In this interview clip Maurice Sendak speaks as eloquently as you’ll hear on the roles of the children’s book illustrator and children’s book illustration.
It’s from the DVD “There’s a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak: A Retrospective in Words and Pictures” produced by the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia.
According to the press copy, the DVD “explores the masterful storytellers extraordinary career through his own words as the author talks about his favorite characters and the many influences and settings of his richest stories. Get the DVD at www.rosenbach.org.”
Sendak, author-illustrator of more than 100 books, selected the museum to be the sole permanent repository of his artwork more than 30 years ago. The museum is said to contain 10,000 preliminary sketches as well as final drawings and Sendak’s original manuscripts.
Listen to the two Terry Gross interviews with Sendak on NPR’s Fresh Air. He really is full of perception.
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Is there a “magic secret” to drawing?
Yes, and I’m giving it away in the latest promotion for my online course on drawing and painting for children’s book illustration, Make Your Splashes Make Your Marks.
The “secret” is the “gesture drawing” of a special kind pioneered by Kimon Nicolaides in the early 20th century. I explain why I feel this way and present my take on the “Nicolaides approach” in five short videos and a PDF lesson taken from the Make Your Splashes course. Sign up at this “drawing secret” page to access.
