Jerry Pinkney: Inspiring Illustrator

Last night, Jerry Pinkney was the guest speaker at the 29th Babson Memorial Lecture at the Montclair Art Museum. I think I purchased my ticket the day I received the invitation! I first discovered Jerry Pinkney when I was doing a survey of Caldecott winning books, to try to find a "formula" for winners of this prestigeous award. Since that time, I have not only learned that there is no formula, since the judges change each year, but I've learned a lot about Mr. Pinkney as well.

A Philadelphia native, he began his artistic career at around the age of 13, giving away or selling (for 50 cents of so) sketches he made while selling newspapers on a street corner in Philly. Jerry considers his boss at the newsstand to be one of his early mentors. His mother was another mentor, inspiring him by reading Uncle Remus stories and Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales to him. As early editions of neither of these books included many illustrations, he seems to have begun to create images to fit the stories in his own head. I remember being read Uncle Remus stories as well, since Jerry and I are only five years apart in age. Joel Chandler Harris's characters came alive through his words. Before Disney homogenized them and colored them with an airbrush, Bre'r Rabbit and Bre'r fox lived a rough and tumble, briar-scratched, tar-stuck life in the imaginations of generations of children like Jerry and me.

While the books usually had colorful covers, I remember mostly black and white line drawings within. Through the magical pencils and watercolors of Pinkney, the marvelous adventures of the sly fox and the trickster rabbit and their friends have gained new life and new color for present and future generations.    

We are fortunate that he has provided this same service for so many classics including many of those my father read to me: The Jungle Book, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, The Ugly Duckling and The Grasshopper and the Mouse.  A visit to his studio website www.jerrypinkneystudio.com 
will provide you with a reading list for the next few years. Between classics, stories he has illustrated written by others, and stories he has collaborated on, you have over 100 books, fairy stories, Bible stories and novels to pick from. 

That day I was surveying Caldecott winners, I fell in love with The Lion and the Mouse. If you have a copy, or have read it, I wonder if you realized how totally unique this book is. Did you notice that neither the front nor the back cover have the title of the book or the author's name? The time has come that a Pinkney illustration speaks for it's creator, declaring his authorship loudly and clearly.  The lion on the front cover and the mouse on the back are sufficient to tell any literate human, no matter his or her native language, what treasure of a story lies between those covers.

Among the gems presented to the audience at the Babson Lecture were the following facts and quotes.

• 1 out of every 3 cowboys in the American West were people of color.
• His books are based on pure fun and he is less interested in the finished drawing than in the process, and what he learns DOING the drawing. 
•  In his work, the environment has a voice. His reference collection on science and nature is probably more comprehensive than many public library's.
• Chipmunks live a purposeful life. 
• His studio includes different stations for drawing, painting, researching, doing thumbnail sketches.
•  "Always ask the narrative what the story needs." The illustrator is the bridge between the reader and the narrative. He always asks himself "Why did they pick me to do this book?" This helps to inform him how to go to work on it.  
• Pinkney always wants to learn from each book he illustrates.

    
His advice for young people wanting to become illustrators? "Get a sketch book and draw every day!" He says, it's hard work, but it's worth it!

Pinkney's love of nature come out clearly through his work. Although raised in the city, in his youth he periodically spent time in a fairly rural area of New Jersey where a family member had a home adjacent to the woods. That was where he discovered that nature was a safe place for him to go, and that it gave him an opportunity for for personal safety and space, away from a crowded home in very urban Philadelphia.

Through Pinkney's art, I have no doubt that many children are finding that connection with nature which so richly fills the pages of every book he illustrates.

It is refreshing for this hopeful author/illustrator to know that Jerry has recently begun exploring new mediums and combinations, as I have begun exploring illustration. He recently "discovered" pastels and is busy experimenting and looking forward to finding out where this may lead his art.

Perhaps we can look forward to a story about the three chestnuts, with illustrations in pastels to reflect the glossy,  ox-blood treasures that are currently dropping all around us in the autumn landscape, encased in prickly treasure chests. His art can make them last forever. It's time for me now to give the horse-chestnut a try in my sketch book.  Here it is. What do you think?

