Exploring Chicago and Minnesota

I'm just returning to the studio after dynamic trips to Northern Minnesota and Chicago where I had the great opportunity to talk about books and participate in workshops with children.Thank you to all the librarians, teachers and students I met along the way.

I traveled 1000 miles by car from Duluth to Grand Rapids. I spoke in Mount Iron, Hibbing, Virginia, Babbitt and Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Imagine driving for miles on end without seeing another soul where wolves and moose run freely. I enjoyed connecting to students, talking about the process of making children's books and we had fun brainstorming ideas together. I wanted to share some of my photos documenting this land of 10,000 lakes.

The state's name comes from a Dakota word for "sky-tinted water". The forests, wild salmon swimming up river and vast wilderness areas will stick with me.

This was my second visit to the wonderful Harold Washington Library in Chicago and once again I enjoyed meeting the children and families who came in by bus each evening to talk about our shared love for books. It was a rainy day so I spent a very memorable day getting inspired at the incomparable Art Institute of Chicago.

The journey of creating books

Image from

Yum! MmMm! !Qué Rico!

by Pat Mora

Growing up in Mexico I learned to speak the language of color at a very early age.

No dar color is a popular expression that translates to an inability to give off color or emotion. For me color and texture is an expression of my identity, my heritage and
I've learned it is the most direct route to the emotions of children and families
who turn the pages of my books.
I live and work in two places: an industrial loft in downtown San Diego and in the 16th century colonial town of San Miguel de Allende in the heart of Mexico. My process begins by wandering the urban landscape of the city or winding cobblestone streets of my native country with a camera.

I work to catalogue the colors and rich textural history of well worn doors, and peeling paint. If you listen and look closely you can hear their stories in my work.

Image from

Book Fiesta

by Pat Mora

The skies, backgrounds, or the surface of the skin of an elephant in my books reveal secrets of places where I have been.

Image from my latest book:
The Cazuela that
the Farm Maiden Stirred by
Samantha Vamos.

I buy my vivid paints from a little tiendita in San Miguel and they come in big jars that look like they should hold pickles. There is no chromophobia in Mexico which makes it the ideal place to shop for the essential ingredients of my paintings. The force of these intense colors is like sampling authentic Mexican chile and I've learned to blend colors like salsa into different combinations to achieve the desired result.

Image from

Our California by

Pam Muñoz Ryan

For the past 20 years I've been painting on pieces of wood. There are tactile emotions associated with selecting just the right piece, hand sanding it and letting the grain speak to me.

When I receive a story I make word lists of key themes or search for poetic parts to post on my wall. I am fueled by the author's words but don't want to mirror the text verbatim. For this reason I have always searched for symbols to represent the emotions or spirit of the text. A favorite quote by Marcus Aurelius says, "the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts." In My Name is Celia the bird is a metaphor for joy.

Image from

My Name is Celia

by Monica Brown

I'm lucky to live close to the library and like to search for books or use the internet to research subjects for my art. On walks I gather rocks, shells, leaves and document found objects and textures that inspire me then bring them into my studio.

I make mood boards for my books and these collages help me to channel the right spirit for my paintings. I'm looking for more than a visual likeness of my subjects but explore patterns, decorations, clothing or the way an animal moves, a person dances or makes music like Tito beating his timbales.

I wanted to share some of my process by showing you the evolution of a painting from my upcoming book My Name is Tito by Monica Brown. Character development is essential and it all begins with sketching to get the right spirit for each person, animal and object. To get it right you have to make boatloads of sketches and put pencil to paper. I am passionate about travel and am inspired by indigenous groups because they synthesize the important traits of living things in a simple, direct way. I believe everything has a personality if you work to find it. I want to communicate on that magical level as it will speak to children in a clear voice and capture their imagination.

I start with gestural sketches to make major decisions about where elements should go. In this phase of drawing I consider the direction of things and use arrows and scale to create a focal point. Then I refine my drawings to evolve the character using references on my mood board to create details.

I always make a miniature book with all my drawings as I want to see the flow of the story and look for inconsistencies in the visual storytelling.

The next step is to prepare my boards with a surface that will receive the carbon and this is how I transfer my sketches from tracing tissue to the wooden boards.

I like to mask things with tape so I can paint selected areas of my composition.

