Hartford Fringe Fest Artist Interviews
Meet Bill Dougal
Bill Dougal resides in Lebanon, CT and is a lifelong artist and creator. He was once the frontman of the CT New Wave band Billy & The Buttons, and now has a vast and varied career as a visual artist. He has a large body of work that spans multiple genres and mediums.
He is also the creator of the show “Fast Draw Fun!” at this year’s Fringe Fest!
How have you developed your art career?
"Well I started out at an ad agency as an art director, which gave way to a freelance career as an illustrator. I would describe my career as “patchwork”, meaning I do a lot of different things, like cartoons, caricature work for concerts and events, and illustration work for agencies. I also write and sing my own songs and play guitar. I have illustrated children’s books for soft releases, as well as releasing a few of my own."
How has your career changed since COVID?
"I am getting less work (but [higher paying jobs.]
I have less work from live caricature gigs and concerts, but this has given me time to work on other projects, like my cartoon strips.
I also received a grant from the Windham Arts Coalition to write and perform songs about the historic textile mills in Willimantic. I was supposed to perform 12 concerts to showcase the songs, but COVID cut it short, so I got about 6 done before things were shut down. The other 6 were through Zoom. A CD with all of those songs is available at the Windham Textile & History Museum."
Is there a place where people can find you and your work online?
"People can find me at DougalArt.com. I also have my video work [like Fast Draw Fun] at DougalVideo.com, and I also do custom caricature work through my site CaricatureDrawing.net. I was surprised recently when I received a custom request all the way from Norway! I can ship physical copies within the US, or I can export an image file to anywhere internationally. I am also available for illustrative work for agencies."
He is also the creator of the show “Fast Draw Fun!” at this year’s Fringe Fest!
How have you developed your art career?
"Well I started out at an ad agency as an art director, which gave way to a freelance career as an illustrator. I would describe my career as “patchwork”, meaning I do a lot of different things, like cartoons, caricature work for concerts and events, and illustration work for agencies. I also write and sing my own songs and play guitar. I have illustrated children’s books for soft releases, as well as releasing a few of my own."
How has your career changed since COVID?
"I am getting less work (but [higher paying jobs.]
I have less work from live caricature gigs and concerts, but this has given me time to work on other projects, like my cartoon strips.
I also received a grant from the Windham Arts Coalition to write and perform songs about the historic textile mills in Willimantic. I was supposed to perform 12 concerts to showcase the songs, but COVID cut it short, so I got about 6 done before things were shut down. The other 6 were through Zoom. A CD with all of those songs is available at the Windham Textile & History Museum."
Is there a place where people can find you and your work online?
"People can find me at DougalArt.com. I also have my video work [like Fast Draw Fun] at DougalVideo.com, and I also do custom caricature work through my site CaricatureDrawing.net. I was surprised recently when I received a custom request all the way from Norway! I can ship physical copies within the US, or I can export an image file to anywhere internationally. I am also available for illustrative work for agencies."