One Keynote Speaker at the 17th annual Kutztown University Children’s Literature Conference is author Mara Rockliff. Mara will walk less than one block from her home on Walnut St. to campus. If you want to hear her talk, don’t knock on her door, come to the conference on April 18. Thanks to Firefly Bookstore, Kutztown’sContinue reading “Kid Lit Stars, near and far, coming to Kutztown”
Category Archives: illustration
Veronica Lawlor’s Way of Seeing
Veronica Lawlor is an artist who draws to document what she sees. When everyone carries a camera 24/7, why bother drawing? The new 1.5-micron pixel iphone is, according to Apple, “the world’s most popular camera.” Has the iphone replaced pen and ink and human hand? It is worth recalling Robert McCloskey’s observation, “Hands do playContinue reading “Veronica Lawlor’s Way of Seeing”
Steam-Powered Tinker, Chris Spollen
Chris Spollen is younger than me, but we both got our first illustration jobs for Crawdaddy. Crawdaddy was a NYC rock ‘n roll mag founded before Rolling Stone was born. Chris studied printmaking at Parson’s School of Design. His earliest published illustrations were etchings. With help from his mechanically-inclined brother Tom he built an etching press from the recycledContinue reading “Steam-Powered Tinker, Chris Spollen”
More Miracles of St. Patrick in Scranton, PA!
My grandpa Patrick McCloskey immigrated from Donegal, Ireland. I got the grand idea to have some fun with St. Patrick, the most sacred hero of the Island of Saints. Fortunately for me, the Irish, even religious fundamentalists, tend to have a sense of humor. St Patrick: The Lesser-Known Miracles will be exhibited at the AFA Gallery, Scranton, March 5-28. The prints willContinue reading “More Miracles of St. Patrick in Scranton, PA!”
Oaxaca Sketchbook 2015
The Hostel Don Nino gave us a welcoming reception of flautas, which are like fried enchiladas, guacamole, Oaxacan cheese and aqua de Jamaica. It is not easy to post from my ipad here, but I will share student drawings and post more when we return from our 17-day Oaxaca tour. 13 KU students and Prof.Continue reading “Oaxaca Sketchbook 2015”
Paeregrine’s Kickstarter Flies High
UPDATE: FUNDED at $1800, 3 times original goal! Frank Marsters is also known as “Paeregrine” and “Frank of Mars.” A Kutztown Communication Design grad, he is creating a full-color comic book based on his popular web comic Paeregrine.Cast. The comic book project is already funded via Kickstarter and heading toward new goals. I’m a backer.Continue reading “Paeregrine’s Kickstarter Flies High”
Hansel and Gretel and Lorenzo and Neil
Once upon a time, in 2007, The Metropolitan Opera staged Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. Françoise Mouly, art editor for The New Yorker, helped organize an exhibition at the opera house based on the fairy tale. Contributors included stellar New Yorker cover artists including Roz Chast, Jules Feiffer, Anita Kunz, Christoph Niemann, Gahan Wilson, and LorenzoContinue reading “Hansel and Gretel and Lorenzo and Neil”
Return of the CD Grads
C.D. stands for Communication Design. I say C.D. so often I forget it is jargon used at Kutztown U, not everywhere. One of our annual events is the David Bullock Return of the CD Grads. This year we have two Renaissance men coming to campus to share their art and design. If you are in KutztownContinue reading “Return of the CD Grads”
Believe It or Not: Illustrators can be Rich!
In 1930, in the depths of the Great Depression, the highest paid artist in America was a cartoonist. Robert Ripley earned $350,000 in 1931. Presidents of railroads earned less. Babe Ruth earned $80,000. The average American earned $1,850. King Features syndicated his Believe it Not cartoons to hundreds of newspapers. That contract alone was worthContinue reading “Believe It or Not: Illustrators can be Rich!”
Citizen 13660: It happened in the U.S.A
I picked up a sad old book for 50¢ at the Kutztown Library sale. The cover reminded me of Jean Charlot’s art. The pages were yellowed, torn in places, many illustrations were defaced with crude blue pencil marks. Even in this sorry state I found the book quite moving. Citizen 13660 is a graphicContinue reading “Citizen 13660: It happened in the U.S.A”
Illustration Concentration 