Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.

I think it’s been a while since I’ve showcased comics or graphic-novel art here at 7-Imp, so today I’m checking in with Neil Numberman and Aaron Reynolds, who have created Creepy Crawly Crime (Henry Holt, April 2009), the first title in a new series, called Joey Fly (Private Eye), which Kirkus calls an “auspicious series kick-off” and Publishers Weekly called in their starred review “a wowser of a debut.” Pictured here is Joey, about to begin his work-day. You can click on the image to enlarge and read the text.

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Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.

I guess whether we’re ready for it or not, the holiday season has descended upon us. I have to say that this time of year is particularly exciting with young children. In celebration, I’ve got some holiday illustrations today. Above is a spread from the talented Lauren Thompson’s The Christmas Magic (Scholastic, September 2009), illustrated by Jon J. Muth. I’ve been a long-time fan of Muth, and he was the perfect choice for illustrating this enchanting title. And I’ve also got some spreads from David Martin’s Hanukkah Lights (Candlewick, September 2009), illustrated by Melissa Sweet:

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I’ve said this before here at 7-Imp, and I’ll say it again today: I’m a big fan of Amy Schwartz’s picture books and the understated charm and humor of her stories and illustrations. I’ve occasionally told myself, Self: Why don’t you write a sort of Amy Schwartz Appreciation at the blog? But I guess I have discussed a few of her titles before here at 7-Imp, so we can consider my Ode to Amy a perpetual work-in-progress. I’ve also said before that I love the seeming simplicity of both her writing and illustrations, but there’s really a lot going on, including an undeniably strong child-centeredness that, in my experience, makes her books bonafide Kid Magnets. Amy can perfectly capture the details of a child’s world, what they truly care to pay attention to. (The book best exemplifying this would be the wonderful What James Likes Best from 2003.)

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Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.

This is an oil pastel and ink painting from the sketchbook of illustrator Rob Dunlavey. I really like that. How about you?

Rob has done editorial illustrations of many kinds and is an aspiring children’s book illustrator. The art at his site drew my eye, and I asked him to stop by today and talk about his work a little and share some art. If you like what you see, don’t miss his site, which includes all kinds of sketchbook images and paintings and his educational, editorial, and advertising work. His children’s book illustrations are here.

Rob: I’ve done editorial illustration most of my career (since 1986). This is probably a throwback to youth and high school days, where I was inspired by political cartoons, comic books, Thomas Nast, and MAD Magazine. I started drawing in pen and ink and did a lot of work for school newspapers and even into college. The odd thing is that I detoured and got a BA and an MFA in Fine Art. I spent years learning printmaking, how to paint (more or less), and make sculpture. When I moved to Boston in 1985, I started developing an editorial portfolio and soon was doing work for The Boston Globe and The Christian Science Monitor. Later on, I developed a more graphic style, using watercolor, and I started getting published in magazines. I got a computer in the late ’80s and started working digitally. Some of the digital work was for computer games and educational software. I also do a lot of digital editorial work, but the last few years have seen a slow-down for me in that market. Here are a few examples that have a whimsical quality. Usually they are about something kind of inscrutable or boring, about banking or fire sprinklers!

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This above is one of my favorite illustrations from 2009. (Later in this post, I’ve got the entire spread from which it comes, since you just have to see that, too.) On that bus is one of my favorite characters from 2009, too, the monster of Peter McCarty’s Jeremy Draws a Monster, released by Henry Holt in September. He’s pictured a bit closer up—BOO!—to the left here. Anyone else seen this title yet? I’ve been sitting on these illustrations for months now, hoping that McCarty would stop by for one of my illustrator-interviews, and holding the illustrations for that. But I’m thinking at this point that he’s maybe swamped — but can perhaps stop by one day later. I hope. I’m a fan, particularly of his Hondo and Fabian books, which are a big, big hit in the Danielson household.

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Happy November to one and all, and I hope everyone had a great Halloween yesterday.

I love the first Sundays of every month at 7-Imp, in which either a student illustrator, a newly-graduated illustrator, or someone otherwise new to illustration stops by to share some art. This week we have Tess Bailey, who recently graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Illustration. Tess, who I believe is in Maryland now, is sharing with us this morning some of her thesis art work, which I think is beautiful stuff. Pictured above is Spirit Horse, probably my very favorite piece. Pictured below is Hawaiian Legend (click on that image to enlarge and see more details), followed by a little bit from Tess herself about her work.

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Jules: How funny is that illustration? I love it.

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At the risk of sounding like Grumpy Old Man in a Series #7,000, I have to say that I pretty much loathe how children today are targeted as consumers at such very young ages. Though I limit the amount of time my children sit in front of the television screen, I actually don’t have a problem with storytelling (done well and in moderation) via the medium of television or DVD; it’s the commercials that I DO NOT want them to see. My husband taught our girls to say, at very young ages, “commercials are for suckers.” This would be why I’m happy to share some illustrations today from Mélanie Watt’s newest picture book, Have I Got a Book for You!, in which Mr. Al Foxword, one very insistent salesman, tries just about everything to get you to buy his book already.

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Jules: Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.

I’m keeping the feature this week simple, since it’s been a busy weekend. See that sleepy elephant up there? I’m in need of his sleep, I think. But the busy-ness is the good kind of busy. More on that in my kicks.

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Jules: Meet the Fabulous Fortunatos, who sing, dance, play the banjo, tell jokes, and juggle brilliantly. With them is their son, Lorenzo, who often felt like he had been born into the wrong family. He pondered important matters in his crib, drew pictures of the planets on the walls as a toddler, and generally kept his head in the clouds. Instead of, you know, somersaulting and walking on tightropes like the rest of his family.

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