Meet Author/Illustrator Rebecca Lindsey

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Rebecca Lindsey, a children's author who is also a book illustrator as well as an elementary school teacher. Rebecca's going to share how she does both.

First, a bit about Rebecca:

I am a children's book writer/illustrator with Beau Coup Publishing and a full time elementary school teacher.  I live in West Virginia with my husband and two cats who play an important role in my books.

Why did you pick to write books for children?

I've always loved to draw and paint and with children's books. I get to illustrate my own books which is something I've always wanted to be able to accomplish.

For all those budding artists out there, how did you get started illustrating books?

I never thought I would ever have a children's book out in the world. I wrote my first book for a contest but never won. A couple years later, I met an author who was looking into opening up her own publishing company and was looking for other authors. She and I talked, and I showed her my work and before I knew it, I had a publishing contract. It was just a freak time where I was in the right place at the right time.

Which medium do you prefer to work with: pen, pencil, chalk, pastel, oil, and why?

I love to use a combination of all different types of mediums when I create a drawing. I always use pencil to sketch out my drawing and then add a mixture of acrylic, chalk and oil pastels. I love acrylics because they easily blend together. Chalk and pastels allow to me add different shading to my image and the pastels are easily blended in. My illustrations however are created all digitally. I have a drawing tablet and I use a drawing program called Corel Painter  X3. I still prefer to use acrylic, pastels and chalk but I love adding watercolor and using all the tools that are available.

What types of books do you like to read?

Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance are my two favorite genres, but while working at Beau Coup, I've been introduced to so many wonderful authors and their writing talents. So now I can add Fantasy Adventure, Science Fiction, and Paranormal Romance to my list.

When you are not writing/illustrating, what do you like to do?

I love to draw and paint any chance I get. When I get time, I really want to learn some new techniques and branch out to new mediums and tools. I love music and enjoy singing right along with the artist, although I don't think my cats like me singing as much as I do. I am an avid reader and read many different genres. My husband and I enjoy being outdoors any chance we get.

Explain for readers the importance of collaboration between authors and illustrators.

I have illustrated three of my own books, and currently I'm working on my very first illustrating job with another author. Collaboration is so important because when the author wrote this book, they may have a specific way it looked in their minds which could be totally different from the image I get when I read it. It's important to try to get the images to represent what the author wanted and, if there is another way, then a decision can be made later about which way looks best.

How important is it for illustrators to read the manuscript first?

For me, I wouldn't be able to create the images without reading the manuscript first. In fact, I go back throughout the story several times when creating the illustrations. It's important to match the image to represent what is going on in that story to help make it come to life.

Once you & the author have decided on how the illustration should look, describe the creation process of one illustration.

I will often create three or more drawings for one illustration before I choose the one I like the best. I find myself adding things or changing colors, backgrounds, etc. Then I will send them to the author or friends of mine who I trust to give me their feedback.

Tell us about World of Color & Imagination Destination, the illustrations you've shared, & how the stories came to be.

The tiger illustration is from my book World of Color and the pirate illustration is out of my book Imagination Destination. Both drawings were created digitally, and I used a combination of mediums: acrylic, watercolor and pencil.

For World of Color, I want my readers to recognize that our world is full of beauty. That's what makes us different, and it's okay to be different.  If everything and everybody were the same, our world would not be as wonderful as it is.
 

For Imagination Destination, I want to inspire my readers to want to get up, go outside, and use their imagination to create their very own world. The possibilities are endless as to where they could go.





Have you written/illustrated other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Bullies? No Worries! was just released in May 2015. Currently, I'm working on the illustrations for another author's children book which is coming along nicely.

Besides book illustrations, what other types of art do you create?

I enjoy painting on slate rock. I've also been getting into canvas lately. However, I don't have a lot of extra free time to paint as much as I would like to. I would love to take an art class and experiment with different paints and techniques.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to pursue a career in illustrating books?

I am new to this part of my life. I'm learning as I go, but I've been told by many that joining an organization such as the SCBWB (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators) can be a very beneficial and worth the money. I plan on joining this year. Also, if this is something you truly love doing, then don't give up even when things are not working out like you hoped. If you are able to get your artwork out in the world and are proud of what you accomplished, that's all that matters.

What advice do you have for other authors?

If it is something you really want to do, then never give up. Don't listen to yourself and give up when things look down. Don't listen to the ones who say it's not worth your time. If you have a story to tell, then tell it. If you're happy with it, that's all that matters.

