artists

Review: Georgia in Hawaii by Amy Novesky

| Tasha

georgia in hawaii

Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

In 1939, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company commissioned two painting by Georgia O’Keeffe.  This picture book is the story of her trip to Hawaii funded by the company.  O’Keeffe spent time on each of the Hawaiian islands.  Her first stop was Oahu where she saw pineapples in the fields.  She wanted to spend time close to the plants as they grew, but the company did not approve.  They gave her a pineapple that had been picked, but that was not the same for O’Keeffe.  She next went to Maui where she spent time near a rainforest and waterfalls.  She painted what she wanted, when she wanted.  On the island of Hawaii, she saw volcanoes, rare red coral and lots of flowers. Finally, she went to Kauai and visited with the local artists as the air was filled with the scent of burning sugar.  But when she returned to the mainland, she didn’t have a single picture of a pineapple.  The company was upset, and so was O’Keeffe, who hated being told what to paint.  So how could they resolve this?

Novesky brings the Hawaiian island to lush life in this picture book.  Her words tell of the beauty and diversity of the islands.  They also show how the islands impacted the work of Georgia O’Keeffe.  The story is told on a level that children will enjoy, giving examples of what inspired O’Keefe to paint and what did not.  It is a strong story about how creativity and inspiration work.

Morales’ art is so lovely.  As she says in her illustrator’s note at the end of the book, she took inspiration for the illustrations not only from the twenty paintings that O’Keeffe created in Hawaii, but also from works throughout O’Keeffe’s lifetime.  The illustrations have something that I can’t put into words.  It’s a kinship or a closeness with the original work. 

This is a gorgeous and striking picture book about a dynamic, one-of-a-kind artist.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Just Behave Pablo Picasso! by Jonah Winter

| Tasha

JUST BEHAVE, PABLO PICASSO!

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Pablo Picasso started out painting just like everyone else, but when he started to paint his moods in colors, things started to change.  The gallery owners wanted more pictures in just the same style, and suddenly Picasso became wealthy and well know.  But Picasso was not interested in painting the same rose colored paintings again and again.  Instead, he becomes inspired by African masks and does a new painting that breaks all of the rules.  When it is unveiled, the reaction is strongly negative and it is called “ugly” by the critics.  When the entire world starts doubting him, Picasso works even harder, coming out with another painting that is the birth of modernism.  This book displays the strength needed to stay true to yourself all through the lens of the incredible Pablo Picasso.

Winter has not written a conventional picture book biography here.  Instead, he plays with the format.  He uses comic book techniques like BLAM! and has pages that range from just a sentence or two to ones that are lengthier and provide more information and insight into Picasso.  This biography is less about the details of his life and much more about his art and its inspiration and evolving style.  We learn nothing of his family, but much about his process and his drive.

Hawkes’ illustrations carry that same playful feeling forward.  He toys with perspective, enjoys depicting the close quarters in Paris with see-through walls.  It takes a certain amount of playfulness to take on a book about Picasso and not imitate his style in the illustrations.  Hawkes’ style remains true to himself, underlining the overall message of the book by doing so.

A creative and fun picture book biography about a vibrant and rebellious artist, this book should find a place in children’s nonfiction collections.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Dream Something Big by Dianna Hutts Aston

| Tasha

dream something big

Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Susan L. Roth

Told through the voice of a fictional child, this is a look at the building of the Watts Towers, a huge art piece that is outsider art and has been named a National Landmark.  Simon Rodia, called Uncle Simon in the book, built the towers from glass, pottery shards, seashells and a vision.  Each piece on the towers was selected by hand.  The book shows the careful selection and then the transformation from garbage to art.  This is about the artistic dream and the process more than the man himself.  Because the building of the towers took decades, the story shows the girl grown into a woman with her own children.  It is a story of an artist, his skill, and the strength and vision it took to make it happen.

Aston has written so simply here that her format speaks also to the simplicity yet complexity too of the art itself.  She writes in the first person, inviting people into the story.  As she explores the process of the art, it is broken into parts and becomes jewel like too.  These are small moments and decisions that contribute to the whole.  The moments of creation are exceptionally important to the feel of the entire book.  They are moments that are celebrated and savored.

