive Marlboro ads and intricate murals for Tropicana Field.
- Bloodworth transitioned to fine art, focusing on hyperrealistic depictions of snack foods, comic books, and board games.
- He emphasizes practice and continuous learning for aspiring artists.
Early Career in Commercial Art and Advertising
Doug Bloodworth's artistic journey began in an unexpected place: an Air Force Base in the Philippine Islands, where he was born. His family's travels eventually led them to a small town in North Texas. After high school, Bloodworth pursued an associate’s degree in Commercial Art & Advertising, laying the groundwork for his future.
His first professional role involved designing outdoor advertising for Lamar Outdoor. He then spent several years traveling across the country, drawing caricatures at amusement parks and county fairs. This period provided a foundation in rapid artistic production and direct interaction with the public.
Did You Know?
Doug Bloodworth once painted a 42-foot by 90-foot billboard of the famous 'Outlaw' Marlboro man for Chicago O’Hare airport, a single face of the iconic character.
Mastering Photorealism on Billboards
Bloodworth returned to outdoor advertising, but this time with a specific goal: to learn photorealism. He saw billboard painting as a unique opportunity to get paid while developing the precise technique of reproducing photographs in oil on a grand scale. He painted everything from 40-foot long Coke bottles on ice to hamburgers, tacos, and new cars.
The reference photos he used often came from advertising agencies, ensuring high quality. This fifteen-year period was crucial for his artistic development. In the late 1970s and 80s, before the internet, learning was a hands-on process, directly from other painters.
"Marv [Gunderson] taught me so much about light, form, and color, and showed me the techniques that I still use in my paintings today," Bloodworth recounts, highlighting the impact of a key mentor.
He traveled from Texas to Minnesota and the Carolinas, seeking out artists willing to share their knowledge. He found two types: those generous with their techniques and those who were not. Bloodworth deeply valued the former and has since tried to emulate their openness with anyone interested in learning.
Collaboration with a Master and Iconic Projects
During his travels, Bloodworth repeatedly heard about Marv Gunderson, described as "the best in the business." Gunderson, a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute, had been sought out by Marlboro for a nationwide search for the country's top pictorial painter. Bloodworth, with his wife Karen, young daughter Bini, and their dog Kat, drove to Gunderson's shop in San Diego, California.
They quickly connected, and Bloodworth spent over a year working with Gunderson, learning advanced techniques while helping him catch up on projects. Together, they painted some of the largest outdoor bulletins for Marlboro. These massive artworks, often 30-foot by 90-foot or 30-foot by 60-foot, were painted in 10-foot by 4-foot sections in San Diego.
These sections were then shipped and installed at NFL stadiums across the country, often on tri-vision billboards that rotated to display three different scenes. Most of the Marlboro billboards depicted scenes of cowboys, horses, and western landscapes, all painted with artist oils and brushes. Bloodworth found immense satisfaction in this work, loving "every minute of it."
The Era of Painted Billboards
Before the widespread use of large-format digital printing, billboards were hand-painted by skilled artists. This demanding work required precision, an understanding of scale, and the ability to translate small images into monumental artwork. Artists like Doug Bloodworth were at the forefront of this craft, creating iconic advertisements that defined an era.
Transition to Bus Advertising and Murals
After his time with Gunderson, Bloodworth returned to Texas to run his own shop, contracting pictorial work for outdoor companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He later rejoined Lamar Outdoor in Pensacola, Florida, continuing to paint pictorials for five years.
As vinyl printing began to replace painted billboards, Bloodworth discovered Contravision, a two-way viewing material that revolutionized bus advertising. This product allowed designs to be seen on one side while remaining clear on the other. Bloodworth became one of the few licensed artists skilled in its application, leading him to Orlando, Florida.
There, he painted bus advertising for Disney and Universal Studios through the Lynx bus system for nearly another fifteen years. He even traveled to Switzerland to paint a pictorial bus for Kuoini Travels in London. This period also included large-scale murals, one notable project being two 30-foot by 200-foot murals inside Tropicana Field for the Tampa Bay Rays.
