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| Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton Mifflin, 2011) |
It's been a while since we've featured a single illustrator's work on Jacket Knack, and it's time we did. High time. I've chosen the work of Beth Krommes, winner of the 2009 Caldecott Award for the House in the Night (far below). More recently, she has illustrated a book of poetry for children, Swirl by Swirl, by well known poet Joyce Sidman. I have a fondness for books with small, slimy critters on their covers so this one drew my eye right away. But there's more, such a tidy composition of swirls going on here--it's alive with motion.
Ms. Krommes works in different media depending, I suppose, on the desired effect. The woodcuts and casein paintings on her website are a delight for the eyes--and I have to say, her woodcut illustrations are better at modeling--creating the full, rounded shapes that give a subject three-dimensional form--than many other artists' woodcuts. Here's just one example of her skill. (This and other prints are available for sale on her site--just saying.):
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| "Baby in a Car Seat" A woodcut by Beth Krommes see her websitefor more information |
Pattern and form. She's a good woodcutter. Most of Krommes' children's books, however, are illustrated in a slightly different technique called scratchboard. More about scratchboard here. Here's one example. Again, pattern and form, pattern and form and a nice tight composition: 0 Comments on Scratchboards and Woodcuts: The Work of Illustrator Beth Krommes as of 1/1/1900