Not very many people earn a living transposing imagination into art, but award-winning book illustrator Kevin Hawkes hoped to instill that possibility into the minds of Rochester Memorial School students during his visit on Friday, May 4.
Hawkes has illustrated over 50 books, including A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea,
Library Lion, Me, All Alone at the End of the World, Just Behave, Pablo Picasso and Chicken Cheeks. Library Lion is a New York Times best seller that has been translated into many languages.
The artist spent the whole day visiting different grades with his stories and art demonstrations, thanks to the Rochester PTO. This is the second time he has visited the school; he also presented in 2007 and many of his illustrations from that time are still displayed in glass cases in the school hallway.
At the Friday talk, second graders were at the edge of their seats, eager to share their insights and watch Hawkes share drawing secrets, whipping up illustrations within seconds. Hawkes said he began exploring art at a young age, dabbling in the media of clay, carvings and paper Mache. When his mom gave him an oil painting set, he was hooked.
But the true moment that launched a lifetime passion was the realization that he can draw anything he wants – real or imaginary, Hawkes said.
“I remember when I said to myself, ‘You mean you can draw things that aren’t real?’,” he said.
Over time, Hawkes honed his ability through experimentation. He drew inspiration from other artists, including Maxfield Parrish and Winsor McCay, who created a famous comic strip 100 years ago called Little Nemo in Slumberland.
“It’s really important to look at other artists to learn from them, and learn how they painted and how they put things together,” he said.
Hawkes can quickly draw anything from dragons to faces to animals – but he said refining a character takes time.
“It is rare that the first thing I draw is the right thing,” he said.
Hawkes showed the students a leather bound journal book – which he calls a “Dummy Book” – filled with countless imagines that he carries with him in case a new idea manifests itself.
Often when commissioned to draw a book, he takes in the text and then sets out to create his vision.
“It can take hundreds of drawings to get the right character,” Hawkes said. In all, it takes about six months for him to complete the artwork in one book.
A natural curiosity about the world in an absolute requirement for an artist, he told the students. “Be interested in science, even math,” he said, as knowledge comes into play when asked to draw a specific animal, creature, or world.
After the presentation, Hawkes said he only visits schools about six times per year as he is usually holed up in his home state of Maine working on art. But he said he enjoys reaching out to his young audience in person.
“I especially love third and fourth graders. They have a sassy, fun sense of humor. You don’t know where they are coming from,” he said.
RMS Principal Jay Ryan, an artist in his own right, said he enjoyed Hawkes’ presentation – and even learned something new.
“He used acrylic paints I was not familiar with,” he said.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli