The Sun Valley Center for the Arts has brought together the compositions of some of the best illustrators working today for their current exhibition "Off the Page."
It opened at The Center in Ketchum on Friday, March 23, and continues with an opening today in Hailey through May 18.
Although the show's main audience is children, there's a great deal to learn about the business of illustrating children's book and being a successful illustrator.
"Sometimes I'm painting for a generation that's not even born yet," said R. Gregory Christie about his work at a lecture he gave at The Center in Ketchum on Thursday, March 22. "You should be able to look at a painting and understand the text without reading it."
Christie's on-site mural is a representation of how an illustrator brings together a story from his experiences while always sticking to the goal of education. "Art is a way to communicate. You have to teach yourself, keep working at it and practice it to develop a voice," said Christie, who's based in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The Center in Ketchum also features the work of MacArthur Fellow Peter Sis, who approaches his illustrations with a sense of delicacy and attention to detail that present stories about adventure and travel bringing the world at large to a child's eye.
In addition, The Center in Ketchum is exhibiting the work of Chris Raschka, who has illustrated more than 30 books and has been awarded the 2006 Caldecott Award. Raschka's original work features broad brushstrokes in vibrant watercolors that are whimsical and clever and cover subjects from simple table manners to jazz legend Thelonius Monk.
At The Center in Hailey, Seattle artist Leslie Patricelli's exhibits illustrations. Children and adults, alike, find her bold and humorous paintings entertaining.
Patricelli will be teaching classes for all age groups in April where she will impart her knowledge and experience from the basics of drawing facial expressions to actually creating a book.
"It's what I love, and it's really fun to share it," Patricelli said. "It took me quite awhile to learn how to do it, so this is really valuable."
As an artist-in-residence, Patricelli's classes will include a free teen workshop on making a book, a free family day making faces and an adult class in illustration. The adult class, A is for Apple will cost $135 for members and $185 for non-members with a $35 supply fee. The registration deadline for this class is Friday, April 6.
For more information, call 726-9491 or visit sunvalleycenter.org.
R. Gregory Christie paints a mural at The Center in Ketchum.
Photo by Willy Cook
