Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Author/Illustrator - Cynthia Iannaccone


What where your early years like?

As a child I carried around a picture book, ready to hand it over to any available adult to read out loud. During story time, I remember sitting on the floor looking up at our librarian, mesmerized by her voice, the way she held the book, showed the pictures, and turned the pages.


My mother complained I was reading too many horse stories and not enough classics like Little Women. Well, at least I was reading and my teacher agreed.


Once I took a book from my parent's collection and secretly read Thunderhead by Mary O'Hara. It had very few horse pictures, but enough to grab my interest.


When I opened my father's books I couldn't understand why he would want to read a book with not one picture, just solid blocks of tiny type.

I guess I was a visual learner. I worked with clay and drew all the time.


What kind of writing and illustrating do you like to do?

I write and illustrate picture books, and poetry.



Do you have any published work?

Two electronic picture books, I Am Me and An Elephant Named Fiesta and I recently collaborated with eight other illustrators. We illustrated an old Mexican folktale for an educational publisher.



How did you get started in writing and illustrating?

I was accepted into the medical illustration program at collage but my advisor thought I'd be happier in a more creative field. He suggested I go into children's book illustration. I'm so glad I listened to him.



Can you describe your creative process?

The story idea comes first. Sketches help to push it further. I bounce back and forth between words and pictures, then complete the final art in gouache on arches hot press. Sometimes I work with other mediums.


My first portfolio was done with Photoshop, but I didn't like the process. I still use Photoshop to resize, etc. but paint traditionally and exhibit.






Where do you create your art work?

I use the living and dining rooms as studio space. The entire house is actually studio space shared with my husband who is also an artist and our five pets; two cats and three dogs.


Cynthia Iannaccone can be found:

Illustration website: www.cynthiaillustrate.blogspot.com


Twitter @cynthiai 

Facebook

If you have questions or comments for Cynthia Iannaccone, please leave them below.

Come back next Wednesday (and every Wednesday all summer long) to see my Featured Author/Illustrator of the week.

10 comments:

  1. Thanks for introducing me to Cynthia Iannaccone. I loved seeing the progression in the illustrations.

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  2. Really enjoyed seeing/reading this. I don't illustrate, and so, from where I sit, anyone who does (and as well as Cynthia) is standing on a pedestal.

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  3. Love the horses, both real and imagined Cynthia! :-)

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  4. Beautiful! I just love those horses and girls! I was (well, still am :)) a complete horse nut, and I read every single horse story I could get my hands on! And when time came to write, guess what I wrote? :) Thanks so much for sharing your gorgeous work!

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    1. Thanks Susanna! One of my favorite authors was Marguerite Henry. Loved King of the Wind.... Favorite horse illustrators- Wesley Dennis and C.W. Anderson.. Love his graphite drawings.

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  5. Great to see the stages of illustrations developing, thanks for sharing!

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  6. I dream of such a space to live and work, though back in college I roomed with a painter who stored his canvases behind my pull-out sofa, and I don't miss that! Thanks for this post!

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  7. Thank you everyone for your kind comments!!

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  8. Beautiful work, Cynthia. I'm a fan. :)

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    1. Thank you Hannah! and also thank you to Alison for presenting me on her blog!

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