{"id":4732,"date":"2018-10-07T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T06:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4732"},"modified":"2018-10-06T10:46:30","modified_gmt":"2018-10-06T16:46:30","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-607-featuringup-and-coming-illustrator-sally-gardner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4732","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #607: Featuring
Up-and-Coming Illustrator Sally Gardner"},"content":{"rendered":"


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St. Basil’s Cathedral<\/em><\/center>
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\nThe first Sunday of each month is usually reserved for student illustrators or those just entering the world of children’s book illustration. Today’s artist, Sally Gardner<\/a><\/strong>, isn’t quite brand<\/em>-new, but I’m showcasing her art this morning anyway. She is a working freelance illustrator and graphic designer, and she both illustrated and co-created the Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys<\/a><\/strong><\/em> series \u2014 a hybrid graphic novel and early chapter book series, published by Penguin Books for Young Readers. <\/p>\n

Sally was once a student of author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier’s<\/a><\/strong>. (Years ago, she took one of his continuing education classes at the School of Visual Arts<\/a><\/strong>.) She lives in New York. She not only shares some art today but also tells us a bit more about her work. I thank her for sharing. <\/p>\n

Let’s get to it. …<\/p>\n

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Sally<\/font><\/strong>: Ever since I can remember, I\u2019ve loved illustrated books. As a child, I spent more time looking at the art in books than I spent reading them. I can still remember how many of my books smelled.
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\nMy favorite illustrators are Edward Ardizzone<\/a><\/strong>, Quentin Blake<\/a><\/strong>, and Ronald Searle<\/a><\/strong>. I love their drawings for being funny and scratchy and no more complicated than they need to be.
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\nI spend most of my time working at a computer, but I\u2019m happiest when I\u2019m surreptitiously drawing people on the subway. Even when I am making illustrations with a computer, I still start each drawing with pencil and paper.
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(Click bottom two images to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\nI still learn things from Sergio. All illustrations have a job or two to do, but some drawings also manage to be poetry. That is the stuff of Sergio\u2019s work, and studying with him taught me to watch for drawings that begin to lift off the page.
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\nIn the corporate work that I do<\/a><\/strong> [below is a logo]<\/em>, I have to visually represent business concepts in a way that\u2019s easy to understand. Doing that has trained me to consider the audience\u2019s perspective \u2014 what they know and don\u2019t know \u2014 which is a helpful habit when illustrating.
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\nAs for what’s next, I have a project percolating that I can\u2019t talk about yet, lest I jinx it!
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From <\/em>The Ratbrain Fiasco,
Book One in the <\/em>Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys series<\/em><\/center>
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Priscilla the Book Gargoyle,
illustration for promotional bookmark for author Julie Berry<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/center>
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Brachiosaurus<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Edgar Allan Poe Christmas Card<\/em><\/center>
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\nNote 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

* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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1)<\/strong><\/font> America continues to disappoint me and many other women in this country (to put it mildly), but one ray of light this week was this Time<\/em> cover of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, in which her likeness was drawn with words from her testimony. You can read more about it here<\/a><\/strong>.
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\n2)<\/strong><\/font> This 8-year-old Swedish girl!<\/a><\/strong> (“Daddy, I found a sword!”) <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> A kind and considerate note from a beginning illustrator once featured here on a Sunday. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Sam Phillips’<\/a><\/strong> new album was released last week, which would have been in my kicks if I’d had seven separate kicks. It is called World on Sticks<\/em>, and it is incredible. I don’t use the word masterpiece often, but I’m tellin’ you … this one is incredible. I’ve been such a big fan for over 30 years now. I saw an interview recently with Conor O’Brien (of Villagers) talking about how he feels spoiled that Radiohead (one of his favorite bands) exists in this world. That’s how I feel about Sam’s music.
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