Jim Evans

Jim Evans, sometimes known as T.A.Z., is an American painter, printmaker, and creative director who was a contributing figure in the visual art movement known as underground comix.

After a successful career as a comic illustrator, Evans worked as a painter, poster maker, and owner of the digital design group Division 13.

Evans was born in San Diego amidst the surfing culture of southern California.

After attending Oceanside High School, he played in several local bands and then created comic strips for the Los Angeles Free Press and other underground papers while working for Eric Matlen's Sawyer Press.

Evans then began to take commissions doing work in several comic books.

These included Yellow Dog, and a solo effort titled The Dying Dolphin, released by the Berkeley-based Print Mint, it included collaborations with Rick Griffin and Ron Cobb.

Evans also drew for Slow Death Funnies, and Tales from the Tube, which was published by Surfer Magazine, and included contributions by Zap Comix artists Robert Crumb, Spain Rodriguez, Robert Williams, and Rick Griffin.

The Underground period was followed by a move to the North Shore of Oahu, and contributions to both Surfer and Surfing magazines, as well as illustrating a succession of surfing posters, such as Hal Jepson's "A Sea For Yourself", and the posters for Bud Browne's successful "Going Surfin'" series.

He did posters for many Australian surf films like On Any Morning, and A Winter's Tale.

During this period, he also did posters for Oahu's Crater Celebration, featuring bands like Santana and Little Feat.

Some of the time in Hawaii was spent doing commercial and advertising art for ad agencies, including ads and record sleeves for Don Ho and the Allihis, and The Society of Seven.

Returning to the mainland, Evans began to do record sleeves and continued his relationship with Surfer and Surfing magazines, doing numerous illustrations for both, including a collaboration with surfer Mike Doyle on a series of ads for Wax Research.

Evans also contributed regularly to Skateboarder and Powder magazines.

Working with Dean Torrance of Jan & Dean fame, he did the art for their revival album, Dead Man's Curve, and a compilation of Jan & Dean and Beach Boys hits called Golden Summer.

In collaboration with Dean, Evans also did the art for the Beach Boys albums 15 Big Ones, and Live in London.

At the same time, he created a logo for The Beach Boys that is still used.

This, in turn, led to the commission to create a logo for the band Chicago.

His list of album jackets includes; Alice Coltrane, The Robby Kreiger Band, Chicago, The Allman Brothers, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, Beck, House of Pain, Symbol Six, Face To Face, and Toto.

In addition to the record sleeves and ongoing work with the surfing magazines, Evans became a contributor to the newly formed Skateboarder magazine, handling all of the illustration work for the first four issues.

Jim also collaborated with Frank Nasworthy on a series of ads for Cadillac Wheels, the first polyurethane skateboard wheel.

The posters, with titles like, "From Out of the West" and "Accept No Substitutes" came to represent the paradigm shift taking place in skateboarding.

Other skate art commissions included one for filmmaker / skater Stacy Peralta, for an early skate film titled Freestylin', as well as the poster for the first World Professional Skateboard Championships.

Evans worked with producer Kevin Shirley to do the album art and packaging design for Joe Bonamassa's Live at the Greek Theater.

The period of record sleeves and skate posters ran parallel to commissions for a number of film posters.

Working for most of the major studios, Jim completed art for Lumiere, 20th Century Oz, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Kentucky Fried Movie, Big Wednesday, Herowork, Acapulco Gold, The Space Movie, Patrick, Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps (for which Jim also animated the opening title sequence), and John Carpenter's first film Dark Star.

Numerous books began to appear at this time and his work is included in the History of Rock Art, Phonographics, Roger Dean's Album Art Book, and The History of Underground Comics.

An interest in film led to work as an Art Director, set decorator, and storyboard artist for films.

Evans worked on Killer's Kiss and Growing Pains.

He also helped to prepare an American release for a series of Japanese films called The Baby Cart Series.

Both of these shows were part of the Los Angeles-based Pacific Standard Time: Art In L.A. 1945-1980 initiative.

Working with director Robert Houston and his partner David Weisman, Jim created the poster and title treatment for the 1980 release titled Shogun Assassin, Jim's son Gibran Evans voiced the narrative as Daigoro.

An ongoing creative collaboration with John Hegeman, president of Orion Pictures, led to Jim illustrating promotional posters for the SAW films for Lionsgate, The Green Inferno for BH Tilt, the film Mirrors for New Regency, Anna And the Apocalypse and a poster-centric street art image for Child's Play.

An association with Playboy led to a series of silkscreen portraits of celebrities.

The magazine commissioned Evans to do portraits of Sean Connery, David Letterman, Joe Montana, and Marilyn Monroe.

These portraits led to art shows in Chicago and New York, in addition to a large scale show at the Hansen Gallery Rodeo Drive location, where he did portraits of Sly Stallone, Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Idol, Steve Vai, Bob Dylan, and Robert Mitchum.

Later a show of feminist icons, done in collaboration with pop artist Richard Duardo, had a successful run at the Zero One gallery in Los Angeles.

Evans' art has been shown at The Nyehaus gallery, Metro Pictures and Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York, for a bi-coastal tour called "Swell".

Other artists in the show included Billy Al Bengston, Ed Ruscha, Laddie John Dill, and Dennis Hopper.

Evans' work was included in a group show titled "The Lords and the New Creatures" at the NYE+BROWN gallery, which also featured Judy Chicago, Ed Moses, and Chris Burden.

In addition, work from Evans's comic and illustration period were included in the "Paid To Play" show at the Robert Berman Gallery, which also featured John Van Hamersveld and Dave Willardson.