Welcome to the Millennium Print Project Press Page. The contents of this page can be downloaded to your computer (right click or hold your mouse button down until it copies into your cache. Then paste it in PhotoShop and convert to any format you need (tiff, eps, etc.). I would also recommend increasing the resolution to 150 to 300 dpi. Do not enlarge this image. You can reduce it however, and it will only gain in resolution.  As you can see, these images are in black and white since most of your publications and ads will be black and white. If you want color, contact me, and I'll send you a JPG or high res file to your specifications.

The following is a recent photo of the artist, Gary Olsen. The same rules apply to this image as the one above. Once again, you will likely make this smaller.

Below are the three principal collaborators on the project, from left to right: John Tigges, historian and author of the linear timeline at the bottom of the print, James Shaffer, photojournalist and collector of rare photographs of the Dubuque community, and Gary Olsen, artist and designer of the composition. All three were photographed recently at a print signing at Creative Touch Gallery in Dubuque.

Below is the calendar version of the print. This will be handy to use in ads promoting their availability.

Go to Gary Olsen's Resume

Here's some background information that may be useful:

Gary Olsen is best known as a painter of landscapes and cityscapes capturing the essence of Dubuque and its environs. He also is an accomplished portraitist. In addition to his facility with traditional art materials… watercolors and oils, Gary is skilled in the art of applying technology to creative projects. He’s written two best selling books on applying computer graphics to communication, Getting Started in Computer Graphics and Getting Started in Multimedia Design, both published by North Light Books, Cincinnati, OH. Gary has been working with computers in graphic and publishing applications since 1976. It was just a matter of time until Gary would combine his computer knowledge with his drawing and painting skills.

Three years ago, he developed a unique approach to portraits for clients he calls "Memories of a Lifetime." These compositions combine digital imagery with hand drawn and painted elements. For example, a recent composition he did for a computer technology firm included a retiring manager’s portrait surrounded by personal objects and snapshots contributed to the piece by his family and friends. Several examples of Memories of a Lifetime artwork can be found on Gary’s Web site at www.garyolsen.com.

In essence, the print prepared for Dubuque’s Millennium celebration, "Dubuque’s Twentieth Century," was just one big Memories of a Lifetime. Only instead of preparing it for an individual, Gary did one for the entire City of Dubuque!

This project was accomplished over a four-month period. Gary was commissioned to do the project for Dubuque’s Millennium Ball, a celebration at Five Flags Theater designed to be the largest party of its type ever held in Dubuque. Sponsors of the event included First Star Bank and the Dubuque Jaycees. It was the Jaycees who approached Gary for his ideas, and the first place he directed them was his Web site to see samples of Memories of a Lifetime. "Why can’t I do something like this but involve several people?" asked Gary.

Gary did a sample of the composition with just a few objects from his own collection of Dubuque memorabilia, and then he posted it on the Internet for project planners and prospective sponsors to see. "The reaction was overwhelmingly positive," explains Gary. "This project was on the track.

To add a unique dimension to the work, Gary collaborated with friends and contacts in the community who could help. Collectors, preservationists, historians, an archivist, a professional photographer, and an antique collector joined in Gary’s project. "All brought a unique perspective to the piece. As it grew, I posted it on the Web for everyone to see and make comments on its progress. It was a perfect application of Internet technology," explains Gary.

The calendar you hold in your hands was an afterthought, but ironically, it will probably be in more homes than the original print. "Everybody needs a calendar," adds Gary philosophically. Nonetheless, there will be a limited supply of prints available to the public for the coming year. If you would like to see the Dubuque Twentieth Century Print, visit Creative Touch Gallery and Frame at 3460 Hillcrest Road, Dubuque, IA. They will always have a variety of framing and matting treatments on display. "A great deal of customization can go into this print," adds Mike Kaesbauer of Creative Touch. "And there are some excellent reasonably priced frames we have applied to this work of art."

Gary Olsen's Short Biography:

Gary Olsen was born in Oak Park Illinois, 1948, He arrived in Dubuque in 1966 to attend college at the University of Dubuque. While attending school, Gary worked in a variety of jobs. In one job, he swept floors and mowed lawns for Frank Hardie Advertising. It is there he met artists John Bissel and Jack Burgmeier and others from whom he learned to draw and paint.

Gary was simultaneously pursuing a career in broadcasting, working for WDBQ and KDTH radio over a period of seven years from 1968 through 1975. While broadcasting, he continued to draw and paint, but never committed to art as a full-time endeavor until he was hired by John Deere. Gary was a photographer, illustrator and publisher for 19 years with Deere. He continued to hone his artistic skills. By 1984, Gary had taken classes from Dubuque artist, Frank Licciardi. Gary was then asked by the University of Dubuque President, Walter Peterson, to display his paintings in the new chapel-turned-art-gallery. The show was an sell-out. Five more shows over the next six years were equally successful. Gary’s paintings and prints are in many Dubuque collections, and he has won regional art awards and countless commissions.

Gary has lived at the same North End Dubuque address for the past 30 years with his wife, Linda (a guidance counselor at Wahlert High School), and their two dogs, Winnie and Sparkle. Among his pursuits include designing publications and Web sites and multimedia for NCS, a large data processing Company in Iowa City. Visit his virtual gallery at www.garyolsen.com.

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