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Bill Brown
William Curtiss Brown is well known in his hometown
of Kingman,
Arizona. Referred to by many as "the Dot Man," Bill has
entertained family, friends and countless strangers with his unique
talent for drawing pictures from scattered dots on a scrap of paper or,
his favorite, paper napkins.
If you ever have the pleasure of meeting him in person, you must ask
him
to do one for you. He will be delighted and you will be amazed.
Born in 1926, Bill realized he had a talent for art
at the
young age of nine. In 1946 he entered the Fort Wayne Art College
in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he studied commercial and fine art. By
1950
he and his wife moved to I Tucson, Arizona where he enrolled in the
Milan
Studio School of Fine and Applied Art, to study commercial art and
illustration.
Bill expresses himself in various mediums and styles:
pen and ink, oils, acrylics, illustrating, cartooning, sculpting,
screen printing, etc.
His creativity is seemingly endless. He has
been known
to use old house paint and scrap wood to create wonderful desert,
masterpieces. His subjects have varied from beautiful landscapes
to delicate hummingbirds, impressive whales, portraits and western
scenes. His cartoons depict touching and endearing themes, such
as the one seen below.
In 1990 a schoolteacher went to Bill with an idea for
a "Time pocket" project depicting an 1860's mining village for a local
elementary school. Bill eagerly embraced the project, which
involved sculpting a life-sized miner to greet each visitor and the
painting of a giant mural of the Colorado River including, among other
images, a paddle-wheel boat. The mural covered the entire end of
a school building. This impressive project can still be seen at
the Palo Christi Elementary School in Kingman, Arizona.
Bill was also involved with the building of the Andy
Devine Room, still attracting visitors at the Mohave Museum of History
and Arts. His talents have been used all over the City of Kingman
in various and sundry ways, from signs and emblems to displays and
life-sized figures.
Now retired, Bill and his wife of 53 years, enjoy a
quiet, peaceful lifestyle, committed to helping others whenever they
can. Bill
treasures his visits to the Skilled Nursing Unit at the Kingman
Regional Medical
Center. While there, he visits with the patients and draws his
famous
"Dot" pictures, bringing smiles to the faces and, joy to the hearts of
all,
including the staff. “I enjoy drawing (and painting), “he
says. “It’s just a part of my life.”
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