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more photosSteve Gardner runs PixelWorks Studios with his wife out of a studio next to their Sisters home. Gardner uses digital photography and software to create pieces for book covers and a variety of other client needs. The bookshelf behind him is lined with examples of his work.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
‘I love making the impossible possible’
Using digital cameras and imaging tools, Sisters design studio brings books to life
By Kimberly Bowker / The Bulletin
Published: May 26. 2009 4:00AM PSTA day at the office for Steve Gardner can take him from 14th-century England to high above the ground in a new state-of-the-art airplane.
Gardner, operator of PixelWorks Studios in Sisters, creates digital illustrations for his clients. Most of his digital images, which use photography and computer programs such as Photoshop, are produced as book covers for publishers around the nation and for commercial clients closer to home.
Gardner has designed covers for book titles such as “Saint” by Ted Dekker and “Grace in Thine Eyes” by Liz Curtis Higgs. He’s also designed the medieval-style cover of “Veil of Lies” by Jeri Westerson and has created marketing material for a new jet being developed in Bend by Stratos Aircraft.
“Everything is MacGyver this and MacGyver that,” Gardner, 46, said referring to a character from the 1985-92 TV series who solved problems using everyday items in a unique way. “It’s all about how we are going to create this. That’s the fun thing about this job — you never know what is going to happen next.”
Gardener’s eclectic background led him to his current position as business owner. After graduating from high school in Washington’s Puget Sound area, where he cultivated art and photography hobbies, Gardner worked at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as a pipe fitter. Gardner sketched piping systems in the ships before pipes were removed for repair, thus nurturing his artistic side through the elaborate sketches.
Next, he worked as a photojournalist for the Army, then as a car repossessor and as a trim carpenter in the construction industry.
“I gained all this crazy experience,” he said.
He taps that background for creativity, and for building objects and sets needed for the illustrations.
Seventeen years ago, as Gardner was remodeling a design studio in Washington, he noticed the owner of the studio working with an early version of Photoshop, cutting skiers out of one image and placing them in another. Kevin Veatch noticed Gardner’s interest and offered him Photoshop tutorials after work.
Veatch was impressed with Gardner’s creations and offered him a job as a production artist. Little did Gardner know that it would guide him down his current path.
“It was a smaller company, but very busy, and I started to learn about managing time and the cost of things and running a business,” he said about working for Kevin Veatch Design.
Gardner proceeded to work at Oregon Log Homes in Sisters and Multnomah Publishers as senior art director.
In 2003, he started PixelWorks Studios with his wife, Cynthia Gardner, 59, who focuses on accounting and the books. The couple built a photo and production studio next to their home in 2005.
Technology has changed since Gardner first became involved with design. He typically purchases new computers about every three years and a new camera every year, although he recently has foregone buying new camera equipment to save money during the recession.
“Fifty percent of work is done here,” he said in the room that holds his computer. “In the old days, this would have been a darkroom. This is sort of a modern-day blend of digital darkroom and airbrush.”
Costumes and props fill his photography studio. Models are hired from online sites and he sometimes approaches people on the street who fit a specific project and look. For landscapes and stills, he carries a camera with him and photographs images wherever he goes.
“Living in Central Oregon we are half a day’s drive from anything we need: ocean, a lush forest, a rainy environment, sand dunes, snow, high desert, whatever it is,” Gardner said.
Redmond Airport also is close enough to take him wherever he may need to go.
Gardner is used to working under pressure. Publishing companies send him a synopsis or manuscript of a project and he extracts pertinent information about location and characters. Then he orders costumes from agencies around the country, mostly from Hollywood, and creates props from items in local home and hardware stores.
“This is the grind, what I do in here,” he said. “I don’t know what day it is sometimes. There’s no vacation. Vacation is going to Costco.”
Gardner takes the photographs and converts them into a digital illustration, making something fake look real.
“It is what it is,” he said. “In the end, it’s all pixels and not real, but we need to make it look real.”
Gardner sometimes works with other design companies and with the clients to create the desired image, which can cover a wide variety of subjects. He has done work for local clients that include Sisters Coffee Co., Stratos Aircraft, Pronghorn, Les Schwab Tire Centers, O’Keeffe’s Co. and album covers for local artists, such as The Booher Brothers.
“You’re learning new things all of the time,” he said.
Gardner learned he likes working under deadlines and figuring out projects.
“I like challenges under pressure,” Gardner said. “I enjoy completing — that turning nothing into something.
Q: How does PixelWorks Studios fit into the local photography and digital-illustration industries?
A: We often work with local models, hairstylists and makeup artists. We also work with some incredibly talented local design firms, all of which produce work nationally.
Q: Why did you open the PixelWorks Studios in Sisters? How has it influenced the business?
A: Although we can do this business almost anywhere in the U.S., we opened PixelWorks in Sisters because that’s where we lived. We like it here for the people, the lifestyle, the weather, etc. Central Oregon is a wonderful little design mecca with great firms in the area. … We are also less than a half-day drive away from most any background scenes we might need for our cover illustrations. … The pros of staying here in Central Oregon with its beauty and people way outweigh the cons for now.
As most business owners know, Oregon isn’t the most business-friendly state in the country. It’s very expensive to live here. Gas prices go up every time there’s a hint of bad news in the world or it’s a sunny day. Taxes go up when people lose their jobs. The only employer that’s growing right now is government. Business incentives are nearly impossible to find here. But, with all that said, the American entrepreneurial spirit is still alive, even here in Oregon.
Q: How have you adapted business operations in response to the changing economy?
A: We haven’t rehired an assistant, which is somewhat costly in time for me. We have learned to be more creative in dealing with smaller budgets. I make do with current equipment instead of purchasing new.
Q: What is the most satisfying part about owning a business in this industry?
A: Although the deadlines can be very stressful at times, the creative outlet is unbeatable. It’s great to be in demand and it’s very satisfying to see your work on book covers and in brochures all over the country. I love making the impossible possible with digital illustration.
Kimberly Bowker can be reaches at 541-617-7815 or kbowker@bendbulletin.com.
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