ARTIST STATEMENT

Drawing can be elegant or electric and exciting, but it is always highly expressive. When a par­tic­ular person or scene excites me I focus on what in particular has caught my eye, then iso­late and emphasize that in the drawing, keeping enough surrounding detail to give it a sense of place.

I prefer to draw from life on location using an archival fine point marker. It’s amazing how much subtlety you can get out of a pen. I use that subtlety to create depth and atmosphere.

Working as an artist and electronic imaging chief at Offutt Air Force Base, my illustrations were used in pamphlets, newspapers and book­lets. When I retired I began publishing drawings of the Omaha and the Nebraska I love through Prairie Breeze Graphics.

BIOGRAPHY

Armand earned his BFA in fine art at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1971. After teaching art in the Council Bluffs Public Schools for a few years he accepted a position at Offutt Air Force Base as a civilian illustrator and calligrapher. He soon became chief of Base Graphics, then chief of Strategic Air Command Protocol Graphics and later the chief of 55th Wing electronic imaging…graphics, photography, video, closed-circuit TV and video tele­conf­er­encing…with a staff of 65 civilians and military. He won numerous awards for his artwork in­cluding two First Place Strategic Air Command Media Contest Illustrations and 2nd place, Air Force-wide Media Contest. His artwork was featured several times a year on the cover of the base newspaper to celebrate different holidays and Air Force events.

Retiring from Offutt, he focused on painting and drawing, producing a portfolio of note and greeting cards wholesaled to over forty retail locations throughout Nebraska.