My art, too is informed by nature. I hope you will visit me at Pi-SunyerNaturally.com, to see my work as well. I am currently working on a book cover for Flowers of the Holy Land: 50 Blessed Plants in Jesus Life. 

If you visit the current exhibit, "Eric Carle: Animals and Friends" at the Montclair Art Museum, be sure to check out the student illustration exhibit in the hallway on the ground floor. You will see three of my illustrations and many other wonderful products of the Yard School of Art class"Writing and Illustrating Books for Children," taught by Kristine Lombardy.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief reprise of last night's lecture and will leave a comment and explore the links you find here.

Happy illustrating!

Listen to the Pros - Going Back to Art School

Last week was back-to-school week for me. I was a bit nervous, but am now feeling pretty darn fine about making the decision. I was able to sign up for Beginning Illustration at Montclair State University. My classmates are all undergraduates and, I think, all are art majors. Following our first critique yesterday, I am feeling okay. The first assignment was a self portrait that told something about the artist. There was an abundance of anxiety attached to that assignment. I've never been great at drawing faces and was very nervous about doing this, not having a clue what anyone else was capable of.

My portrait illustrates me peeking into a new world of art and illustration. It includes books, drawing pencils and my slightly-off balance jackalope. The exercise was very useful in starting to get a handle on value. It helped me remember that composition is very important, and that I didn't pay enough attention to it the first time around, when I was an undergrad art major.

I am incredibly impressed by the technical skills of several of my classmates. Many of them have a firm grip on design which I hope to emulate. I am learning about value: light and darkness. It is amazing to me how changes in value can change a picture.

The next assignment was to draw an egg, from two different view points and on two different surfaces: one light, one dark. It's very challenging.  I've learned it's a good idea to take photos and turn them into black and white. I never realized before how different color is from value. I am learning a lot. Our professor, Scott Gordley, is giving us interesting assignments and providing useful feedback that helps us all to improve our work.

The egg project is very challenging, because we are responsible for making an interesting composition, as well as creating a technically precise likeness. Looking at eggs with strong lighting is interesting, as you end up with part of the egg being almost black.

I am learning many new ways of changing value. Spots and dots, lines and cross-hatching, shading and contrast. Still work to do on both pictures, but feeling pretty good about them.

While I am excited about what I am learning in my Illustration class, I'm spending a lot of time on other projects as well. Lots of family history things going on. Hopefully in the next month or two I can make time to get back to the writing part of my children's book.

I need to find an agent. If you know someone who works in the arena of children's picture books, please send me names. I'd prefer someone in the New York area if possible. Message me on LinkedIn or email me at npi-sunyer@verizon.net.

Looking forward to touching base with you again soon, but need to get back to my homework.

Revising Visions and Moving Forward at Last

Almost a year has passed since my last post here. During that time I have been busy, but not so much on the book. Friends and family keep asking "When is your book coming out?' or "How is the book coming?" My response has usually been, "I was totally squashed at a workshop in October when I was told I should take more art classes. I have not worked on it since."

Well, I was. That comment hit me harder than any of the rejection letters I had received to that point. Friends, family, librarians and teachers have all stated how much they LOVE my drawings. As each has been revised, I find it is even better. I still toy with the idea (suggested by many) of self-publishing and making the book the way I visualize it. But a sneaky voice in the back of my mind keeps niggling about the need for more art classes. Sigh! I started as an Art major in college, but switched my sophomore year. I've taken one class at a local museum and have watched a lot of tutorials on You Tube. But still...

This morning, after weeks of trying to contact professors at the local university Art Department, I have received permission to enroll in a Beginning Illustration class. I'm enrolling as a non-degree student through the OLA program at Montclair State University. This means, I will need to pay fees, but no tuition (as an Older Learner). The campus has changed so much since the last class I took there (in around 1970), it might as well be a foreign country. I have scoped out where my class will be, have found the Student Center and bookstore and the Office of Information Technology.  My computer is now hooked in to the university WiFi system and tomorrow morning I can officially register for class.