Roth’s incredible collage illustrations also elevate this book.  They are bright, filled with motion, and there is a constant feel of confetti and celebration on the page.  The shards and small treasures slowly coalesce into the towers and the gates around them.  The art is so close to reality that when the final page is turned and one sees a photograph of the towers, there is no jilt to reality.  Roth captured the spirit of the art so completely that it just feels right to see the real work at that point.

This is a powerful picture book about the process and importance of art and the act of creation.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by:

Review: Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

| Tasha

page by paige

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Paige has just moved with her family to New York City.  She is having trouble relating to her mother and had to leave her best friend behind.  Now she has to find people in the big city who can understand her.  But before she can do that, she has to start to understand herself.  Is she the quiet girl or can she become an extroverted artist?  As Paige struggles to find herself and to find her voice as an artist, readers are treated to an extraordinary look at the process of art combined with the process of finding friends and love.

Gulledge has created a graphic novel where the visuals are powerful and speak volumes.  She turns the comic format into one that is strongly artistic and very visual.  Here we see the emotions of Paige brought to visual life from her self-doubts to her most self-aware.  Paige is a character that readers with artistic interests will relate to easily.  Her yearning to create combined with her doubts and worries make for a book with plenty to inspire other young artists to take the risk of creation.

Get this in the hands of tween and teen artists and step back.  A truly inspiring read.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Check out the trailer that gives a sense of the great art:

Review: Magic Trash by Jane Shapiro

| Tasha

magic trash

Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J. H. Shapiro, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

This is the life story of Tyree Guyton.  Tyree grew up in Detroit in a large family.  He was always picking up stray objects and creating things with them.  At age nine, Tyree decided he wanted to be an artist.  But as the years passed, he worked many jobs, none of them artistic.  When he returned back home, his street has changed from a bustling neighborhood into a stretch of dilapidated  houses.  So Tyree went to work, painting everything he could find.  Houses got polka dots, bright colors were everywhere, found objects were incorporated.  But not everyone loved Tyree’s work, they considered it garbage.  Houses were knocked down by the city, until finally after years, Tyree’s art was safe.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Heidelberg Project, certainly something to celebrate!

Shapiro has written this book with a sparkle and jazz that suits the subject.  Her storytelling is impressive as she creates moods that change from one page to the next as the story progresses.  She weaves in rhyming lines at times, adding to the distinctive feel of her words.

Brantley-Newton’s art is done in mixed media, incorporating found objects, torn pages filled with words, painting, pattern and texture.  Her art is bright, beautiful and vibrant.  Against the distinctive backgrounds, her characters stand out with great charm.

A look at street art that is part of the street, this book will be enjoyed by art teachers and budding young artists alike.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Charlesbridge.

Review: Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

| Tasha

drawing from memory

Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

Released September 1, 2011.

This is a captivating look at the life of Allen Say and his journey to become an illustrator.  It begins with his childhood in Yokohama, Japan which he had to flee when the bombings started in 1941.  As a child, his mother kept him safe at home and not out playing near the water.  He learned to read early and fell in love with comics, deciding at a young age to become an artist.  His father dismissed his dreams, wanting him to follow a more respectable path.  Say lived with his grandmother while he went to school until at age 12, he moved and lived alone in a rented apartment in Tokyo.  Following his dream, he approached the famous cartoonist, Noro Shinpei in the hopes of becoming his student.  Say found his sensei and a new father figure in his life.  Readers will discover the long hours, hard work, and talent that made Say the artist he is.

Say weaves photographs, drawings and paintings together into an extraordinary look at his life.  The text blends humor  with  brutal honesty about his family’s lack of support for his endeavors.  Always the book is optimistic, exploring the dedication that it takes to attain greatness.  It will serve as inspiration for young artists who may themselves be being ridiculed for their dreams.

