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If you’ve ever seen a picture book illustrated by author\/illustrator Zachary Pullen<\/a><\/strong>, you know that his large, full-bleed illustrations do not apologize for taking every inch of space. His richly-colored oil paintings can capture a wide range of emotions and draw in readers. Most of his characters, as you can see below, are large-headed, bold, not afraid to be who they are. Pullen’s exaggerated, somewhat askew perspective adds to this, drawing readers’ attention to the faces of his expressive, larger-than-life characters. “Affectionate caricatures” is how Publishers Weekly<\/em> described Zak’s style for his illustrations in Richard Michelson’s<\/a><\/strong> latest picture book title, Lipman Pike: America’s First Home Run King<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Sleeping Bear Press, February 2011). The review also notes many of the exciting “mid-action moments” Pullen chose to depict in many of the spreads. <\/p>\n Zak is hardly new to picture books. Below, he lists his previous titles, for those wanting to explore further. He also has done illustrations for The New York Times Book Review<\/em>, Sports Illustrated<\/em>, Esquire<\/em>, and The Wall Street Journal<\/em> and has been honored several times by the Society of Illustrators<\/a><\/strong> and Communication Arts<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n When I asked Zak about our cyber-breakfast, he had no particular request, saying that his absolute favorite breakfast is more about the people he wants to sit with than what he eats: “I will have anything edible, if it means I get to sit and enjoy the start of the day with my family. A great way to start the day is to talk about it and go in with a plan.” Allrighty then. I have invited the whole family over, and let’s get right to it. I thank Zak for stopping by. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I am an Author\/Illustrator, although I\u2019m an illustrator first. How about “Visual Storyteller”?<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: Eleven picture books and a few others: The Toughest Cowboy<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, The Greatest Game Ever Played<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, Friday My Radio Flyer Flew<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, Casey and Derek on the Ice<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, Finn McCool and the Great Fish<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, Hockey Hero<\/em>, Dee and the Mammoth<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, The Magic Box<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, and Lipman Pike: America’s First Home Run King<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium, or–\u2013if you use a variety—your preferred one?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I prefer to use oil on canvas or rag board. I guess the most creative, though, is pencil on vellum. The beginning is always the most fun.<\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I live in Wyoming now. I\u2019ve been a few other places, but we keep coming back to this part of the country.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you briefly tell me about your road to publication?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: My work was noticed by the publishing industry on the cover of The New York Times Book Review<\/em>. I had done a lot of editorial work and always wanted to work in the publishing industry, and they happened to call me, which is always a nice thing.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you please point readers to your web site and\/or blog?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: www.zacharypullen.com<\/a><\/strong>. Blog is embedded and hardly ever touched. Sorry for that.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you do school visits, tell me what they\u2019re like.<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I was never a stand-out in school. I knew that I loved drawing, and I was always very passionate but a mediocre student at best. The school visits always follow that path, and I try to touch the students that struggle in class and allow them some insight into a future.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you teach illustration, by chance, tell me how that influences your work as an illustrator.<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I taught for a semester in a college setting, and it was a great way to bounce ideas and gain inspiration for upcoming projects. I liked the back and forth. I just found it hard to keep up with the demand for my time.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Any new titles\/projects you might be working on now that you can tell me about?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I am currently working on sketches for The Origin of Escargo<\/em>. I am excited, because every time I sit down to work on it I find myself smiling and laughing, due to the manuscript and the characters. Exciting!<\/p>\n 1.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What exactly is your process when you are illustrating a book? You can start wherever you\u2019d like when answering: getting initial ideas, starting to illustrate, or even what it\u2019s like under deadline, etc. Do you outline a great deal of the book before you illustrate or just let your muse lead you on and see where you end up?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I never thought I\u2019d like the first stages of a book, although the research is the most fun now. Every book is a little different in approach. Once I\u2019ve read the script multiple times, I usually have a mood or setting that I want to create. Then I visit my favorite place, the library. I spend hours there checking out books and looking at old articles that are going to pertain to the project. The internet has become invaluable as well, although I still like the smell of the books in the library. Plus, it means that I get to interact with people.