Euge!

If I ever did a strict accounting of what I read, the greater percentage of my reading life would probably be focused on children’s books—both times squirreled away with a favorite children’s picture book and time spent doing read-alouds of great children’s literature with my kids.

The other portion of my reading is spent almost entirely reading about various periods of history. I’m one of those people who spends inordinate amounts of time thinking about the past. Not just key dates, seminal events, or historical figures. But I like to ponder what it may have been like for ordinary people in, say, Tudor England, in the break-away American colonies, on Grecian war ships sailing for Troy.

Given this love for history, one area of children’s illustration that I hope to be engaged in are books on historical subjects or figures for young children. Books that make history come alive and serve as a springboard for life-long curiosity about the past. Books like the ones Jean Fritz wrote, or current works by Cheryl Harness or Diane Stanley.

So when I needed to prepare a piece of art for the SCBWI conference in New York City this past weekend, I looked to the Roman past for inspiration. Oliver and I are reading together the 12th book in Caroline Lawrence’s excellent “Roman Mysteries” series, and so roman life from a child’s point of view has been my recent preoccupation.

Although I did end up strapping a frame on this image (as seen above) for the conference’s art show, I consider this an unfinished work. There is more to be done in the area of light and shadow and adding back in some looser pencil work.

The post heading “Euge!” is “Hurray” in latin (and a frequent phrase of Flavia Gemina, one of the mystery solvers in the “Roman Mysteries”). This post serves also as my “Euge!” for the excellent SCBWI conference as well. The speakers and break-out sessions were all great—very informative and inspirational.

Paul Manship

On a recent trip to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, I was finally able to spend time with the numerous pieces of sculpture by Paul Manship on display there. His work is so inspiring! Most of us are familiar with his work but didn’t know it. He is the sculptor who created the “Prometheus” statue by the ice rink at Rockfeller Center.

There is a strong graphic quality to all his works, and biographies point to his work being a precursor to Art Deco. But most seminal works of the Art Deco period typically leave me cold—the figures don’t seem to really inhabit the space or move through a scene. Manship’s creations have a wonderful line and fluidity to them. You can sense the dense weightiness of his sculpted bears; you can feel the wind flowing through the banner being waved by Atalanta; you can imagine the swift flight of the Indian braves running alongside wolves.

When I behold how skillfully he portrays the human figure and animal forms, it makes me want to rush home and draw. Thanks Mr. Manship!

The New Kid in Class

I've said before that my kids’ artwork is a big source of inspiration to me. Oliver has had some coverage, as has Izzy. But I don’t believe I have included any of Henry’s treasures.

Over the Christmas break, I slogged through all their school papers to clear the decks and be ready for the onslaught of worksheets sure to come in 2011. To my surprise I discovered several of Henry’s papers were covered with doodles.

Sifting through, this green monster popped up on 3 pieces of paper. What a delight to behold his kindergarten doodlings—through each appearance of this green monster, you can discern ways he was busy revising the creature over time.

The green monster (have yet to ask if he has a name) inspired a recent illustration I did in preparation for the SCBWI conference in New York. My illustration may have zero application outside my own little world, but I like it. Several of the kids are modeled after kids who were preschool classmates of my kids through the years.

Fox and Gang hit the Water Hole

Recently, I worked on another illustration of my animal friends, flashing forward from their last Thanksgiving adventure to the summer months and long, leisurely days lolly-gagging at the local water hole. Many things I like in this one, but as always, I already see many things that I would change. How come it rarely feels like an illustration is done!?

Proud as Punch

(Big Cat by Oliver)

Ever since posting Isabel’s Birthday Troll, I’ve been thinking about how much each of my kid’s art inspires me too. My dear Oliver, now 10, has been diligently drawing ever since he plowed through the wonderful Ed Emberley books as a preschooler. Oliver is also a huge animal lover, and so has become an accomplished artist of birds and mammals.

His ability to see the underlying form in each animal he draws has it’s beginnings in the simple circles, squares and rectangles of Ed Emberley’s world. Now he has entered a new plane of deeper understanding of the intricacies of each form... a delightful thing for me to behold.