Surrounded by the photographic references of colors and textures I've explored I apply colors to the board randomly and in an intuitive way. I then use spatulas, pottery tools, shells and twigs to scrape the wood and reveal secrets of the surface texture. I keep painting with a variety of brushes to bring in the details and bring visual flavor, color and texture to the story.

Image from an upcoming book

My Name is Tito

by Monica Brown

Please click here to read more.

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred

With the help of her animal friends, a farm maiden begins to cook.

The goat lends some butter; the cow, fresh milk; the chicken, a few eggs—all for a pot of rice pudding. Inspired by "The House that Jack Built," Vamos offers a fresh, new twist, playfully introducing Spanish into this cumulative tale. The pot becomes the cazuela; the goat, the cabra; the butter, the matequilla; and so forth, until the text is bursting with bilingual energy. With each repetition, the momentum builds and bubbles until it reaches a boiling frenzy. Vamos then skillfully ties it all together, as each animal's Spanish name and accompanying ingredient is reiterated in a simple phrase—allowing readers to recall their meaning and relationship to the rice pudding. A party ensues, and all return to the cazuela to give thanks and share in their communal creation. López's artwork, with its desert palette punctuated by brilliant primary colors and its graphic, hard edges, suggestive of folk art, is a perfect match. His sophisticated, multilayered textures create depth, give form and work together to create an image that's easily readable, humorous and harmonious. Complete with an arroz con leche recipe and glossary of Spanish words, this thoughtful work will appeal to both Spanish speakers and learners.

A wonderful read-aloud, filled with merriment and conviviality. (Picture book. 4-7)
Kirkus Reviews

I'm excited to report the release of The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred written by the inspiring Samantha Vamos. It's a great feeling to see our book hit the shelves as the process of bringing a book to print is a long journey. I wanted to share some of the sketches for this lively and colorful tale as everything starts with pencil on paper.

Click here to read more about the birth of The Cazuela.
Thanks to amazing author Samantha Vamos for putting together this short video to celebrate our new book.

















Please click older posts to keep on reading about some of the children's books I've been making.

Latin Music Legends Stamps & Books

As the New Year approaches I've been reflecting on the fun I've had working on children's books and thinking small. In my opinion, great things do indeed come in small packages.

After almost two years work I'm thrilled to unveil five new stamps I have created for the United States Postal Service celebrating Latin Music Legends that will be available in March 2011. They honor incomparable musicians and performers of the Latin sound whose contributions continue to greatly impact world music. In alphabetical order they are; Celia Cruz, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente and Selena. Their distinctive styles embrace a diverse range of musical genres including salsa, tango, samba, Latin jazz and tejano. It's all about the music so select their names above to view these Latin music legends in action.

I am passionate about Latin music as it has fueled my work for decades. As a child growing up in Mexico City I was lucky to study guitar and South American instruments like the quena and cuatro with Folklorista Gerardo Tamez. My uncle had a musical radio program at UNAM that introduced folk and protest music from Latin America. I grew up in a household where my architect parents constantly played instruments and sang music. We were always dancing and I can't bring myself to paint without music.

What an honor it is for me to tell you more about these extraordinary legends and the process of creating stamps to celebrate their contributions. I'm proud of Latin music because it is essential in communicating the spirit of our culture. I have to agree that Latinos are born with rhythm. These five dynamic individuals continue to inspire future generations of musicians. I hoped to paint portraits that would resonate for their families and fans. I felt compelled to give it all I had as an artist to communicate the essence of these legends, their spirit, style and sound.

Celia Cruz stamp, mood board with imagery and sketch

CELIA CRUZ

¡Azucar! What made Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa so unique?

I wanted to celebrate that electrifying voice, those elaborate wigs, flamboyant costumes and dazzling smile that made you feel like you were part of her family. Her powerful contralto voice, dance energy and charismatic personality endeared her to fans from different nationalities and generations. A musical artist who knew no boundaries. She broke down economic, gender and racial barriers with her authentic humanity and mesmerizing vocal style.

Carlos Gardel stamp, sketch and a classic photo

CARLOS GARDEL

With his movie star looks and superb baritone voice, he was the first great singer of tango and remains an icon in Argentina, France and Uruguay. A magnetic stage presence he mesmerized audiences with his charm and dapper attire. Gardel's music has always fascinated me and I posed a model with my own guitar to get the right stamp composition. His nickname El Zorzal Criollo translates to the Creole Thrush. Listening to his music, I envisioned a smoky boliche and saw cool shades of blue as his incomparable voice evoked nostalgia and a longing for something lost.