It's been a long time since I had a First Day of School on the other side of the desk.  I've looked through my sketch pads and found two new ones to start with.  My kneaded eraser is at the ready, as are my colored pencils and pens. I will pick up several pencils of varying hardness at the bookstore tomorrow, when I go up to register. It's been 50 years since I was an art student at a university. My professor for this class probably wasn't even born when I took Color and Design. I'm sure a lot has changed. But I am determined to go into this new adventure with a positive outlook: to learn all that I can. I expect to learn some new techniques and a lot about the design aspect of illustration. From the course description, it sounds as though I will likely be introduced to many illustrators I am unfamiliar with, although I have kept up pretty well with children's book illustrators.

So it's back to school, and back to work on the book. Time to get the studio upstairs cleared up and make room to draw, and maybe paint. If I can find an agent to work with me, maybe I can get the book back on track and get it to a publisher in 2016.

What are your thoughts on this new adventure?

Forward March: Reimagining My Book

Too many of my posts seem to focus on getting BACK to something on which I have lost momentum. It is time to move forward. No excuses of holiday madness. No moping over another rejection. Progress is my most important product for the rest of this year.

Two weeks ago I attended the SCBWI Craft Weekend at Princeton Theological Seminary. For anyone  who doesn't know, SCBWI is the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. This weekend was a wake-up call at several levels. First, it brought home to me how many people like me are out there trying to get books published. Most of the attendees are hopeful authors and/or illustrators. Most have not gotten a book published yet. Some have, and I now have heard enough stories to give me heart to continue the process. My fifth rejection arrived days before the conference, so my project is now back in my hands. 

I am beginning to listen to what editors, publishers and agents say more closely. While every friend, librarian, teacher and parent I have shown my dummy to thinks it is wonderful and can't wait to buy it, I now believe that some of the comments from those "in the business" have more validity than I once gave them. A full afternoon with Joyce Wan showed me a better way to create my dummy. Joyce, thank you! It is now all double-spreads and it is easier to put together and to illustrate.

The big break-though came in the all-day-Sunday workshop with Patrick Collins, Creative Director at Henry Holt. He reviewed each of the eight dummies or mock-ups presented by workshop participants, gave thoughtful feedback and suggestions to each, and then spent the remainder of the afternoon cycling among us with suggestions, critiques and encouragement.

Prior to the workshop, we had each submitted work for Patrick's comments and then tried to prepare some revised work in response to what he told us. My revisions involved, for the most part, cutting out whole pages that don't add to the action, and setting the opening scene. Following discussions with Patrick, more was cut, the scene has been set more clearly and another fun dimension has been added. 

Each change requires adjustment to art work, development of new page turns and adapting my original ideas of some parts of the story. I had picked up one good suggestion in a peer group critique session on Saturday evening. I  remind newbies to the peer group environment to consider from where comments come. I was astounded at the way one member of the group had interpreted part of my story. She saw drugs and sex where I had written bunnies and blossoms. WOW! The only thing I will say here is, consider your word choices carefully.

Now almost every page is a double spread. I have added two new dimensions to the art work, as well as  adjusting the viewpoint on several illustrations. My beetles will now be in the tree, rather than among the dandelions. I was also encouraged to take more art classes. This was something I did not want to hear but, I am exploring options in my community. I guess one can never learn too much.

So now it's time to focus forward on refining the two new dimensions (one is numerals on each page and the other is a secret suggested by Patrick, which I love). I need to find an art class and/or check out more YouTube videos on illustration. I also need to do some revision in the rhymes for setting the scene. By next week I hope to have made some real progress. I wil keep you posted.

Where Did The Summer Go? Getting Back to Books

It's been too long since I set fingers to keys on this blog. Sorry to have kept you waiting.  The fingers have been busy excavating weeds, following routes on maps, tracing family tree branches and searching on line for a wedding dress. I think two more days will complete the rehab of the driveway. I've been digging weeds from between paving stones with a steak knife and sweeping loc-tite sand in to every crack to prevent more weeds from becoming entrenched. This is the price I pay for taking the low bid on the paved driveway! But it looks like it's going to work. At least I have listened to Black Arrow, by Robert Louis Stevenson, My Antonia, by Willa Cather, The Mozart Conspiracy by Scott Mariani and a lot of my iPod tunes. It's kind of a Zen activity. Not liking to use chemicals in our yard, I seem to always find projects that require an inordinate amount of time as the trade-off for an almost chamical-free landscape.

