Jim Brower, an artist whose watercolors — realistic, often humorous — won acclaim and whose decades-long career in commercial and advertising art attracted a steady and loyal clientele from the likes of glass giant Owens-Illinois Inc., died Dec. 22 in Hickory Ridge Care Center, Temperance. He would have turned 102 today.
He developed sepsis, his daughter Margaret said. He lived at West Park Place in recent years. He and his late wife, Elsie, formerly lived on Grecourt Drive in South Toledo.
He was feted at his 100th birthday by family and friends, including fellow artists in the exclusive Tile Club, the painting and dining fraternity in which he was active. After his centenary, he painted more than 40 watercolors.
“They were fabulous,” his daughter Margaret said. His daughter Linda said: “He was just a very vibrant man, and his artwork remained meticulous.”
Working from his studio on Adams Street, he produced advertising art and copy. One job might call for realistic depictions of glassware. Another would lead him to enlist family members as models. Stylized artwork for the former Lasalle’s department store was used on shopping bags, posters, and menu covers.
“He liked to do things that had humor and quirkiness, but they’re done with this fine attention to detail,” daughter Margaret said.
From 1992-97, he was director of art and design for the publishing firm his daughter Linda co-owned.
He painted in his fine art with transparent watercolor — pigment without opaque substances, said Marilyn Hughes Phillis, a friend and a former president of the Ohio Watercolor Society. Parts of a work that were to be white, even the mortar between bricks, were left unpainted.
“He let the paper speak for itself,” Ms. Phillis said. His 1984 Candidates For Goodwill , depicting neckties, won a gold medal from the watercolor society and is in its permanent collection.
The 1996 Toledo Area Artists exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art recognized Mr. Brower for his support and service to the arts locally. His work received awards from the National Watercolor Society and arts organizations nationwide. He was a former president of the Toledo Federation of Art Societies and had been on the board of the Ohio Watercolor Society. He was a past president of the Northwestern Ohio Watercolor Society. He participated in Monday Morning Painters outings
James Calvin Brower was born Dec. 30, 1914, in Clarksburg, W.Va., to Margaret and Leroy Brower. He lived much of his childhood in Toledo but finished high school in Charleston, W.Va. He settled in Toledo in 1943.
He and the former Elsie Day married in September, 1936. She died in August, 2000. Their son, James Lawrence Brower, died in 2003.
Surviving are his daughters, Sandra Nickless, Margaret Cook, Linda Meeks, and Beth Weilant; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandsons.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. today at West Park Place. “It’s his birthday, so we’re having a birthday cake,” daughter Margaret said.
Arrangements are by the Walker Funeral Home.
The family suggests tributes to the fund that supports the Jim Brower Lifetime Achievement Award in care of Barbara Zentgraf, 26 Gambier Circle, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45218.
Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.
First Published December 30, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