"One of the scenes started with Jackie Robinson sliding into home plate. The umpire standing there was 20 feet tall and the crowd in the stands could be seen very small in the distance (almost abstract)," Bloodworth describes. "As the scene moved to the right behind the concessions, the crowd became larger until it reached the escalators going up to the second floor, and there the crowd was life size. I had so much fun putting celebrities and friends in the crowd."
Shifting Focus to Fine Art
Despite the excitement of these large-scale projects, vinyl printing eventually took over the bus painting business as well. Approaching 50, Bloodworth realized he had deviated from his initial goal: to apply the photorealism he mastered in advertising to his canvas oil paintings. He discussed this with his wife, Karen, and made the pivotal decision to focus on creating the fine art pieces he had always envisioned.
Without a clear subject in mind, he began painting whatever came to him. At art shows and events, he observed that people were consistently drawn to his paintings featuring familiar products and snacks from their childhoods. These included items he had painted for advertising: Lay's potato chips, Coca-Cola, Oreos, comic books, and board games.
The Allure of Anti-Advertising
Bloodworth found a new passion in depicting these items, but with a twist. He aimed for an "anti-advertising" approach, painting them exactly as they appear in real life – chips with air bubbles, cookies with crumbs, crinkled bags, or even upside down. He revels in capturing the different textures: shiny plastics, rough cookie edges, and the hard black outlines of comic books and newspapers.
Karen assists him in setting up still lifes, carefully lighting them to create dramatic shadows. Bloodworth takes numerous photos, often using three or four as reference for a single painting. His detailed and nostalgic work, especially his comic book and snack paintings, earned him gallery representation in over thirty different galleries at one point.
- Popular Subjects: Comic books, snack foods, board games (especially Monopoly).
- Distinctive Style: Hyperrealism with authentic imperfections.
- Creative Process: Still lifes, dramatic lighting, multiple photographic references.
He admits a slight obsession with painting the Monopoly Car, often having one in progress. He also creates movie stills by pausing his TV and taking snapshots to use as painting references. Even after years of painting, Bloodworth expresses continued joy in his craft.
Advice for Aspiring Artists and Future Projects
When asked for advice, Bloodworth offers a simple yet profound recommendation: "Draw and paint as much as you possibly can!" He shares a story from his early twenties when he tried caricatures at Six Flags over Texas with no prior experience. The woman who hired him told him, "Don’t worry about it. Do 500 caricatures and you will be good. Do 5,000 caricatures and your own personal style will emerge."
He notes that he and his fellow caricature artists, including future Ren & Stimpy creator Bob Camp, developed distinct styles despite drawing only left profiles. Bloodworth believes this principle applies equally to painting, though it might not take 5,000 paintings for a unique style to emerge.
Artist's Perspective
Doug Bloodworth's early experience drawing caricatures taught him the value of repetition and how consistent practice leads to developing a unique artistic style.
Looking ahead, Bloodworth enjoys commission work, bringing people's visions and favorite items to life. He is also experimenting with creating unique frames for his paintings. For his newest Monopoly Car painting, he is building a 4-foot by 6-foot frame using the actual Monopoly board, colorful money, and plans to mount hotels, houses, Chance & Community Chest cards, and property deeds for a three-dimensional effect.
Future projects include revisiting his 4-foot by 6-foot Hubcap painting, intending to construct a frame from assorted chrome parts and medallions, possibly even incorporating a bumper. Movie paintings are also on his radar, specifically themes from Die Hard, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and the aesthetics of film noir and classic black-and-white sci-fi movies.
Favorite Films and Television
Bloodworth is a self-proclaimed fan of many action and sci-fi classics. His favorite movies include the entire Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Mission Impossible, Fast & Furious, and Back to the Future series. He also enjoys Clint Eastwood westerns, Arnold Schwarzenegger films like True Lies and Predator, and Sylvester Stallone's Rocky and Rambo movies.
His appreciation extends to superhero films such as Guardians of the Galaxy (excluding the latest installment), Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, and Avengers. Other notable favorites include The Big Lebowski, They Live, Escape from L.A. & New York, and Mars Attacks.
For television, he lists Tulsa King, Justified, The Sopranos, 24, Columbo, Vegas, A-Team, and Walker Texas Ranger among his top choices.