By Celestial Starr Bybee

At age 13, Brian C. Hailes, now a fine arts major at Utah State University studying illustration, designed a United States postage stamp. Hailes was one of four artists chosen in this contest of over 150,000 entries nationwide. The object of the contest was to design a stamp depicting ways to help the environment. The stamp that Hailes designed depicted a boy planting a tree. It commemorated Earth Day of 1995 and was one of the first stamps in history to show the artist's name. Hailes' design was printed on 50 million commemorative series stamps and this was only the beginning of his national career.

The following year, Hailes won fourth place for a children's book, Dragon Lands in the National Written and Illustrated by Awards Contests for Students. At age 16, Hailes won third place in the same national contest with another book, Don't Go Near Crocodile Ponds. With this book he also won the Best of Show award in the Brigham City State-wide High School Art Competition of 1997. During his junior year of high school, Hailes attended the Academy of Art College in San Francisco to study illustration, sculpture, painting, and motion picture production. As a graduating high school senior, Hailes received the Sterling Scholar Award for Visual Arts. He was accepted to Brigham Young University and was offered a full scholarship to Dixie College before he had even taken the ACT. Hailes received a full freshman scholarship and four-year scholarship award to study art at Utah State University.

"I preferred this university over the others. I especially wanted to take as many classes as possible from Glen Edwards (USU illustration professor) preceding his retirement. I am also from the valley and it was a convenience to be so close to home," Hailes explained.

Yes, Brian C. Hailes is from right here in Cache Valley, from the city of Millville. He is the son of J. Charles and Cynthia Hailes. His mother, being an artist herself, has artwork in three galleries, located in San Antonio, Provo and Salt Lake City. She designed and sculpted the Veteran's Memorial in Providence. She is currently working on a veterans memorial in Wyoming, a sculpture for Children's Ballet Theatre in Salt Lake City and a sculpture named "Reaching" for USU's own Edith Bowen Lab School. The life-size sculpture for Edith Bowen depicts five children and a teacher playing together on monkey bars. She also taught for five years at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Examples of her work can be found at www.cynthiahailes.com.

"My mom was my toughest critic while growing up. She was not like other mothers," said Hailes.

"I probably come across negative all the time about Brian's work. The truth is that I am amazed, but I just try to help him get better. I expect perfection. I knew that if Brian was going to continue with art, he needed a sense of reality. I wanted him to be able to handle the real critiques. I wanted him to be tough," said Hailes' mother.

Serving an LDS church mission for two years (1999-2001) in Florida did not slow down Hailes' art career. As a weekly act of service, Hailes designed and painted nine murals at three local high schools and two middle schools. Most of the murals were eight feet by eight feet. One mural was 200 feet long and seven feet high, painted over a large spread of steel lockers that face the main street in Cross City, Fla. Several local newspaper articles were written about Hailes' paintings, thus his mark was left in one more area of the nation.

Following Hailes' service as a missionary and during the summer of 2002, Hailes was a winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest of 2002 for illustrators of speculative fiction. Hailes was one of 12 winners nationwide in a pool of 8,000 contestants.

Hailes' winning illustrations have been published in the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XVIII (Galaxy Press); this is an annual anthology of prize-winning stories and illustrations. The awards ceremonies were hosted in Hollywood at the L. Ron Hubbard Gallery, located on Hollywood Boulevard. At the awards ceremonies, Hailes met many celebrity artists, singers, actresses and actors, including Sean Astin (from Lord of the Rings, Rudy and Goonies). While in Hollywood, Hailes also attended a weeklong illustration workshop facilitated for winners of this award, instructed by famous illustrators.

Hailes said, concerning the contest, "It is nice to be recognized for doing what you love, and for what you would be doing anyway."

Fall semester of 2002, Hailes worked as an intern at the Society of Illustrators in New York City. While there he met and mingled with many famous artists and professionals in the business of illustration. Included among these was fantasy illustrator Donato Giancola, animator Bill Plympton, Gary Kelly, C.F. Payne, and many editors and art directors for New York book and magazine publishers. Donato, who has done many covers for books such as Lord of the Rings, was the biggest influence on Hailes while in New York. His work can be viewed at donatoart.com.

Many great artists past and present have influenced Hailes style of art. J.W. Waterhouse, Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, and Howard Pyle were some of the old time masters that have greatly influenced Hailes' work. Drew Struzan, Michael Whelan, and Frank Frazetta are a few of the living artists that he also looks up to. He tries to implement different techniques and exemplify the styles of these and other artists in his own work.

Hailes was recently hired by Associated Students of Utah State University Activities Vice President Lindsey Lyman to draw portraits at the University Mardi Gras activity. Lyman explained her perception of Hailes' work, "Oh, it is amazing! I've seen great artwork, but I have never before known the artist. His passion for art comes through in his pictures. He pays attention to detail and has a broad knowledge and wonderful ability.

Glen Edwards, USU professor of illustration said about Hailes, "He is ambitious, dedicated and hard working, this is the key to success. He has skillful work, better than most people. I have watched him since I retired; he does the right kind of research for his artwork. The future looks pretty bright for the kid. He's got the right attitude, temperament, and skills. He is creating significant art right now."

Hailes has undertaken the monumental task of creating large-scale epic paintings of Book of Mormon stories. There are three of these paintings currently in the works. To view his work, visit www.dreamfusionstudios.com.

Hailes' plans for the future possibly include book covers, calendars, illustrating children's books, and conceptual design for film, theatre, or video games. Of Hailes future, Edwards states that, "Brian will have several choices in his career objectives and could possibly pursue more than one. His work is fundamentally sound and it is obvious that he knows what he is doing."

NW
TJ

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