Welcome to my
monthly interview feature! I’m so excited to be interviewing all the fabulous
artists, illustrators and designers I’ve meet over the years (both personally
and virtually!) and sharing their artwork and experiences here on Bird Meets
Worm. Look for a new interview on the first Tuesday of every month.
This
month I’m pleased as punch to be catching up with the delightfully talented
Illustrator & Fine Artist, Christopher Lyles. I have long
admired his artwork and am honored to be a fellow Tugeau2 artist alongside him. Christopher earned his MFA in
Illustration and works in a variety of media. His artwork has appeared in
children’s books & publications, greeting cards, editorial media and
galleries. You can view more of Christopher’s artwork here.
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| Let's go on an ADVENTURE!! |
Q:
I’m a BIG fan of your fabulous mixed media style! (Collage is near and dear to
my heart – in case ya’ll had never noticed!) Dish with us about your process:
how you find your materials, how you decide whether to invite paint or pencil
to the party, how much sketching do you do, how do you know when you’re
finished—you know, all the good stuff!
A: Thank you,
Jane! Every assignment is unique, and
as an illustrator, it’s my job to decide what medium or combination of
materials will work best. For me, I am always looking for ways to mix things
up. Maybe because I work with children all day and see the way they move from
one thing to the next with bewilderment and excitement. It’s that energy that I
try to harness with each assignment while striving to convey a sense of
playfulness in all of my work.
As far
as which materials to use, it really depends on the overall feel of the
story. Sometimes it can be as
simple as loose line work paired with washes of watercolor. Other times, I might combine collage,
paint, pencil, and printmaking techniques. There is always a fine balance of
knowing how much to employ in any given piece, but for me it’s always about maintaining
a handmade quality. That is really important to me. I want the viewer to be
engaged on every level and to want to touch and feel every texture. Besides,
working in this way never gets old!
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| Ooo! Can you say adorable Hanukkah present?! |
Q:
You are having a superstar picture book year!! Give us the scoop on your latest
titles: Meg Goldberg on Parade
(October 2015), Lucy and Lila (March
2016), and what is coming next!
A: So far this has been a great year. I have been fortunate
enough to have illustrated two picture books for two wonderful publishers. Each
of them has been created in a different style and both were a lot of fun to
work on.
Meg Goldberg on Parade is a wonderful story about a
little girl who imagines herself taking part in NYC’s annual Israel Day Parade. It was written by Andria
Warmflash Rosenbaum, and she has created great rhyming verse and depicts the
spirit of the
event in a most authentic way. I
love New York City, and I spent a lot of time visiting the locations described,
getting a sense of perspective. I decided to use collage for this book because of all the tactile elements of the
city as well as depicting a playful quality to support the text. Besides, I’m a
sucker for scissors, glue, and paper.
Lucy and Lila came about completely
unexpected. I had drawn a little
elephant character for my newborn niece and my wonderful agent, Nicole Tugeau
(who we both share) used it to promote my work. It was soon after that Little Bee Books expressed interest
in building a
story around that character.
I was shocked! The story is about a little girl named Lucy and her drawings of
a pink elephant named Lila. It stresses the importance of having your own
vision and encourages thinking outside the box. It supports all of my beliefs
and I was able to work from a very personal point of view. I used colored
pencils for the illustrations because of the soft delicate way they illustrate
the emotional
rhythm of the story. You
never know when something will happen like this so I am a big supporter of creating personal
work. No
matter how big or small, it forces you to grow while helping to strengthen your
artistic voice, which is so important in this field.
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| Christopher's studio—also know as "where the magic happens" |
Q:
Let’s talk inspiration! Who, what, where do you draw your inspiration from?
A: That’s a difficult question. There are so many sources in
which I
receive inspiration from. Perhaps
the greatest would be children. I
suppose that I am in a fortunate position working with elementary students all day long. Each of them has such unique
qualities and I always look to them when determining a certain character or personality
trait. They inspire me in so many
ways. Children
have the ability to work from the inside out without judging themselves too harshly. As adults, we can be our own
worst enemies and place a tremendous amount of pressure on ourselves to do things
“right”. It’s as if we forget how to have
fun. Drawing
should be fun and the minute you lose that feeling you are just going through
the motions. Whenever I hit a rut,
I look to
nature to rejuvenate me. A
long walk through the woods can do wonders for the soul!
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| Now THIS is beach beautiful! |
A: Character development is the most exciting part for me when illustrating a
book. I spend
a lot of time exploring line, shape, and form in my sketchbooks until I arrive upon a drawing that I
like. I
always look to capture the character’s spirit in as little as possible and I
suppose that is the biggest challenge for me. To make this process more enjoyable, I use a variety of
tools to experiment with. For
example, I might start sketching a character with an ebony pencil and select
one or two colors
to apply a wash on top. In
this manner, I can keep the looseness and spontaneity of the character without
becoming overly concerned with rendering. The
challenge for me is to keep the consistency throughout 32 pages. Tracing paper and light boxes
are my best friends!
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| What a gorgeous view!! |
Q:
What is your dream project?
A: My dream project would be to have my illustrations appear on
children’s apparel, bedding, wall art, etc. I
love the idea of an illustration having a life outside of the page. Licensing has been a big
inspiration to me and I am beginning to explore that side of the field. Also, I
would love to
create a wordless book. These
types of stories can be translated in so many different ways and it challenges
the illustrator to communicate clearly and precisely.
Q:
Describe your most perfect Sunday.
A: Watching football all day and eating spicy homemade chili.
Thank you for catching up with us here at Bird Meets
Worm, Chris!! It was a hoot!