“Coby Whitmore, in 1948, was a superstar among American illustrators and he was my idol. Imagine an eighteen year old aspiring artist, who had no training, with the opportunity to apprentice with the leading illustrators of the day. That was my good fortune at the Charles E. Cooper Studios in New York. What turned out to be the best part of the arrangement was that Coby Whitmore was there and as generous with his time and attention as the leading teacher could possibly be.

During my first months of apprenticeship, matting his paintings, cleaning his brushes and palette and watching every brush stroke during the day, I would practice painting at night. Within six months, Coby had taken a sample painting of mine to a national magazine, Cosmopolitan, and sold it as an illustration for what will always seem to me to be the largest sum of money I will ever receive.

Coby epitomizes the great sharing of knowledge and information in the tradition of history’s finest artists who pass on to others what they have learned form earlier generations.

Over the forty years of our friendship, we have helped each other when in trouble with paintings, given and accepted critiques and haunted each other’s studios.

Coby Whitmore has been the most important person in my development as an artist.”

Comments on Coby Whitmore
By Joseph Bowler, Hilton Head Island, S.C.

To view more information about Coby Whitmore, including his artwork, please visit the section of my website dedicated to Coby Whitmore by clicking on this link.

Comments on Coby Whitmore by Joseph Bowler

Joe Bowler Interview, Part 2: The Cooper Studio Years Begin