Education

              BFA Fine Art, Painting, Drawing, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY

              AAS Fashion Illustration, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY      

2000-2006            Drawing Workshops/ Photoshop, Dream weaver, School of Visual Arts,

                           New York, NY                                   

1991-1994            Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, School of Visual Arts,New York, NY   

1992                    Painting, Editiorial Illustration Concepts:Parsons School of Art and Design,

                           New York. NY

1980-1986           Fashion Illustration, Composition, Drawing, Watercolor,Graphic Design, Painting. School of Visual Arts, New York, NY

                           Life Drawing, Arts Student League, New York, NY

                           Fine Art, Philadelphia Institute of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pa.

Residencies       

                           Painting, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont

Panels/ Seminars

                           FIT Ipod and the Classroom

                           Leslie Lohman Gallery “The Line of Fashion”

                           Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida

                           A.T.O.A. Artists Talk On Art, School of Visual Arts Amphitheater.

                           Sarah Lawrence College, New York

                           Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont

Awards and Honors

                           Award of Merit, Share Your Vision

                           Partial Artist Grant, Vermont Studio Center

                           Honorarium Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla.

Featured in HOW’s 10th Anniversary International Design Awards,

Best design from around the globe.

Books and Articles

                           Martin Dawbers, Big Book On Fashion Illustration.

                           Hue magazine, FIT Publication Featured in Artists Market, Article,

and Illustration.

                           Lauri Miller

                           Featured in Mr Magazine, Japan

                           Featured in Domani Publicita; Europe

                           Featured in Fashion Illustration in Europe: by Isao Yajima, Japan

                           Dirty Little Drawings Bruno Gmunder Verlag GmbH Kleiststr, Berlin  

DAN RUBINSTEIN

FIT Faculty Profiles (HUE, Fall ‘08)

                           Bil Donovan

In an age where casual dress is the norm and not the exception, noted fashion illustrator and faculty member Bil Donovan is something of a throwback—and a proud one at that. “The age of elegance is gone,” Donovan laments. “There was a time when a woman wouldn’t dare to leave the house without makeup and the right gloves.” This old-school devotion to classic glamour led Donovan to illustrate a new adaptation of a book by legendary Hollywood costume designer and proto-stylist Edith Head. In The Dress Doctor: A Prescription for Style from A to Z, icons and themes of Head’s era are brought to life in vivid works, including this sultry Gloria Swanson rendered in brush and ink, inspired by her role in Sunset Boulevard. “Growing up in South Philadelphia—not exactly a capital of fashion—movies that featured [Head’s] work were my only outlet,” says the artist, who works in a variety of media, from graphite and acrylic to glitter and pastels. “These films were like Christmas presents. As a kid, after seeing all this                glamour on screen, all I wanted to do was run home and draw what I had seen.”

Donovan moved to New York at 19 and studied drawing and illustration all over the city, from the Art Students League to the School of Visual Arts, before receiving his AAS in Fashion Illustration at FIT in 1978. At 30, he spent time abroad in Milan and elsewhere—including a stint in Paris as a shoe designer. He added numerous enviable credits to his resume, which now includes Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, and Italian Elle. He has taught at the college for 15 years.

Donovan isn’t just an artist, but a budding scholar as well. He’s writing a textbook on fashion and lifestyle illustration to be published next year. And though fashion illustration may not be as prevalent as it once was, that didn’t stop the editors at InStyle magazine, who commissioned him to illustrate Meg Ryan wearing Calvin Klein for their Oct ober cover story. Edith, eat your heart out.

Lesley M. M. Blume

10 Whimsical, Recession-Proof Holiday Gift Ideas

5. Have a portrait painted of your wife, children, or girlfriend. Nothing elaborate, just a lovely likeness. I recently met a divine painter named William Donovan (dukedonovan@earthlink.net), who paints quick, lovely watercolor portraits, such as the one above, for attendees of Vogue events in New York ... many local artists or caricaturists will also do this very inexpensively for you. Framed nicely, they make stunning, chic heirlooms.