In 1965, Andy Warhol created an image for Time magazine for an article called "Today's Teen-Agers." The iconic image ran on the cover. Warhol took the children of Time's staffers to an arcade and posed them for portraits, assembling the photos into his signature color blocked pop-art collage style. The cover helped launch Warhol to his status as an infamous artist, and he would produce three more covers for Time, including an iconic Michael Jackson portrait in 1984, as well as covers for Vogue and Playboy.
Now and again, the Source has followed that tradition, posting artwork by local artists on our covers. But last month, we decided to formalize the process, selecting one artist each month to grace our cover, and showcasing that artist at First Friday Art Walk.
Thanks to the gracious proprietors at Franklin Crossing for hanging selected paintings and photos from our artist of the month, where they will hang through the end of July. And thanks to Taylor Rose, the Source's artist of the month. Her pen-and- ink with watercolor art is recognizable in Bend; she recently designed a logo for Brother Jon's Public House, a mural in the westside Cuppa Yo and T-shirts for the popular Pickin' & Paddlin' events.
SW: How did you end up in Bend?
Rose: I grew up in small town in New Hampshire and went to art school at New Hampshire Institute of Art. About eight months ago I took a huge monthlong road trip across the country and landed in Bend. As soon as you tell someone you're an artist, it clicks—they're supportive and genuinely interested. That's the thing about Bend—it's community-oriented, and people really appreciate when you live right up the road.
SW: Tell me a little about your art. Your style is really whimsical. What inspires that?
Rose: I mostly use pen-and-ink and watercolor. Sometimes there's digital medium thrown in there. I get most of my inspiration from childhood adventures. Being outside and collecting fireflies. I want to make art that I would love as a kid—that my 10 year old self would look at and say, "I want to do that someday." I love cartoons. I make it a point to watch cartoons at least once a day, things like "Samurai Jack" and "Hey Arnold!" which I watched growing up. I also love comic books and graphic novels. There's a huge kid inside of me.
SW: Did you go on a lot of adventures as a kid?
Rose: Growing up near the ocean and mountains and rivers and beaches, that was just want you did. You got up and you went outside and didn't go back in until your parent made you. Later, I got really into surfing and snowboarding, and I hope to keep my connection to nature by doing outdoor activities. I still like to run around outside and find rocks and stuff.
SW: Tell me about the piece on the cover.
Rose: It's called "Ode to Adventure Time." It's a direct portrayal of a tree house that's in a cartoon, "Adventure Time." The show is great, and I'm inspired by it, but I wanted to put my own spin on it and make an ode to all the cartoons that I watched as a kid '90s. Watching them is almost a therapy.
SW: How do people react when you tell them you watch '90s cartoons all the time?
Rose: You know you can connect to someone on a whole new level if they say, "Hey, can I come?" There's something special about a grown person that can enjoy child-like things.
