FREE ESSAY ON KINDRED SPIRITS

KINDRED SPIRITS

The Bogles
Collin Bogle grew up in Northwestern Washington. As a kid he liked to spend his time
outdoors, fishing, roller-blading, or riding his mountain bike. His father, Lee Bogle,
was an art teacher in high school and even when Collin showed extraordinary artistic
abilities it was still thought that he would be an accountant. Lee Bogle was absolutely
amazed with Collin's ability.
Today both Lee and Collin Bogle are professional artists. Both father and son live in
Seattle and live 10 minutes apart. They both excel at realistic detail, if you saw their
art, however, no one would guess their close connection.
Lee Bogle, after painting wildlife subjects most of his life, has moved back to his first
love- the human figure. He is best known for his Native American depictions in flowing
backgrounds. Now he has shifted to ballet dancers. Unlike his father, Collin Bogle has
moved toward wildlife. He takes adventures through the woods near his house with a camera
looking for surprises.
Drawing and painting were major passions for Lee Bogle, even in childhood. He pursued his
art during evenings and weekends for twenty years while teaching during the day. He
worked in stained glass, pottery, and even dipped into sculpture. His portrait work
provided supplemental income for the family. As the demand for his prints increased, the
tedious hand-coloring process consumed his time. So he hired Collin, his teenage son, as
an apprentice. He assisted his father for several years, learning color and many
techniques.
Next, Lee experimented with oil pastel drawings against the free- form colors of the
wash. He found the combination of abstract backgrounds and detailed drawings suited him.
Eventually he moved to human figures as subjects.
When Collin was still young he never imagined a career in art. Even after winning the
"most likely to succeed in art" award he still never imagined pursuing anything. It
wasn't until one of his father's first publishers saw one of his paintings and asked him
to do a print that he realized his capabilities. In order to get to his goal of being a
professional artist Collin used to always ask his father to critique his paintings.
Nowadays it's gotten to the point where Lee is sometimes asking his son for advice.
Most of Collin's paintings start with extensive photography. He can sometimes spend up to
twenty minutes photographing the same tree. He likes the peacefulness and freedom of
being alone in the nature. Even though Collin may seem like a down to earth kind of guy,
his techniques for composing his paintings are very modern. He usually starts by getting
an idea for his next work on his computer. He will scan his photographs of animals and
scenery into his computer and take it from there. He sometimes likes to change positions
of objects, reverses images and adjusts sizes, colors and brightness.
Usually to begin a painting Collin will airbrush the canvas a few tones darker than he
wants the finished product to look. Then he works from dark to light using colored
pencils and finishes with water based pastels. This technique has proven to make his
works go by muck quicker. Collin's most well known skill is the ability to portray
lighting in a very dramatic way. He considers this extremely vital to any composition.
The advantage that Collin appreciates most is having an artist for a father. When Collin
was nervous about some of his first shows Lee was always there for him to provide support
and advice. At the age of twenty- five Collin has never held a full time job other than
being an artist. Even though Collin has experienced a very early success he is still
humble and aware of who helped get to where he is. Lee Bogle is very proud of his son not
because he is a good artist but because he is a good person.
Opinion
I thought that this article was very touching. It's an exciting story about a good
relationship between father and son. It's amazing how they both can stay very honest to
each other and offer constructive criticism without getting caught up in the relationship
as father and son. It makes for a good balance that can only have an outcome of great
artwork. I also think that it's great how Collin has been able to make such a good
living, doing something he loves, at such a young a age.