{"id":4022,"date":"2016-03-29T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T06:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4022"},"modified":"2016-03-29T08:53:47","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T14:53:47","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-gareth-hinds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4022","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Gareth Hinds"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nIf you like the artwork of Gareth Hinds<\/a><\/strong>, pictured right, you’re in for a treat today. In this, his breakfast visit to 7-Imp, he shares a whole<\/em> heapin’ lot of artwork, and it’s my pleasure to feature it. <\/p>\n

You may have already heard a lot this year about Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. (Pictured above is an early sketch from the book.) It is the 256-page nonfiction account, written by Pamela S. Turner<\/a><\/strong> and illustrated by Gareth, of the life of 12th-century samurai Minamoto Yoshitsune, and it has been met with a host of starred reviews. Booklist<\/em> calls it “pure excitement”; Kirkus<\/em> calls it a “well-researched narrative told with true grit”; and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books<\/em> writes, “It\u2019s not often that ‘biography’ and ‘page-turner’ come together in one thought, but Turner\u2019s tale of the twelfth-century warrior Minamoto Yoshitsune is just the work to draw samurai fans from the manga and movie aisles into the nonfiction shelves.” It’s even a book getting early Newbery buzz. Gareth’s eloquent brush-and-ink drawings open each chapter of the book. <\/p>\n

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This is Gareth’s wheelhouse — traditional stories. As you can see in his bibliography listed below, Shakespeare and epic poems, in particular, are what fire him up. In the past decade, he’s brought readers beautifully and dramatically illustrated graphic novel adaptations of classic stories. <\/p>\n

Let’s get the basics while we set the table for our cyber-breakfast. When I asked Gareth about the best meal of the day, he said, “This is kind of odd, but I used to be macrobiotic and, even after I eased up on that, I still loved<\/em> these oatmeal waffles at a macro place in New York, called Souen<\/a><\/strong>. They came with soy cream and cooked fruit, and I would take that over any sugary buttery breakfast confection. I haven’t been there in years, so I don’t know if it would still live up to my memory of it.”<\/p>\n

I’m all<\/em> for that, as long as we have coffee too. … I thank him for visiting and, especially, for sharing his art. <\/p>\n

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

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

Gareth<\/font><\/strong>: I used to say Illustrator<\/em>, but now I say Author\/Illustrator<\/em>. (Basically, that changed when I re-wrote The Odyssey<\/a><\/em><\/strong>).
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Early sketch and final art from <\/em><\/em>The Odyssey<\/a><\/strong> (Candlewick, 2010)<\/em>
(Click each piece of final art to enlarge and see in more detail)<\/center>
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

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