Beyond all that, Oliver inspires me through his dedication to his craft. Daily, he devotedly retreats to his art desk in the basement to work on his two magnum opuses: the Oliver bird field guide, and the Oliver field guide to mammals. He has been working on both for years now, consistently churning out several pages a month, all the while strengthening his ability to see form well and then execute it in great detail.

So thanks Oliver for the inspiration! May your dedication and focus begin to rub off on me! Love, Mom

The Silver Buckle

Hurray for me! After doing a stellar job of neglecting this blog, today I’m posting twice. Here is a piece I just finished, working off this text excerpt provided by my instructor:

“Then she cut the squash in the middle until she had two big half squashes. And inside, just like outside, it was rich yellow, spotted with spots of gold. And there was a shine of silver. And she wondered why silver should be in a squash.

“She picked and plunged with her fingers until she pulled it out. ‘It’s a buckle,’ she said, ‘a silver buckle, a Chinese silver slipper buckle!’ She ran with it to her father and said, ‘Look what I found when I cut open the golden yellow squash spotted with gold spots! It is a Chinese silver slipper buckle.’

“‘It means our luck is going to change,’ said her father.”

Dear Theo

(Illustration at left by Martin and Alice Provensen)

Many admirers of Vincent Van Gogh’s art have probably read or heard about his close relationship to his brother Theo. Theo looked out for Vincent and the two exchanged many letters during their too-short lives. Before Vincent devoted his life solely to painting, he (among other pursuits) worked somewhat neglectfully for Goupil and Co., a firm of art dealers. While at Goupil, in January 1864, Vincent wrote a letter to brother Theo (also an art dealer) with a list of his favorite painters. He listed fixty-six, and all were painters in the Realism school.

Like ole’ Vincent, I often find myself thinking about the artists and illustrators who both inspire and humble me. I am wondering as I type, will my list be fixty-six? Or will is soar beyond that number? Who knows! Here goes....

MY FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATORS:

The classics: 1. Martin and 2. Alice Provensen (gee, given how much I love them I should probably include them 10 times each in the list—that’s their art posted in this entry), 3. Barbara Cooney, 4. Robert McCloskey, 5. Robert Lawson, 6. Helen Sewell, 7. Edward Ardizzone, 8. Garth Williams, 9. Peter Spier, 10. Eric Carle

The amazingly detailed work of : 11. Edwin Tunis, 12. Eric Sloane, 13. David Macauley

Illustrators whose work reflects the richness of the history of art: 14. John Speirs, 15. Gennady Spirin, 16. Roberto Innocenti, 17. Bagram Ibatoulline

These unique story tellers through written word and illustration: 18. Patricia Polacco, 19. Allen Say, 20. Jerry Pinkney, 21. Gabrielle Vincent

History queens: 22. Cheryl Harness, 23. Diane Stanley

The fun and spirited styles of: 24. D.B. Johnson, 25. Holly Berry, 26. Renata Liwska, 27. Jui Ishida, 28. Marjorie Priceman, 29. Sebastia Serra, 30. Jill McElmurry, 31. John Lawrence, 32. Stephen D’Amico, 33. Melissa Sweet, 34. Lizbeth Zwerger, 35. Charlotte Voake, 36. Emma Chichester Clark, 37. Flora McDonnell

The versatility and amazing character work by: 38. LeUyen Pham, 39. P.J. Lynch, 40. Jim LaMarche, 41. Shirley Hughes

The calligraphic and poetic beauty of the work by: 42. Kim, Dong-Seong

Other favorites: 43. Holly Hobbie, 44. Charles Fuge, 45. S.D. Schindler, 46. Christopher Denise, 47. Mark Buehner, 48. Brian Lies, 49. Mitsumasa Anno, 50. Nicola Bayley, 51. David Small, 52. Paul Zelinsky, 53. Peter Sis

And the oh-my-goodness, how could I almost have forgotten: 54. Aliki, 55. Leo and 56. Diane Dillon

Well, there you go... Fifty-six vastly talented people who keep me excited about illustrating and delight millions of readers with their work. And it’s a foregone conclusion that I’ve forgotten many names on this list!