More than a graphic novel, this is an autobiography told in images and words that is surprising, moving and luminous.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Also reviewed by

Book Review: Vincent van Gogh and the Colors of the Wind by Chiara Lossani

| Tasha

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Vincent van Gogh and the Colors of the Wind by Chiara Lossani, illustrated by Octavia Monaco

Based on Vincent van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo, this book explores how Van Gogh became one of the greatest painters.  Vincent is enthusiastic and always moving as a child.  When he got older, he became a preacher like his father but was fired from that job because he preached as much about art as Jesus.  Vincent then became a full-time painter, but everyone doubted this man who dressed like a scarecrow and wandered the fields.  Vincent discovers the Impressionists and finds friends among them, but his work suffers as he spends time in Paris and away from nature.  Vincent is finding his voice as an artist, creating paintings that are groundbreaking and surprising.  All with the support of Theo, his brother and best friend.

Lossani writes in prose here, but it flows like poetry.  She uses gorgeous imagery in her text, such as when she compares Gauguin and Van Gogh: “Can two volcanoes stand side by side without causing a calamity?”  Her prose has a modern feel, an artistic flow that works well with the subject matter.

Immediately upon seeing the cover of this picture book, you know it is something unique.  The illustrations have an energy to them.  Without imitating Van Gogh’s work, they somehow capture the feel, the flow, and the colors.  They are dynamic, modern and push the boundary of art being used in picture books for children.

This is a dynamic biographic picture book for children that will work well when used with elementary children in a classroom.  It is also one that would work well for families heading to an art museum.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by Fuse #8.

Me, Frida: Intensely Beautiful

| Tasha

Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, illustrated by David Diaz

2011 Pura Belpre Honor Book for Illustration

Opening this book is like opening a treasure box filled with images that are deep, fiery, passionate and intensely beautiful.  This is the story of Frida Kahlo and her travel to San Francisco alongside her husband, artist Diego Rivera.  Rivera was hired to paint a mural for the city, but Frida was restless as he started work on it.  As Rivera spent longer and longer hours working, Frida was left alone in a a foreign country and big city.  She didn’t speak much English and knew almost no one.  So Frida began to explore the city on her own, allowing the things she loved to be the focus.  And in the process, she found her own voice and her own artistic vision.  She was no longer silent, but instead a vivacious beauty who would show the world what she was capable of.

Told in simple words by Novesky, this book captures the situation Frida found herself in with clarity.  The author also revels in Frida finding herself and her art, her explorations and her self awareness.  It is a celebration of more than Frida Kahlo.  It is a celebration of women artists of all sorts.  Diaz’s illustrations are done in acrylic, charcoal and varnish on linen.  The combination of media give the illustrations an amazing depth of color that is beautifully saturated at times and light and airy at others.  Just the use of drips in the illustrations is beautifully done.  The drips become age, emotions and trees.  They add a wild beauty to the images that suits the subject well.

A beautiful picture book about an amazing artist, this was surely worthy of the Pura Belpre Honor Award.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.

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Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

| Tasha

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Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Dave the Potter was an outstanding artist, poet and potter whose influence is still evident in South Carolina pottery.  He lived in the 1800s and created his pottery with amazing skill, building enormous pots that could up to 40 gallons.  He was one of only two potters known to have the strength and skill to create such large pieces.  Dave was also a poet, inscribing his verse on his pottery, offering two lines of poetry and then a date.  His poems have the beauty and simplicity of Haiku and offer a unique perspective of a poet surviving in slavery.  This is a picture book that makes an important figure in history come alive, revealing his art and poetry for children. 

Hill has created a free verse of his own to tell the story of the life of Dave.  Hill’s verse is simple and striking, drawing together the connections between the simple ingredients of the clay and what it can become and the simple life of a slave and the wonder of what Dave created.  The poem leads children through the stages of making a pot from the gathering of the clay to the magic and work of creating pottery.  The book ends with more of Dave’s poetry as well as an author’s note and an illustrator’s note.  All of them speaking to the influence and importance of Dave the Potter.

Collier’s art work here is stunningly beautiful.  His watercolor and collage art speaks to the strength of Dave, the skill of his hands and the glory of his work.  The colors are rich and deep, filled with a warm earthiness that evokes pottery and clay. 

A radiant tribute to an artist, this picture book echoes the transcendent artist that Dave was.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.