Only a few days left in February! That means spring is just around the corner, and just a bit longer until our 20th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference!! We still have many more incredible faculty to showcase, and one of those is a member of our Distinguished Faculty; Author/Illustrator Victoria Jamieson.
Victoria has worked as a designer for HarperCollins, and Greenwillow Books creating interiors and covers for both picture books and novels. She now works full time as an artist. Her first book was BEA ROCKS THE FLOCK, and she has two more books schedule to come out; OLYMPIG! (out in 2012), and BUG MUSICAL (comes out in 2013).
Which illustrators or artists do you admire the most? Why?
Oh, goodness. Mo Willems’ books are genius, pure and simple. I never get tired of that pigeon. I also have a copy of Peter Brown’s The Curious Garden next to my drawing table. That book is so beautiful it makes me almost physically sick (that’s a compliment). It has such a subdued, beautiful color palette. I also love No, David! by David Shannon- another deceptively simple tale, but that always gives me goosebumps by the end. And Beverly Cleary depicts childhood with such stunning honesty. And, and, and…!
I also found this article written by Victoria on the Greenwillow Books Alumni Association Report (it shows a progression of her work on one of her book covers). You can find out more information on Victoria, and her work at her website. You can also follow her Illustration blog (with great artwork, and a fun post about Neil Diamond), and see more of her work on her Book & Graphic Design blog. A random fact about Victoria is that she once worked as a portrait artist for a Carnival Cruise ship.
For more information about the conference, and to register visit the event website.