<\/p>\n My thumbnail sketches come first. There are sometimes hundreds of these in order to pound the idea into my head. Sometimes it just takes that many to get the idea out with an interesting composition.<\/p>\n Having a background in editorial work, the books seem like an eternity for deadlines. That said, they always sneak up on me. The drawings take me the longest amount of time, normally. <\/p>\n Paintings are usually done all at once with wet portions on all before I finish one. Late nights are my favorite time to work on the book illustrations. Music and caffeine fuel the process. What music?<\/em> you might ask. Mumford & Sons<\/a><\/strong>, The Wiyos<\/a><\/strong>, and Bad Religion<\/a><\/strong> mostly.<\/p>\n 2.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Describe your studio or usual work space.<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: I keep my space pretty clean, for the most part. I hate to work in a mess. It makes me feel unproductive, so I strive for a clean environment to work. Books tend to strain the clean, though, and once a painting is completed, I clean before I move on. I work above a gallery that I\u2019m part owner in as well, so I have people checking the progress out very often, and I\u2019d be mortified if they saw it any other way than tidy.<\/p>\n 3.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: As a book lover, it interests me: What books or authors and\/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: The biggest influences on me—and this is a wide spectrum—are N.C. Wyeth<\/a><\/strong>, J.C. Leyendecker<\/a><\/strong>, Norman Rockwell<\/a><\/strong>, and a little more contemporary would be Bill Watterson<\/a><\/strong>, Stephen Gammell<\/a><\/strong>, and Chris Van Allsburg<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n I would, and still do, just drool over their work.<\/p>\n 4.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you could have three (living) illustrators—whom you have not yet met—over for coffee or a glass of rich, red wine, whom would you choose?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: First of all, it would have to be the wine or something of that sort. I would send invites to a dozen and, on pins and needles, I\u2019d wait for Tony DiTerlizzi<\/a><\/strong>, Carter Goodrich<\/a><\/strong>, and David Shannon<\/a><\/strong>. That would be a great party.<\/p>\n 5.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is currently in rotation on your iPod or loaded in your CD player? Do you listen to music while you create books?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: Answered above, but there is always music on the iPod. Lately, I\u2019ve been listening to Caravan Palace<\/a><\/strong>, Fishtank Ensemble<\/a><\/strong>, and Jalan Crossland<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n 6.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?<\/font> <\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: I have six manuscripts with illustrations in a drawer waiting for the right call to publish one of them.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your favorite word?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: “Passion.”<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your least favorite word?<\/font><\/p>\n Zak<\/font><\/strong>: “Can’t.”<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?<\/font> <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/LipmanPike_cover.jpg\")
Zak’s here to join me for breakfast this morning to show some preliminary sketches from Lipman Pike<\/em>, which tells the story of the son of a Dutch immigrant in Brooklyn, New York, during the mid-19th century. Lipman Pike, or Lip, and his brother are fascinated by an exciting new game sweeping the nation, called Base. “Each neighborhood club had a team and even some of the Jewish boys would practice batting and throwing when their parents weren’t watching,” Michelson writes. Though their mother doesn’t approve, Mr. Pike is too enthralled with the game to let this stop their boys: “We want our children to fit in with their neighbors, not to live like foreigners in their birthplace,” he tells Mrs. Pike. Years pass, and after Lip is invited to join the junior club and play his first official match, the news about Lip’s batting abilities spreads like wildfire throughout Brooklyn. At the age of 21, he moves to Philadelphia to play for the Athletics, though he is ultimately voted off the team unfairly. I don’t want to give away the entire book, but it’s an engaging picture book biography, which comes highly recommended (and even from someone such as me, who knows little to nothing about baseball). Kirkus<\/em> wrote, “Michelson adeptly employs fictional conversations interwoven with factual details as he reconstructs a long-forgotten time, managing to bring Pike’s story out of obscurity and relate it to modern young readers. … An insight into baseball and America that is at once historical and timeless.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Where are your stompin\u2019 grounds?<\/font><\/p>\n
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“‘Only in America would people spend money to watch grown men chase after a ball,’ Mrs. Pike said to her husband, as she settled onto the ladies’ bench.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n
\nOur table’s set now for our breakfast interview. Let’s get a bit more detailed, and I thank Zak again for stopping by for six<\/em> questions over breakfast.<\/font> <\/p>\n
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“As the years passed, word of Lip’s batting power and speed spread throughout Brooklyn. Customers would shop at the haberdashery just to talk about Base.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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