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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I loved the way Dahlia Broul’s above illustration showed her animals enjoying themselves. I loved the soft inviting colors and even though, it isn’t a picture of noise, laughter, and partying, it somehow made me think of how bittersweet and lovely saying goodbye to the old year and bringing in the new can be on New Year’s Eve – even without all the celebrating.

There are all different ways to bring in the New Year. Listen to some music, play with the animals, gaze at the lights of the night. Celebrate with something that fills your soul and inspires you.

Stay Safe!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Dahlia Broul was born in Manhattan in 1983. As the daughter of 2 New York City yellow taxi drivers, she spent most of her childhood drawing in the passenger seat. Watching the city pass by, she recalled, “Everything was about color and light”.

At a young age, with the strong encouragement of her mother, she studied at the Museum School. Museums such as the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum and the New York Historical Society were frequented on a weekly basis. This led to a deep appreciation for art history and the methods of old masters. Dahlia has cited a wide range of influences including classic artists as Pierre Bonnard and John Singer Sargent, to such contemporary illustrators as Leo and Diane Dillon and Gregory Manchess. She attended Art and Design High School and later went on to study fine arts before graduating with a BFA in illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Dahlia has finished writing and illustrating an unpublished children’s book about her unconventional childhood. A young girl spends the day driving around New York in her mother’s taxicab but imagines a whole other world. A place where waterfalls cascade over buildings and taxicabs turn into submarines that ride on the backs of whale sharks.

In addition to painting, she currently teaches an art curriculum at the Brearley School, the 92nd Street Y, the Chapin School as well as the Manhattan New School P.S. 290. She can be found drawing pastel portraits at Spring Street Studio every week. “Drawing and painting are the backbone to what I do, but connecting with the reader on an emotional level is most important”.

Did you go to school for art and or illustration?

Yes, my schooling in fine art goes as far back as middle school. I then attended Art and Design High School. Afterwards I took classes at The Art Students League, SVA and Pratt, studied fine art for two years, and later earned my BFA in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

I notice that you have the same little girl in a lot of illustrations. Are they all part of a book dummy?

Yes, these images are from a book I wrote myself. The little girl rides around in her mother’s taxi cab. As they travel around New York City and stop at various places the girl uses her imagination to make her days more interesting. She sometimes takes her mothers words literally and the illustrations depict her abstract interpretations alongside the palpable.

Do you use Photoshop or another software to clean up or paint your pictures?

Yes, sometimes. Usually it’s to clean up the photograph of the work, but sometimes I put in boarders or add extra shadows and highlights.

How long have you been illustrating?

Five Years.