Anything else you want readers to know?

I hope you find my stories fun, silly, entertaining but yet with a great message. I feel privileged to have been given the chance to share my stories with you. I am so very grateful for you, the reader, because it's you that helps inspire me to keep writing and illustrating.


Where can readers find you and your books?

Amazon Author page

Twitter
They can be found at Amazon.com  World of Color is an interactive e-book and will be available in paperback soon.  Imagination Destination can be found in both e-book and paperback formats.

Meet Children's Book Illustrator Miriam Nerlove

Today we have a special treat. Illustrator Miriam Nerlove joins us to talk about what it takes to be an illustrator. Her newest project is Greenhorn written by Anna Olswanger. A few of Miriam's illustrations for Greenhorn are sprinkled throughout her interview. By the way, Miriam also writes and illustrates her own children's books.

Miriam, tell us a bit about yourself:

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but have lived in many places. I graduated from Oberlin College and went on to get a masters in printmaking from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. While living in New York, I worked in the Photograph and Slide library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (I always wanted to work there because of the E. L. Konigsburg book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler), and I did editorial illustrations for various publications, including magazines and newspapers such as Barron's and the Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly.

After taking an evening illustration course at Parsons with the wonderful children's book author and illustrator Jacquie Hann, I was able to get my first picture book with Margaret K. McElderry, who was at Atheneum at the time. The book, I Made a Mistake, was based on a children's jump rope rhyme, and I remember the confusion in people's faces when I mentioned the name of my first book. "I Made a Mistake!" I would say.

Which medium do you prefer to work with: pen, pencil, chalk, pastel, oil, watercolor and why?

When I first started drawing and illustrating, I was enamored with pen and ink, which was the perfect medium for cartooning and working on editorial illustrations for newspapers. But as I got more into children's books, I phased out of ink and began working in pencil and watercolor. I loved painting in oils when I was in college, but with my children and space situation, watercolor has been the easiest medium for me to get into, and I fell in love with it. It is a luminous medium, and a lot more forgiving than people realize.

For all those budding artists out there, how did you get started illustrating books?

As I mentioned above, that illustration course with Jacquie Hann was key. Also, I was living in Brooklyn at the time, and my landlord was an aspiring children's book illustrator with a very different style of artwork than mine. I remember we each had a list of the publishers we wanted to show our portfolios to, and after a while we noticed that art directors who liked Catherine's work were not so keen on my work, and vice-versa. One day Catherine told me I should try showing Margaret McElderry my work, as her feedback had been lukewarm.

I remember taking the subway and reaching Margaret's office, which was this cozy and inviting room filled with books and a soft, comfortable couch. Margaret herself was a delightful, incredible woman—no nonsense but warm and brilliant. She "put me through the test" by telling me to go home and work on the jump rope rhyme project I had worked on with Jacquie at Parsons. "See if you can write enough additional rhymes to make a book," I remember  her saying. And so I did. There were many revisions, along with the additional "test" of seeing if I could handle doing my own color separations for the book—something many people nowadays don't know about with all the technologies for color printing.

A couple of things I learned from these experiences that I hold dear are:

a) Don't get discouraged if an art director or editor rejects your work—I always remember how Catherine, whose work was marvelous, and I got very different responses. People (and that's what editors and art directors are, after all) have different tastes. And this extends to good and bad reviews as well, by the way.

b) If an editor or art director gives you feedback that encourages you to revise, to change something for a project they show some interest in, do it! That's what I call a "good rejection"...when there's feedback in the form of suggestions that can turn into inspiration.

Explain for readers the importance of collaboration between authors and illustrators.

I think the collaboration between authors and illustrators depends very much on how the project is handled. In many, and perhaps most cases, the artist and author are kept apart. "Too many cooks stirring the pot," was the expression I always heard. The author would work on the manuscript with the editor until it was completed, and then the story was presented to the artist, who would work mainly with the art director.

However, in some cases an author and artist are able to work together, and thanks to Suzanne La Rosa of NewSouth books, I was able to collaborate with Anna on Greenhorn. This turned out wonderfully for me, as Anna's knowledge and sensitivity, her care for what she had written, significantly deepened what I was able to put into the illustrations.

How important is it for illustrators to read the manuscript first?

Very important. Read and reread the manuscript to absorb it as much as possible, and the illustrations will benefit by this.

If an illustrator is reading the manuscript to decide whether or not they feel like a good fit for the story, then that is another matter.

