| Rich Normandin / Illustrator E-mail: NormandinArt@hughes.net |
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Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Rich began drawing at the age of four, attended watercolor classes at age six and oil painting lessons at age eight. He excelled in art courses from elementary through high school. Graduating high school in 1985, he also won six Rhode Island Scholastic Art Awards and The Clara Pond Art Scholarship Award from Woonsocket High School.
He was accepted into the Art Institute of Boston where he won four consecutive portfolio scholarship competition awards, one for each year attending 1985-1989. While attending school full-time he also worked as a freelance illustrator commissioned to create packaging and technical illustrations for Hasbro. In 1989 pieces of his artwork was selected for The Society of Illustrators Exhibit in New York City, and in 1990 graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration.
1990, Rich was hired as a full-time Illustrator for Liquid Blue, a local Screen-Printing Company in Rhode Island, where he created artwork for rock bands such as: The Grateful Dead, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Guns n' Roses and more, as well as, designs with nature and metaphysical subject matter. He was honored with several awards over the next few years, including a 1992 design that was selected for the Ann Williams Collection of the Danbury Mint and in 1994 won 1st place award in Impressions Magazine for best T-shirt design "Ship of Fools" for The Grateful Dead.
In 1994 he was hired as an Illustrator/Designer for Pro Player brand of Fruit of the Loom Sports and Licensing Division and moved to New Hampshire. There he designed hundreds of illustrations, logo designs, mascot designs, caricatures, and authentic sports designs for clients such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, as well as Collegiate affiliations. He also created art for other clients such as DreamWorks, Wilson, K-Mart, Planet Hollywood, and Hard Rock Café. In 1995 he had three pieces selected for the Art Institute of Boston Alumni Illustrators Exhibition held in Boston, MA.
In 2001 he went to work for a NH based toy company; Illuminations/Creative Discovery where he produced product illustration, product design, package design/illustrations, point of purchase displays, as well as, catalog design for such companies as Spencer Gifts, Toys R Us, and Cosco. In 2002 he had three illustrations chosen to appear at the New Hampshire Creative Club Exhibition, and moved into the Senior Illustration/Designer position with his company. When the company was consolidated into one large company, Rich was chosen to create the new logo as well as come up with a fresh new look for their packaging.
In 2005, Rich decided to pursue a life long dream of working full time as a freelance artist. In this capacity, Rich had been commissioned for many freelance assignments ranging from editorial illustrations, advertising illustrations, packaging, T-shirt designs, caricatures, puzzle illustrations, greeting cards, illustrations for novels and has also recently created his own line of prints and cards.
On this web site you'll see a sampling of the artwork he has produced. Most of the designs have been published and have been successful for the companies they were produced for. From book cover art, to advertising, to T-shirt design, the designs have brought the attention of the public eye to the product. Here are a few comments from his clients:
'If it were not for the illustration that was designed by Rich, my novel might not have received the initial attention it got at the New York Literary Expo. Because his piece was so striking and brought my book to life so well, my future literary agent was drawn from across the vast room to see the book that had inspired the artwork'. " Now there is talk of a movie." Author: Levi Wayne
“We've seen the same product, sold at the same place, do so much better just because of the new artwork that Rich created for the package, and its ability to catch the eye of the consumer” Art Director: Charlene Murray
Member: Graphic Artists Guild
