About Us:
OUR BIOS
:Gary Dumm • artcat13@sbcglobal.net
Gary is a life-long Clevelander. Gary’s mom helped teach him to read using comic books as a kid, so they’re kind of in his blood! He attended Cuyahoga Community College in the sixties where he took classes in painting and printmaking. He married Laura in 1971, and they started a life of artistic collaboration as well as creating their own art.
In 1974 Gary met author Harvey Pekar through a friend of Laura’s who worked with Harvey, and began a 30+ year association drawing comics art for his ground-breaking autobiographical comic book “American Splendor”, and Laura added color as needed. Many other comics projects and art show exhibitions have followed for this husband-and-wife team. Laura has had solo art shows, as well as exhibiting with Gary in numerous group shows. They have worked on many publications, independent comic books and graphic novels. They have even co-curated a couple of successful art shows in Cleveland that extolled the virtues and importance of their city's current and storied comics’ history.,
Subsequently they have collaborated on a well-received series of “Pop/Surrealist” paintings about social issues and the environment with Gary drawing and Laura painting. They also created public art projects in the city including a 60 foot long mural “Love Letter To Cleveland” honoring the people, places and things that make the city great, which is currently on display in the library at Cleveland State University.
Gary worked with author Scott MacGregor for four years, drawing an almost 300 page graphic novel “Fire On The Water” which was released in May, 2020 by Abrams ComicArts. It’s a fiction-based-on-fact tale about civil rights, workers rights, families and the true cost of clean water set in Cleveland in 1916.
More recently Gary drew and Laura colored a sci-fi graphic novel “Snarc” written by teacher/author Bruce Olav Solheim. It’s the story of an alien-human hybrid invader from another galaxy, who decides once he’s here, that he likes earth and becomes determined to save it. Issues #1 and 2 are in print and #3 will be coming next year.
Gary and Laura’s latest comic participation, “The A-Men”, with Scott Kraynack and diverse hands, just released, tells another sci-fi story of a far less empathetic alien who plots to ultimately destroy the earth after first ravaging it, using some rather rather crooked, avaricious, aggrieved and all-too-willing (and possibly familiar-looking) human beings to do it. Laura’s color work shines on the covers.
Other “in progress” projects on Gary’s drawing board are: a series of black-and-white illustrations for writer/ editor Scott MacGregor’s uncle Hugh O’Neill’s WW2 memoir of being made prisoner by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge with the working title “Captured”…and soon to be published and similarly decorated, but with color cover by Laura, is “Drugs And Other Things To Do In Cleveland”. This one is penned by another local author, Francis Elizabeth, and is a picaresque tale of a young man’s involvement in drug dealing, sex and near-accomplice to murder.
There’s always something new coming artistically from the Dumms, whether solo or together, in color or black-and-white. Perhaps it’s something in the water.
Check out the Dumms’ work at www.Dummart.com
Laura Dumm • artcat12@sbcglobal.net
Laura was born, raised and still resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a self taught artist who was lucky enough to have gone to a high school (West Tech) that was trying out a new program called “Specialized Art Class” with 6 periods of art a day. Basically a college education for 3 years. She married cartoonist/artist Gary Dumm in 1971. In 1986, after working for various magazine publications, she made the decision to become a freelance graphic artist/illustrator and started her own graphic art business to pay the bills. In 2009 she retired to be a full time painter.
First and foremost she is a painter. “I’m a typical Gemini, I need change. I have never worried about having a signature style, painting the same way over and over is a bit boring to me.” For example, from 2008 to 2011, she was painting people/animals in abstract quilt like patterns, paying homage to the women who created quilts as a way to express themselves as well as keeping their families warm. In 2014 she changed to a more realistic pop art style. The one constant in her work is always bright color palette.
She lives in a multiple cat household, all rescued strays, and is very supportive of animal rights issues. In 2013, Laura had a one woman show titled “BubbaPalooza” where she created 30 different artistic style depictions of the same pose of Bubba, her 17 pound orange cat and art muse. That show raised money for the homeless cat rescues in Cleveland.
Laura is the colorist for Gary’s black & white comic book/graphic novel projects. She also does the production for many of the books that Gary illustrates. She says. “He is the black and white guy, and I am the color/computer girl. If it needs color it ends up in my studio.”
She worked with Gary to create a 60 foot mural titled “Our Love Letter To Cleveland” which depicts famous people, places, and things from Cleveland. It’s installed on either side of the Cleveland Memory Project’s entrance in Cleveland State University’s 2nd floor Michael Schwartz library.
Laura calls herself a protest painter. She tackles environmental and other social issues which resulted in 2 shows with husband Gary. Their collaborative work process was to brainstorm ideas, after which Gary does a sketch (followed by critical discussion), he then refines the drawing which Laura transfers onto canvas and does the painting.
Their first joint show was called “The Fame, Shame, Blame Game”. A synergetic depiction of their rather critical views of the present wacky world in which we all live. That show raised over $500.00 for the Cleveland food bank.
The second was “Here There Be Monsters” which is an series of large environmental paintings using classic horror monsters, science projects gone wrong, to illustrate things like water and air pollution, the overuse of pesticides and the problem of bees becoming extinct!. Laura’s hope is to educate others about the environmental issues that face us in today’s modern world.
In 2019 Laura decided to take a break from the art rat race and concentrate on simpler things like creating a garden mainly of native plants for the birds, bees and butterflies, along with making a safe space for the critters. She also loves to cook and has been creating with food in the kitchen, all while keeping herself available to do color for Gary’s comic projects.