Once you have decided on what the illustrations should look like, describe for us the creation process of one illustration.

In the case of Greenhorn, where Anna and I were able to work together, I would do an illustration, which consisted of sketching and then painting a scene. The sequence of scenes had already been decided upon with the editor Suzanne, but the key to making sure the paintings were accurate and true to character in their depictions was very much achieved with Anna's thoughtful suggestions. Sometimes I would "tweak" an illustration I had already done; other times I would do the entire picture over. It's not the most efficient way to work, but it suits me.


 

Besides book illustrations, what other types of art do you create?

In the past I did some greeting cards for Recycled Paper Products in Chicago. Mostly I enjoy painting and writing for various projects I set up for myself.

When you are not working, what types of activities do you enjoy?

I live just outside of Chicago with and near my family, and I love being with them. I work part-time at a library, which provides me with lots of material for inspiration. I also read, swim and play piano every day.

Long ago I wanted to be a jazz pianist, and I remember late one night when I was living in New York, a friend and I went into a piano bar in midtown Manhattan. It was deserted except for a few elderly men sitting at the bar. I don't remember how it happened, but I found myself playing the piano for them. Oh how exhilarating it was! But then, my "audience" was quite drunk and probably slightly deaf, which most likely was the only reason I was able to play and to also have people clap. For years I've enjoyed playing for myself, and I always have music on when I'm painting.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to pursue a career in illustrating books?

I brought up the incident of my playing piano in the bar to make the point that there is a delicate balance in knowing whether one has the talent to "make it" or not in an arts field. I knew from my experiences around incredible musicians while I was at Oberlin, that even though I loved playing the piano and thought I was pretty good at it, I didn't have the talent or drive to do what it would take to become a professional musician. Feedback on my artwork and writing had always been more encouraging, starting with work I did for my high school newspaper and yearbook. But when I got to Pratt I was overwhelmed by the talent I saw, and I realized the only way to make myself stand out and perhaps "get the work," such as a magazine assignment or a book, was to be persistent and reliable.

The work I did for the Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly was a training ground, in the sense that I would pick up my assignment after work on a Tuesday afternoon, (this was in the 1980s, in the days before computers and e-mail), read the article and make the drawing that night. Then I would drop the artwork off the next day either before or after I headed back up to the museum. Sometimes the work would be rejected and I would have to do it all over again, only even faster. It was hectic and stressful, but I loved it, and it helped me to become more efficient and to approach deadlines with less fear. I also learned how to collaborate with and for an editor, to listen to the ideas of someone I respected, and to try and incorporate their suggestions into my work. All ingredients, I believe, in working as an illustrator for children's books.

As for the idea of balance, I do believe that loving what you do is the first priority for anyone who wants to pursue a career in the arts. I think talent in the visual arts is not as easily defined as it might be with writing or music, just because the definition of what makes "good art" might have a broader range? Having said that, the balance I speak of is learning how to work for oneself as well as for others. During years where I had no book project to work on, I still made the time to draw and paint, if only to keep learning and growing--and, most importantly, because I loved and love it. If the only validation for my artwork came from the outside, then I would've stopped painting a long time ago. And it's the same with my piano-playing. Even if my daughters beg me to stop, I wait until the house is empty and I play to my heart's content. It might send my husband to the basement and the dogs running under the bed, but I do it for myself first; I do it because I love it.

And now, a peek at Greenhorn:

In Anna Olswanger’s Greenhorn, a young Holocaust survivor arrives at a New York yeshiva in 1946 where he will study and live. His only possession is a small box that he never lets out of his sight. Daniel, the young survivor, rarely talks, but the narrator, a stutterer who bears the taunts of the other boys, comes to consider Daniel his friend.

The mystery of what’s in the box propels this short work, but it’s the complex relationships of the school boys that reveals the human story. In the end, Aaron, the stutterer, finds his voice and a friend in Daniel, and their bond offers hope for a future life of dreams realized, one in which Daniel is able to let go of his box. Greenhorn is a powerful story that gives human dimension to the Holocaust. It poignantly underscores our flawed humanity and speaks to the healing value of friendship. Families will want to read Greenhorn together.


A special thanks to Anna Olswanger for suggesting Carpinello's Writing Pages interview Miriam.

Links:

Amazon Greenhorn

B & N Greenhorn

For a list of books Miriam has written and illustrated, go to Goodreads.

Learn more about Anna Olswanger