Kids' books, politicians, and go-go girls, just another night in the city
posted:
Last week I attended an opening at the Society of Illustrators for The Original Art Show, an exhibit of original art from children's books. The show is juried by authors, editors, and illustrators in the kids' book field. My recent book, Oye Celia, was selected for the exhibit.
Each artist in the show gets to pick one image to represent their book. This is the spread from my book that's in the exhibit. The show runs through November 21.
I first went to The Original Art show back in 2002 when my first kid's book was selected. There are a lot of shows at SI, but I never see as big a turnout as I see for the Original Art show. The crowd is also very enthusiastic and excited about the work. Most of the people attending are book publishers, book editors, and art directors from all the different publishing houses. Steven Guarnaccia was there and we got to talking about the differences between editorial and kid's books. We got the sense that picture book editors have a real appreciation for illustrators. They truly rely on artists to make their books come together. As opposed to editorial or advertising, photography is not an option. This makes the illustrator a very valuable part of the entire team.
These are my literary agents over at Pippin Properties. Emily Van Beek, Holly McGhee, and Samantha Cosentino. They're GREEEAT! I've been with Pippin Properties since it's inception, they give wonderful feedback on the projects I'm working on. Oh, and Emily is a very good dancer. Hi Emily! One of Pippin's artists, Tae-Eun Yoo, received the founder's award at the show for her book The Little Red Fish
After the opening, my friend Raúl Colón invited me out for drinks with his Simon and Schuster crew. Raúl had three of his books selected for the exhibit. I think he illustrated five books last year, the guy is a machine! His New Yorker covers are also terrific. Thanks to the Simon and Schuster folks for having me.
THEN, Raul and I walked towards Grand Central Station, down Park Avenue, and bumped into David Dinkins in front of the Waldorf Astoria.....
THEN, we bumped into Elliott Spitzer, the governor of the state of New York. This guy needs better security, I think....
THEN, I went downtown to a party that the folks at the illustration site, altpick.com, were having. Free drinks, hot dogs, and go-go girls.
