{"id":1653,"date":"2009-04-21T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2009-04-21T06:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2009-12-27T08:49:01","modified_gmt":"2009-12-27T14:49:01","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-sean-qualls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1653","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Sean Qualls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boy howdy, have I been looking forward to this interview. Sean Qualls<\/strong><\/a> is one of my favorite new illustrators, one whose career I follow with great and geeky interest. His mixed-media artwork (mostly painting, drawing, and collage) never fails to surprise, and I must add, as odd as it might sound, that I particularly love his consistent use of circles. (See the sketches and spreads below for Dizzy<\/strong><\/a><\/em> and Before John Was a Jazz Giant<\/strong><\/a><\/em> as excellent examples of my point, what with the “the sounds dreamily dancing through the air amid streaming ribbons of music,” as School Library Journal<\/em> put it in their review of the latter title, a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book<\/strong><\/a>.) And, in the words of Kirkus<\/em>, Sean’s got his own unique “sonic iconography,” and he’s got it down pat. <\/p>\n

You know, like this:<\/p>\n


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A Precious Moment<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When The Horn Book<\/em> named their 2006 “fanfare,” the best books of that year, Dizzy<\/strong><\/a><\/em>—written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Sean—was included. “Qualls\u2019s large mixed-media art provides a dexterous combination of narrative and emotion,” the review had said. And we see this in his other illustrated titles, as anyone knows who has seen his emotionally-compelling charcoal work in The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, for which Margarita Engle won the 2008 Pura Belpr\u00e9 Award<\/strong><\/a>, or his acrylic and collage compositions from last year’s Phillis\u2019s Big Test<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Catherine Clinton<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sean—who has also created art for magazines, newspapers, and advertisements and who, as you can see at his site<\/strong><\/a>, draws inspiration from “an array of influences such as movies, television, childhood memories, aging and decaying surfaces, old buildings, architecture, nature, folk art, fairy tales, americana, black memorabilia, outsider art, cave paintings, collectibles, african art, golden books, vintage advertisements, psychology, mythology, science fiction, music, and literature”—tells me that, if all goes as planned, he’ll be finishing three<\/em> new titles this year. This is good news for fans. So, let’s get to our breakfast chat and hear about it. “I\u2019m probably a very boring breakfast date.” Sean told me. “I don\u2019t really eat breakfast. Sometimes I have a smoothie, a cup of tea, or a bowl of granola.<\/font> Lunch is my first meal of the day. My wife and fellow illustrator, Selina Alko<\/strong><\/a>, loves breakfast and our son, Isaiah, loves pancakes, so once in a while I try to accommodate them.” Well, I’ll gladly join him for a smoothie, and I thank him for stopping by. <\/p>\n

Note: Some of these spreads have been re-sized to fit within the blog’s template but are linked to the original file. Click on those to see them larger and in more detail.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Sean<\/font><\/strong>: Illustrator. <\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sean<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n