Q: What was your first illustration?
A: Although at the age of 14, I drew a hand
that was used in a math textbook that my father wrote, I didn't
get published on my own merits until I was in college. When I was 19,
I showed my drawings to the art
editor of the New York Times, and he gave me my first assigned illustration.
Q: What was your first book?
A: I illustrated a novel
by Avi.
The title was "Emily Upham's Revenge, or How Deadwood Dick
Saved the Banker's Niece, a Massachussetts Adventure." The
cover looked like this:

Q: Did you always know you were going to be
a children's book illustrator?
A: No. I thought I might be a painter. Or maybe an architect. Or one of a
dozen other things, not all of which were related to art. And I also knew
as a child that I liked to make books, often collaborating with friends. But
somehow it didn't dawn on me that I could become a children's book illustrator.
Q: Which of your books is your favorite?
A: I can't answer that question because if I chose one book, it would be
unfair to all my other books.
Q: Where can we learn more about you?
A: Look for Talking With Artists, Volume III, by Pat Cummings.
Q: Where and how do you speak about your work?
A: I very much enjoy giving presentations
about almost any of my books. These include lots of pictures, along with
explanations of the stages of bookmaking, research, technical challenges,
and other
issues that relate to what I do. Much of it is pretty funny. I often
draw to illustrate points, either at an easel or straight into my computer
for projection on a screen;
I can draw very
fast (though
not as fast as Stephen Kellogg, if you've ever seen him give a presentation!)
I find
I generally communicate
well with
all ages of audience, and try to adjust
the content of my talks accordingly, whether they be Kindergartners,
graduate students, or the general public. This is
the part of my website for people who might be interested in arranging
a visit from me.
Q: Why did you make the miller's daughter's hair black, instead of
gold?
-- Lauren, in Charlottesville, VA
A: In Rumpelstiltskin, the miller's daughter's
hair wasn't part of the story, and I didn't see any reason to make
it golden. There are already enough stories where beautiful heroines
are blonde; I don't like the idea that blondness is necessary for beauty
or virtue; I thought I would rather make the miller's daughter dark-haired.
And the beautiful young woman I found to model for me also happened
to have dark hair.
Q: Do you have a plan to write or illustrate chapter books?
-- Emily, in India
A: I don't see myself writing a chapter book,
at least any time soon, but I certainly have illustrated them (look
at the page with all of my books).
Q: What media do you use for most of your illustrations?
-- Patricia Rauch inDeer Lodge, Montana
A: I guess my books don't give that information
on the copyright page, as some publishers' do. I try to choose a medium that best illustrates the feeling of each text, so that I've
tried a lot of different materials. I 'm probably most comfortable
with oil
paints, which are the medium for the realistic pictures in my fairy
tale books, as well as for the very different art in The
Wheels on the Bus and Knick-Knack Paddywhack! For The
Shivers in the Fridge,
I used pencil, pastel, watercolor and computer printout.
Q: What is your favorite illustration in the book Dear Mr. Henshaw, and
why?
-- Tristan Gamberale, International School of Belgrade, Serbia
A: I can't answer most "favorite" questions,
but I do have an answer to this. I am fondest of the picture near
the beginning of this book, in which the main character and his mother
are standing outside of their house, behind an apartment house and
next to a gas station. I don't think this was necessarily my best
drawing in the book, but I will tell you why it is my favorite. When
I was setting
out to draw it, I had trouble understanding the description
in the
text of how the three buildings were arranged. So I sent the book's
editor a request to ask if Beverly Cleary would draw me a little map
to help me with the picture. She sent me a map that explained not
only the placement of the buildings, but even the layout of Leigh Botts'
house, where
the kitchen and closets were, and
all sorts of details that were not in the book. I was so
delighted to see how real Leigh's world was in Mrs. Cleary's head that
this drawing gives me the most pleasure of any in the book.
Q: Each book you illustrate has a totally different style - how did you learn so many
diverse techniques? Or do you learn as you go?
--Evelyn in Albuquerque, New Mexico
A: I pretty much learn as I go. Usually the
stories tell me what the pictures should look like, or at least
what they should feel like, but I don't necessarily know how to go
about making those pictures. Often I look very hard at other art, in
books or in museums, and when I want a book to resemble a real historical
artistic style, I will copy some examples of it. It's amazing how much
you can learn by copying. Other times, when I don't have examples to
follow from the history of art, I just try different things and see
if they work.
Q: We wondered how you managed to focus upon the witch in "Rapunzel," and to make the tale really HER tale.
-- John Vance Snow, College of Applied Sciences, Sohar, Oman
A: I suppose I could have made the sorceress
a mere evil-doer, but much of what makes "Rapunzel" such
a captivating
story is that the characters are not so simple. I am not sure if
I quite agree that the story is more the sorceress' than Rapunzel's;
I do think that it is about Rapunzel's relationships with the people
around her. (I began the project thinking it would be about hair!)
One of my favorite reviews of Rapunzel referred
to a complex combination of emotions crossing the sorceress' face as
she cuts off Rapunzel's hair; this was so gratifying because it was
exactly what I was hoping to portray.
Q: How do you bring oil paint and working on paper together? Oil is so heavy and what
kind of paper do you use? I thought it might be 300lb watercolor paper.
-- Deirdre in Travelers Rest, South Carolina
A: If you can find the
new book "Artist to Artist," and look for my contribution, you'll find
a slightly fuller explanation of the technique I've used for my fairy
tale illustrations. Basically,
I seal
watercolor paper with acrylic medium before painting on it with oils.
How thick a paper I use doesn't much matter to the art, except that
different papers all have different surface textures, which will make
the painting look different.
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