Drawing Pictures is more fun than Pulling Teeth
by David Broad
During 1945 in Germany my time at war was spent in a failed Artillery Unit comprised of 240 mm howitzers towed by 2 1⁄2 ton trucks. I say “failed” because after disembarking at Le Havre when we hit the first hill all the trucks’ engines burned out and our only recourse was to ditch them on the side of the road. This was in March and our mission turned bringing German prisoners from the front down to camps in lower Germany, as well as guarding ammunition dumps and runnning messenger routes around the country. Skipping to wars’ end we became the Army of occupation and our unit was dissolved. Then I became the head of a PX unit, and became very popular.
I was always interested in art with hopes of becoming an artist, and I had done posters in my previous unit. One day in the PX I was called out to report to my commanding officer, for what reason I could only assume was to be reprimanded for what??? Well to make a long story short, in my previous unit, where I did posters, a buddy, unbeknownst to me, had answered an ad, in my behalf, in Stars and Stripes looking for artists. I had not answered the ad since I had hardly any experience and did not believe that I was qualified. Back to my commanding officer and my offense. It turned out I was to be transferred to PARIS into an art department. That was an astounding moment !!! That art unit, The Information and Education Division, had the “giants” of the New York advrtising art industry creating posters, displays, etc. etc. The unit was eventually relocated to Hoechst, Germany where I did my first professional work, after getting an early discharge and signing on as a civilian employed by the US Government. Some pictures below-Doing posters, art department Hoechst, !st prize for a cartoon and first piece of art.
Upon returning to USA, I enrolled at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Industrial Design was my preference, but commuting from Manhattan on the overcrowded subway carrying delicate 3‑D plaster models would be inconceivable, so I switched my course to Illustration. During my summer vacations I spent time in Paris painting and traveling. After graduating Pratt I ended up in Milwaukee working for an art studio. It was a nice town and jobs were plentiful.
Below: Student work from Pratt and Illustrations from a Milwaukee art studio:
However, after visiting California with the spectacular weather it was easy to relocate, particularly after I found my heart and wife in San Francisco. I ultimately joined Landphere Associates. Terrific people, a great studio, there even was a ping-pong table for recreation. Max was a super boss and a wonderful person. It was a difficult decision to leave to begin freelancing, particularly when we were expecting our third child. Max was very caring and it was great to have him as a friend.
Below: Art while represented by Landphere Associates:
Below: Freelance, Self-Promo and jobs from San Francisco Bay Area clients:
It was an easy transition to freelancing as Landphere Studios still passed on many assignments to augment my accounts. Retiring in 1998 from the commercial world I am spending time painting and enjoying the golden years with my family and friends.
Art Identification: Pratt and Milwaukee Studio: 1, 2: Abstract, Figure Painting 3, 4, 5: ”Torch” Milwaukee Advertising ClubLandphere Associates: 1: Landphere Mailer 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: “HodgePodge” Dave Broad Self-Promos 7, 8: Dave Broad Line Art, Self-Promos Self-Employed Assignments: 1, 2: Self-Promo-Direct Mail 3: Dave Broad Self-Promo 4: Japan Air Lines-Botsford, Constantine & Gardner-San Francisco, Jerry Huff (AD) 5: Sunset Magazine-“Chefs of the West”, Bill Cheney (AD) 6: Kaiser/Refraction 7, 8: Crown Zellerbach Billboards, ZEE 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14: Bank of America Folders and Posters 15: Painting