Carmen Miranda stamp, photograph and preliminary sketch

CARMEN MIRANDA

The glamorous Portuguese born-Brazilian Bombshell samba singer who went on to become a film legend captivated audiences with her Latin charm and dazzling persona. Her remarkable film, stage and radio career and exotic signature outfit challenged me. I had to make it all fit in a way that would match the proportions of the other Latin Music Legend compositions. I tried to showcase her mischievous, playful and coquettish beauty in a classic Hollywood pose that tipped it's hat to her contributions in music and film.

Tito Puente stamp, mood board imagery and alternative sketch

TITO PUENTE

A musical pioneer this bandleader, percussionist, and composer fused Latin music with jazz and mixed Latin sounds with other musical styles. I was fortunate enough to see Tito performing live on the streets of San Diego. I was about 20 feet away and the raw energy and pure octane power he exuded was sensational. I wanted to capture in red the angular rhythms of Tito playing his timbales in the stamp's background. I'm currently working on a new book My Name is Tito about El Rey and can't wait to introduce this music legend to children.

Selena stamp and two sketches exploring composition

SELENA

The Queen of Tejano I wanted to showcase her vibrant beauty. As an artist I was challenged by her love of fashion and style as Selena frequently changed hairstyles and clothing. After exploring many directions I became convinced that a photo provided by her family most closely communicated her essence. I worked to create a relationship between her hair and the background swirls to pay tribute to her sensual costumes and dance moves. I sincerely appreciated hearing from Suzette Quintanilla who saw the stamp portrait before release and felt I had captured her sister's charismatic spirit.

HOW STAMPS BEGIN AND MY PROCESS

The Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee meets several times a year to look over many suggestions for stamp subjects. These ideas come for committee members, stamp collectors, postal officials and the general public. Once approved each job is assigned to an art director who selects an artist whose style and technique they believe can deliver the essence of a subject and meet the challenge of communicating at postage stamp size.

The Let's Dance: Merengue stamp and Mendez v. Westminster stamp

In 2009 I was approached by an exceptional art director, Ethel Kessler whose clients include the United States Postal Service. We had worked together previously in 2005 creating the Merengue Latin Dance stamp and the Mendez v. Westminster stamp in 2007. A year later I painted a poster to help win the Latino vote for then candidate Barack Obama and the style of that portrait resonated for the U.S.P.S. giving me the chance to work on this project.

Talk about connections, my very first children's book My Name is Celia about Celia Cruz opened the door for me to create books for children. I'm currently working on paintings for a new book My Name is Tito to be released in 2013 on the anniversary of his 90th birthday. I was excited to immerse myself once again into their lives and music and began to conduct extensive research into Selena, Carlos Gardel and Carmen Miranda. I tried to get inside the details of their lives by reading biographies and articles, watching films, looking at images and above all playing their music nice and loud.

Sketching for an upcoming children's book My Name is Tito and cover of My Name is Celia both written by Monica Brown

As an artist I tried to find the emotional qualities that described them and created mood boards with imagery, colors and textures to illuminate the path these paintings should take and develop a visual language. I poured over hundreds of images and worked to channel the spirit of their music into my sketches. I choose to not directly use any one image but reference still photography and video footage to synthesize information and get to the essence of a portrait. I stylized the images with the hope that people would see them and hear their music. Working closely with the art director I decided to show each musical artist in the period of time we thought people would remember them most. It's got to reduce well, not fill in or lose parts and communicate at the size of your thumb.

I then begin to sketch and it all begins with a pencil on paper. Talk about pressure. I was constantly aware that each stamp design had to be approved by committee, genuinely resonate with families and connect to fans. I gave it my best shot painting each portrait on a piece of sanded wood about 15 inches tall by 9 inches wide. I selected the wood carefully looking for the right texture to add character to the images. The process of sanding takes time and I like to think with patience the grain speaks to me. I buy my acrylic paints in large jars at a small tiendita in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. These paints are bold just like Celia, Carlos, Carmen, Tito and Selena and for me authentic Latino color is all about orgullo!

One last thing, these are forever stamps making them as timeless as the Latin Music Legends who inspired them.

Special thanks to Roy A. Betts of the U.S.P.S. for the high resolution stamp images.