{"id":2264,"date":"2012-11-21T07:00:59","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/?p=2264"},"modified":"2012-09-11T14:19:23","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T20:19:23","slug":"interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Best Selling author and illustrator Michael Garland\u2019s greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Garland\u2019s Miss Smith\u2019s Incredible Storybook <\/em>recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is author and illustrator of thirty children\u2019s picture books and illustrator for more than forty books by other authors.<\/h5>\n
His work has won many honors and is frequently included in the Society of Illustrators and the Original Art of Children’s book show as well annuals from Print, Graphis and Communications Arts magazines. Recently, Michael Garland was included on the list of the top one hundred Irish Americans by Irish American Magazine.<\/h5>\n
You can learn more about Michael Garland by visiting his web site. http:\/\/www.garlandpicturebooks.com<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n

Q: When did you get started illustrating for children? What did you do before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I started illustrating professionally in nineteen seventy-four. Right from the start, some of the work was for children. The first picture book I illustrated was my first book as an author, My Cousin Katie <\/em>1989.<\/p>\n

Q: You had 2 books come out in 2012. Miss Smith and the Haunted Library<\/em> and Fish Had\u00a0 Wish.<\/em> Please tell us a little bit about the illustrations behind them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Miss Smith Under<\/em> the Ocean <\/em>is part of the Miss Smith\u2019s Incredible Storybook <\/em>series from Dutton.\u00a0 The story references many of the famous literary characters whose stories revolve around the sea. They are portrayed in a lighthearted, fun way. so they are easily accessible for children.<\/p>\n

Fish Had a Wish<\/em> is an easy reader from Holiday House\u2018s I Like to Read series. I love the simple story that a fish gets bored with being himself. The illustrations were a new style for me. They were done digitally, but meant to evoke the look of a traditional woodcut.<\/p>\n

The book received a Star Review from PW and went into a second printing immediately.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Q: Do you have another book planned? Anything you can share with us about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Yes, I do have a few other books in the pipeline in varying stages of completion.<\/p>\n

Car Goes Far is another I Like to Read book from Holiday House It will be out next spring. It\u2019s the story of a car that sets out on a journey.<\/p>\n

Q: Have you worked on any other children\u2019s books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I\u2019ve lost tract of the exact numbers, but I think I just turned in my thirtieth book as author and illustrator. I illustrated well over fifty books for other authors. I illustrated books for celebrity authors like James Patterson and Gloria Estefan. It\u2019s fun because their books tend to get on TV and reach a much wider audience. My pictures for James Patterson\u2019s SantaKid<\/em> were the inspiration for the New York Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas window display. It\u2019s wonderful to see millions of people file by for a look at the windows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Q: A 2011 release, Grandpa\u2019s Tractor<\/em>, was selected for the 2012 Original Art of Children’s books by the Society of Illustrators. Did you know the book was under consideration? This is a huge accolade, how does it feel to be chosen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Yes, I was thrilled to have Grandpa\u2019s Tractor chosen for the Original Art of Children\u2019s Book Show at the Society of Illustrators.<\/p>\n

The story of Grandpa\u2019s Tractor<\/em> was inspired by a rusty old Farmall tractor that is stuck into a hillside near our home. I thought this book was perfect for Boyds Mills Press. Kent Brown, the publisher is a country gentlemen farmer and he knows tractors. My editor, Larry Rosler and my art director, Tim Gillner are both a pleasure to work with. The book also won the Nebraska Agricultural Award, so all around this book has been great experience.<\/p>\n

Q: What are you working on now? Do you have any other art projects you\u2019d like to talk about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I just finished a funny book called Homework?<\/em> for Scholastic.\u00a0 <\/em>The story is about a boy and his missing homework. <\/em>I am an adjunct professor at Mount Saint Mary\u2019s and Marist Colleges. The many creative excuses for missing homework from my students were the inspiration for this book.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you do non-children\u2019s book art or art just for fun? Is that art similar or different from your children\u2019s book art?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I have occasionally licensed my art.<\/p>\n

I also have a separate artistic identity as a gallery painter. You can visit my other fine art web site. http:\/\/www.michaelgarlandfineart.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Q: When illustrating children\u2019s books do you include a visual storyline not mentioned by the text or include animals or people you know?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: When I conceive a picture book, the story and the pictures come to me at once, but every book has to have the solid structure of a beginning, middle and end, storyline.<\/p>\n

A picture book is a fifty-fifty creative collaboration between picture and text. They should seamlessly complement each for the best effect.<\/p>\n

