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I’ve featured a lot of student or brand-new illustrators lately and have yet another today. It’s the first Sunday of February, and the first Sundays of each month are devoted to the new folks, so I keep my promise today. <\/p>\n
And I’m happy to welcome Colin Sutherland<\/a><\/strong>, whom I’d be pleased to tell you all about, but I’m going to hand 7-Imp over to him so that he<\/em> can tell you about himself. He’s also sharing some art, of course, and my personal favorite is pictured above. <\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong><\/font> Colin and I would both like to point out that Bear Hunt<\/em>, pictured below in this post, is—in Colin’s words—“a little graphic and upsetting.” Consider yourselves notified, dear Imps.] <\/p>\n Colin:<\/font><\/strong> Hi. My name is Colin, and I am an illustrator living in the mountains of North Carolina. I have been starting and abandoning picture book projects since I was in junior high. In the past few years, I have progressed to almost completing a couple (sort of) and have way too many ideas for future ones. <\/p>\n In addition to The Bear Dance<\/em> and a number of other personal favorites, I am equally inspired by every one of the amazing artists and authors making books right now. Everybody wants to talk about the end of the picture book as we know it and something called an \u201ce-reader,\u201d but every time I go to the bookstore and see a new title by Philip<\/a><\/strong> and Erin Stead<\/a><\/strong> or Jon Klassen<\/a><\/strong> or any of these amazing people making amazing books right now, I am bolstered. Nothing will make you want to draw more than going to the children\u2019s section of your favorite bookstore and spending twenty minutes sitting in a tiny chair, watching kids pull books off the shelves. <\/p>\n As far as my work goes, I mostly use col-erase pencil, graphite, and ink to make the preliminary drawing, which is scanned into the computer. I then grab textures, colors, and washes from all over the place and assemble it digitally. Most of these sources are pretty simple ink blots, water color washes, or torn paper, but sometimes I like to use less traditional techniques, such as photographing the mud splatter on my car after a particularly exciting puddle. Right now I\u2019m working on a picture book dummy about a boy who discovers a wall in which he can just barely make out the amazing world beyond it, but cannot find a way over or through. It will probably be done soon and then comes the delightful process of sending it out into the world. <\/p>\n Thanks so much for reading.<\/p>\n All images are \u00a9 Colin Sutherland and used with his permission.<\/em> <\/p>\n Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is 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. New kickers are always welcome. <\/p>\n 1)<\/strong><\/font> Well, I never. The ALA Youth Media Awards announcement on Monday was exciting. Congrats to all the award winners<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> Speaking of, I enjoyed this video interview with Jon Klassen<\/a><\/strong> about his work:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a>
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\nPicture books are very dear to me, and it is such a joy to make them myself. There is a book called The Bear Dance<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Chris Riddell<\/a><\/strong> that could probably be singularly accredited for my interest in children’s literature. My dad brought it back from a business trip when I was a kid, and it is the first book I can remember developing a relationship with. Mr. Riddell\u2019s art is so enchanting in that book, and it has always been the first one I grab off the shelf when I want to think about pacing or composition or any of that stuff that I fret about instead of drawing. <\/p>\n<\/a>
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