OUR BIOS
:Gary Dumm • artcat13@sbcglobal.net
Gary is a life-long Clevelander. Gary’s mom helped teach him to read using comic books as a kid, so they’re kind of in his blood! He attended Cuyahoga Community College in the sixties where he took classes in painting and printmaking. He married Laura in 1971, and they started a life of artistic collaboration as well as creating their own art.
In 1974 Gary met author Harvey Pekar through a friend of Laura’s who worked with Harvey, and began a 30+ year association drawing comics art for his ground-breaking autobiographical comic book “American Splendor”, and Laura added color as needed. Many other comics projects and art show exhibitions have followed for this husband-and-wife team. Laura has had solo art shows, as well as exhibiting with Gary in numerous group shows. They have worked on many publications, independent comic books and graphic novels. They have even co-curated a couple of successful art shows in Cleveland that extolled the virtues and importance of their city's current and storied comics’ history.,
Subsequently they have collaborated on a well-received series of “Pop/Surrealist” paintings about social issues and the environment with Gary drawing and Laura painting. They also created public art projects in the city including a 60 foot long mural “Love Letter To Cleveland” honoring the people, places and things that make the city great, which is currently on display in the library at Cleveland State University.
Gary worked with author Scott MacGregor for four years, drawing an almost 300 page graphic novel “Fire On The Water” which was released in May, 2020 by Abrams ComicArts. It’s a fiction-based-on-fact tale about civil rights, workers rights, families and the true cost of clean water set in Cleveland in 1916.
More recently Gary drew and Laura colored a sci-fi graphic novel “Snarc” written by teacher/author Bruce Olav Solheim. It’s the story of an alien-human hybrid invader from another galaxy, who decides once he’s here, that he likes earth and becomes determined to save it. Issues #1 and 2 are in print and #3 will be coming next year.
Gary and Laura’s latest comic participation, “The A-Men”, with Scott Kraynack and diverse hands, just released, tells another sci-fi story of a far less empathetic alien who plots to ultimately destroy the earth after first ravaging it, using some rather rather crooked, avaricious, aggrieved and all-too-willing (and possibly familiar-looking) human beings to do it. Laura’s color work shines on the covers.
Other “in progress” projects on Gary’s drawing board are: a series of black-and-white illustrations for writer/ editor Scott MacGregor’s uncle Hugh O’Neill’s WW2 memoir of being made prisoner by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge with the working title “Captured”…and soon to be published and similarly decorated, but with color cover by Laura, is “Drugs And Other Things To Do In Cleveland”. This one is penned by another local author, Francis Elizabeth, and is a picaresque tale of a young man’s involvement in drug dealing, sex and near-accomplice to murder.
There’s always something new coming artistically from the Dumms, whether solo or together, in color or black-and-white. Perhaps it’s something in the water.
Check out the Dumms’ work at www.Dummart.com
Laura Dumm • artcat12@sbcglobal.net
Laura was born, raised and still resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a self taught artist who was lucky enough to have gone to a high school (West Tech) that was trying out a new program called “Specialized Art Class” with 6 periods of art a day. Basically a college education for 3 years. She married cartoonist/artist Gary Dumm in 1971. In 1986, after working for various magazine publications, she made the decision to become a freelance graphic artist/illustrator and started her own graphic art business to pay the bills. In 2009 she retired to be a full time painter.
First and foremost she is a painter. “I’m a typical Gemini, I need change. I have never worried about having a signature style, painting the same way over and over is a bit boring to me.” For example, from 2008 to 2011, she was painting people/animals in abstract quilt like patterns, paying homage to the women who created quilts as a way to express themselves as well as keeping their families warm. In 2014 she changed to a more realistic pop art style. The one constant in her work is always bright color palette.
She lives in a multiple cat household, all rescued strays, and is very supportive of animal rights issues. In 2013, Laura had a one woman show titled “BubbaPalooza” where she created 30 different artistic style depictions of the same pose of Bubba, her 17 pound orange cat and art muse. That show raised money for the homeless cat rescues in Cleveland.
Laura is the colorist for Gary’s black & white comic book/graphic novel projects. She also does the production for many of the books that Gary illustrates. She says. “He is the black and white guy, and I am the color/computer girl. If it needs color it ends up in my studio.”
She worked with Gary to create a 60 foot mural titled “Our Love Letter To Cleveland” which depicts famous people, places, and things from Cleveland. It’s installed on either side of the Cleveland Memory Project’s entrance in Cleveland State University’s 2nd floor Michael Schwartz library.
Laura calls herself a protest painter. She tackles environmental and other social issues which resulted in 2 shows with husband Gary. Their collaborative work process was to brainstorm ideas, after which Gary does a sketch (followed by critical discussion), he then refines the drawing which Laura transfers onto canvas and does the painting.
Their first joint show was called “The Fame, Shame, Blame Game”. A synergetic depiction of their rather critical views of the present wacky world in which we all live. That show raised over $500.00 for the Cleveland food bank.
The second was “Here There Be Monsters” which is an series of large environmental paintings using classic horror monsters, science projects gone wrong, to illustrate things like water and air pollution, the overuse of pesticides and the problem of bees becoming extinct!. Laura’s hope is to educate others about the environmental issues that face us in today’s modern world.
In 2019 Laura decided to take a break from the art rat race and concentrate on simpler things like creating a garden mainly of native plants for the birds, bees and butterflies, along with making a safe space for the critters. She also loves to cook and has been creating with food in the kitchen, all while keeping herself available to do color for Gary’s comic projects.