Q: Can you explain your art process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: An idea for a story can come to me at anytime. It can be inspired by something specific like an event or a place or a word or a phrase. I usually let the concept germinate for a while as I contemplate the storyline, imagining pictures all the while. When I think I have a handle on the plot, I sit down at my computer and write a first draft in a standard thirty-two page format with simple, child digestible text. Sometimes it flows very easily, sometimes not. Writing is about rewriting. I keep at it until satisfied with the result.<\/p>\n

The next step is to put on my illustrator hat and block out the book in spreads. I employ quick, extremely fast sketches to arrange picture and text in an aesthetically pleasing layout. The next step: is to redrawn and refine the crude sketches and scan them into a layout. I do a full color cover and maybe one other color spread. Everything is included as a book proposal that is then sent to the appropriate publishing company.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Q: Do you have a favorite color or palette?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: No, the content of the story dictates the composition and the color palette of each illustration. I like to vary my palette as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Q: What is your favorite medium to work in? Have you always worked in this media? If not, why did you switch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: For my illustrations, I like to work digitally because that allows me the most flexibility and creativity.\u00a0 When I am working on my gallery paintings, I use oils.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you use models\/source pictures or do you draw from your memory\/imagination?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: When I started my career, I would gather as much photo research as possible. I would hire, pose and shoot models for my illustrations very much like Norman Rockwell\u2019s method. As I became more exclusively, a picture book author and illustrator, I transitioned to a \u201cdirect from imagination drawing style.\u201d\u00a0 I still do research for objects and places but I don\u2019t draw directly from source material any more.<\/p>\n

Q: If you could be anything other than an artist, what would you be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I would like to be a professional golfer, all I lack, is the skill and talent.<\/p>\n

Q: What gets you through an illustration when you\u2019re stuck for inspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: If I\u2019m having trouble with an illustration from a picture book, I put that one aside and work on another. By the time I return to the first picture, I seem to have worked out the problems or I will have devised a whole new approach.<\/p>\n

Q: What book do you remember from when you were young?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I remember a large format book Bambi book from Walt Disney, Golden Books and Ferdinand the Bull by Monroe Leaf with drawings by Monroe Lawson.<\/p>\n

Q: Is there a children\u2019s book illustrator whose work you gravitate towards in the bookstore now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Oddly enough, I almost never look at other illustrators work in bookstores. There are so many wonderfully contemporary illustrators, I wouldn\u2019t know where to begin.<\/p>\n

The artists I\u2019ve always admired are the ones I still admire today, NC Wyeth, Rockwell Kent, Maxfield Parrish and Rockwell Kent to name a few.<\/p>\n

Q: If you could illustrate any writer\u2019s new work, who would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always enjoyed John Updike\u2019s writing, so if a manuscript was discovered in his estate that would be a dream job for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Selling author and illustrator Michael Garland\u2019s greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Garland\u2019s Miss Smith\u2019s Incredible Storybook recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is author and illustrator of thirty children\u2019s picture books and illustrator for more than forty books by other authors. His work has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[168],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Best Selling author and illustrator Michael Garland\u2019s greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Garland\u2019s Miss Smith\u2019s Incredible Storybook recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is author and illustrator of thirty children\u2019s picture books and illustrator for more than forty books by other authors. His work has […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-21T13:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-11T20:19:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Michael-Garland.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wendy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Wendy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/\",\"name\":\"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-21T13:00:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-11T20:19:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a0e7133317920237c29d9a32a42e7b69\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Blogging the artist's life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a0e7133317920237c29d9a32a42e7b69\",\"name\":\"Wendy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a8a1f57c6c905bc889354eb29668af?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a8a1f57c6c905bc889354eb29668af?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Wendy\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -","og_description":"Best Selling author and illustrator Michael Garland\u2019s greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Garland\u2019s Miss Smith\u2019s Incredible Storybook recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is author and illustrator of thirty children\u2019s picture books and illustrator for more than forty books by other authors. His work has […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/","article_published_time":"2012-11-21T13:00:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-09-11T20:19:23+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Michael-Garland.jpg"}],"author":"Wendy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Wendy","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/","name":"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-21T13:00:59+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-11T20:19:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a0e7133317920237c29d9a32a42e7b69"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/interview-with-childrens-book-illustrator-michael-garland\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Interview with Children\u2019s Book Author\/Illustrator \u2013 Michael Garland"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/","name":"","description":"Blogging the artist's life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a0e7133317920237c29d9a32a42e7b69","name":"Wendy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a8a1f57c6c905bc889354eb29668af?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a8a1f57c6c905bc889354eb29668af?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Wendy"},"url":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p28UBD-Aw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2264"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2266,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264\/revisions\/2266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendymartinillustration.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}