New World Trade Center

We also spent five weeks hosting and traveling with a cousin from Mexico who visited with us to improve her English. We visited the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the 9/11 Memorial and the new World trade Center site. We sailed on Lake Champlain, walked The High Line in NY, shopped at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine and Zara in the Big Apple, and introduced the young lady to 46 of her other U.S. cousins in five different states. I was thrilled to discover that I have made a reader of her. Before visiting with us, she had only read required books for school. I introduced her to the YA section in our local library. She picked out a few books. She found two that she really enjoyed and these seem to have set her on the path to reading. That she read them in English makes the accomplishment even more exciting.

Over the summer, our young rabbit, the main character in my children's book, has grown from a tiny bunny to a near adult. It is becoming difficult to distinguish between the baby bunny and its parents. Family seems to have been a focus this summer.  I spent many hours expanding my family tree on
Ancestry.com. I added my future daughter-in-law's family back four generations and explored my own family roots in Germany. A great nephew will be spending his junior year abroad in Germany, and I wanted him to have the tree and the information about his Vonweisensee ancestors. Perhaps he can help me follow that trail further into the past.

As for the future... It is time to regroup and re-engage. I need to contact the current holder of my manuscript and then apply some of what I learned in the recent Webinar by Mira Reisberg from Childrens Book Academy and what I hope to learn from Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod in her new book, The Seven Day Manuscript Machine.

A comment from you will add to my motivation, so please leave me a note, even if it is only to say "You go girl!"  I must say, my heart was warmed by the recent sidebar exchanges during Mira's webinar where I discovered how many of us late bloomers are out here, working on our dreams. 

More soon. I promise!

Back to Blogging: Reconnecting With Passions

I just spent a week in Mexico visiting with some of my husband's family. It was a wonderful chance to distance myself from my (too) many projects and gain some perspective. One of the most delightful events was actually getting my hands on a copy of our cousin, Ana Gerhard's lovely book Listen to the Birds.

Ana Gerhard's Delightful Intro to Classic Music

Ana is a talented musician. She created this introduction to classical music for children with great thought, imagination and delightful creativity. I am personally not a huge fan of classical music, but this book brings back memories of some of the lovely experiences I have had with the classics, including "Peter and the Wolf" and "The Magic Flute." I am so pleased that Ana's second book is progressing well and that Listen to the Birds, has already been translated from the original Spanish into English and several other languages.

If you have children, this will be a delightful shared experience for you. The CD works beautifully with the text and illustrations bringing the classics right in to your home and hour heart. You can find it for sale on Amazon, and may be able to find it, or order it through your local book store. Here you can see an interview with Ana about her upcoming book, The Secret Mountain.  

http://www.thesecretmountain.com/AnInterviewWithAuthorAnaGerhard

We saw a lot of birds whilesitting in the gardens in Cuernavaca and Tepoztlan, including several that were new to me. The rufous-backed robin and golden-cheeked woodpecker were two newbies. I also saw a gorgeous old friend: the vermillion flycatcher, which I first encountered in the Galapagos, and a charming hummingbird I can't ID from my Mexican bird book.

Rufous-backed Robin in Cuernavaca, Mexico

The robin looks very like our American Robin, but has a rusty back, and the breast is not so orange. The hummer probably is way more iridescent, but the light doesn't show it. I sat for hours on the patios in the two yards, watching and taking pictures, chatting and listening to conversations in Spanish and Catalan. Our hosts were somewhat amazed that I was so interested in the birds, but once I showed them the Peterson's Field Guide to Mexican Birds, and they saw how many birds there are in Mexico, they too, began to take more interest.

This is a part of the point of the children's book I am trying to get published. All these natural treasures, birds, butterflies, bees, beetles, trees and flowers, surround us. My book will open eyes of readers so they can enjoy the same U are such a natural part of my life.

