In the early 90s just out of art school I contacted Kimble who had a studio and worked near Burbank, CA. I arranged a meeting to see him and bring over some work. When I got to his studio it was amazing, more like a museum really with antiques and motorcycles filling nearly every inch of a rather large building. He was airbrushing a very large cutaway in the middle of a war zone of art production with only the space he was working on clear. Piles of frisking mask and drawings stacked feet hight all around him illuminated with a spot light. He had invited his rep over to help meet with me. They were rather rough concerning my work and visually were Ok with my stuff but Kimble gave me a rather combative quick verbal test something like can you extrapolate this incomplete orthographic plan view into a 35 Degree 3 point perspective with this pencil? I was a bit frozen and he basically said I would never amount to much but gave me a cool Corvette Poster and said I don't want you to leave here empty handed kid! He was nice enough to even meet with me.
A short while later I heard he packed up and moved to Marfa, Texas and seems to have kept a very low profile. Looking back I am glad I had that experience.
Jim
Last edited by jhatch on Thu May 26, 2016 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I was sad to read your story. The best thing to say about this is maybe he was having a bad day. Anyway he certainly was wrong about you. In my view you are a worthy successor of the style Kimble and other artist of his generation created. Its hard to say how many technical illustrators that use airbrush or other analogue techniques would fare in today's market. The pay is less and the deadlines are shorter. Last minute revisions are routine. Digital is really the only way to go. I think its a testament to your dedication that you have updated the style and techniques of an art form that would otherwise be lost.