Special Guest Illustrator Raul Colón

Last Sunday, Raul Colón, illustrator of many celebrated picture books visited The Carle to present “Art is a Mind Game,” a talk on the creative process. A few of Raul’s books include, As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom; Tomas and the Library Lady; and Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops.  During his talk, Raul shared original works of art from his portfolios and sketchbooks and told the story of how he got his big break into the illustration world.

A page from Raul Colon’s sketchbook

Some of Raul’s illustrations from his book Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel are featured in the current exhibition in our East Gallery, Latino Folktales: Cuentos Populares - Art by Latino Artists.  This remarkable exhibition features sixty-three original works of art from bilingual Latino folk tales published in children’s picture books. A dozen talented, award-winning artists focus their lively imaginations, distinctive styles, and colorful palettes to bring the stories alive. The illustrations enhance stories collected from many Spanish-speaking regions including Mexico, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America.

After his talk, Raul took the time to sign books, including The Carle’s guest book, where he used his unique “scratching” technique.  First he put down a soft yellow background with colored pencils, then he used an oval metal tool with different sized grooved teeth on the ends to make his scratches into the paper.

Then he went over the scratches with other colored pencils to make the marks stand out. The finishing outlines are with a Sharpie marker.

Close-up of Raul’s scratching technique

It was great to see his artistic progress in person! For six weeks this spring the Public Art Project was inspired by Raul’s illustration style.  In The Studio, we used combs and plastic forks to mimic Raul’s signature scratches layered with oil pastels, colored pencils and watercolor paints.

Thank you for visiting Raul!