Unidentified Hummingbird in Cuernavaca

The text of my book is now with another publisher with whom I connected through a friend on LinkedIn. I didn't send the entire proposal, and now am thinking that perhaps I should have. I think tonight I will do the revision of the post card on Zazzle and when it comes, send it, along with the full proposal, to the publisher. This might get it to the top of her pile and I might hear one way or the other.

If the response is not positive, I will start sending out the postcards. I think I may begin to create the back yard garden website to go with the book, since that may prove to be another selling point. I'm told that telling publishers you will create a website, isn't as convincing as having one up. So here we go again. Into the fray!!!

Go out and enjoy your backyard for a bit now, before you spend any more time on line. Even if it's dark out!! Go listen for an owl and look for a shooting star. If you see one, wish for the right publisher to discover my book, please.

Reacting to Rejection: Questions to Myself

Roxie Munro and Me in 2013.

Though I believed I had targeted my next publisher SO accurately, another rejection letter arrived in the mail the other day. Of course I was depressed and down and felt a bit weepy. If you say you don't feel that way when you get a rejection, I'm not sure I believe you. To add insult to injury, the publisher enclosed a form rejection addressed to "Dear Author".  Couldn't they even reject me with a bit of class? No suggestions. No criticisms. No encouragement. No use. And really, no use obsessing over another lost two months. I'm so glad I did my Lenten Journey during the wait.

My husband is so wise. He just hugged me, kept quiet and bought me flowers the next day. I whipped out a feeling-sorry-for-me email to my mentor, posted my new status (REJECTED AGAIN) on FaceBook and went back to The Book, a valuable resource from SCBWI. The Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has lists of publishers. Now I have checked off two. I spent some time searching the remainder of the list for my next target. Then checked on-line to find out if they are accepting unagented, unsolicited manuscripts. Most, of course, are not. But now I will work my network on LinkedIn and see if I can find some connections there.

Ready to stick my neck out again.

Questions to myself generated from reading other blogs and websites, email from my mentor, FaceBook responses from friends and serious personal reflection:

1. Was I foolish to send a dummy to the last company, even though they said they accept dummies?
2. Is there something wrong with my cover letter?
3. Does that fellow on line REALLY have the secret to the perfect cover letter and should I send him $37.95 to get it?
4. Should I join a critique group?
5. Can I afford to go to the 21st Century Non-Fiction Writer's Conference in June? (I found my mentor and a lot of positive reinforcement there last year).
6. Should I listen to people who suggest I self publish the book?
7. Should I do a multiple submission next time?
8. What might be wrong with my proposal, besides the cover letter?
9. Should I have included less art work, or more?
10. Do I have any talent, or is this all a waste of time?

Actually, number 10 didn't cross my mind. I KNOW the book is good. The text is engaging and everyone who has seen it (with the exception of the most recent rejector) thinks it ought to be published!

My answer to most of the other questions ranges from a firm "No!" to a soft "Maybe." I think I need to spend the next week or two reconnoitering on cover letters and considering who to share the book with, for new insights. I will check in to meetings of SCBWI for upcoming review sessions. I'm open to comments from readers about the concept of multiple submissions. I also plan to revise my postcard and start sending it to editors and publishers.

My Postcard to Be Revised

 I think sending the dummy was fine, but I probably need to revise it again. I know that the cover letter can be improved. Not sure how, but I will work on that. I don't think sending for the "perfect" letter is a useful step. I know that group critiques are not for me. I don't think I can afford the June conference, but maybe I can afford a local SCBWI conference. I know that self-publishing is my last ditch position. I know I need to talk to other authors about multiple submissions. It has taken 2 1/2 to 3 months for each of the last to submissions. At that rate it will be another year before I get the proposal to 4 more companies. More conversations or emails with published authors may give me some new insights regarding proposals and what to include.

There is plenty to work on, and plenty to learn. It's time to pick myself up, dust myself off and start submission over again. So, my friends, here I go again. Wish me luck, and send suggestions if you have them.

Happy spring.