THE STORYBOOK WATERS OF ILLUSTRATOR JAMIE HOGAN:
A PORTLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY EXHIBIT & RELATED EVENTS
Portland, ME — In an exhibit entitled “The Storybook Waters of Illustrator Jamie Hogan” running from July 1 - September 25, 2015, in the Children’s Room of the Portland Public Library’s Main Library, Jamie Hogan’s lush pastel and colored pencil illustrations of the water and waterfront will be celebrated.
At the Exhibit Opening on Thursday, July 9th, from 5:00-7:00 PM, Peaks Island artist Jamie Hogan will speak about her illustration inspiration and process for ISLAND BIRTHDAY (Tilbury House Publishers), a children’s picture book about a Maine island by Matinicus Island's renowned essayist Eva Murray. Hogan will also share how she paid tribute to the journal drawings of naturalist John Muir in her illustrations for JOHN MUIR WRESTLES A WATERFALL (Charlesbridge), and her research of the tidal waters of the Sunderbans for the children’s chapter book, TIGER BOY (Charlesbridge). In support of these books and the exhibit, Jamie Hogan will appear at events in Rockland, Peaks Island, Kennebunkport, and Camden, Maine. (A complete list of events is below.)
While Jamie Hogan strolls the beaches of Peaks Island with her dog or crosses the bay to teach Illustration at Maine College of Art, she is keeping her eyes open and camera ready for the colors and characters of Maine’s waterfront. Each day inspires her pastel landscapes and the nine children’s books she has illustrated since 2007. Artists across the country follow her process and rich reference on her blog at www.JamieHogan.com/blog.
“I grew up in the shadow of the White Mountains, skiing and hiking,” says Jamie Hogan, “but I've always been drawn to any body of water, from stomping in puddles to living in the Bay Area in California. Now I walk daily to the Maine shore during breaks in the studio. Crossing Casco Bay, especially during a full moon, thrills my soul to the bone.”
Hogan’s children’s book illustration career began in 2005 when Charlesbridge Publishing paired her with Mitali Perkins’ children’s novel, RICKSHAW GIRL, a book recently named as one of the “New York Public Library’s Top 100 Children’s Books of the Last 100 Years.” Other Charlesbridge titles include NEST, NOOK & CRANNY, with her charcoal drawings, and a nonfiction ecology title, A WARMER WORLD, with her pastels. Her pastels came back into play for HERE COME THE HUMPBACKS, featuring a mother whale and her calf's journey to the Gulf of Maine. The latest partnership with Charlesbridge mirrors John Muir’s own sketchbooks—Hogan illustrated JOHN MUIR WRESTLES A WATERFALL entirely in colored pencil.
“Jamie Hogan’s art is beautiful and energetic,” says Whitney Leader-Picone, the Senior Designer at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, who art directed Jamie Hogan’s Charlesbridge books. ”She has an intuitive sense of space and composition. Her attention to detail and strong design sense bring depth and transcendence to her artwork. Jamie captures the souls of her subjects, be they plants, animals, or people, so that they come alive to the viewer.”
Robyn Holman, curator of the University of Southern Maine’s Atrium Art Gallery, has included Hogan’s work in a number of exhibitions and sees Hogan as, "one of Maine's finest illustrators, continuing to create work that is inspired, magical, and brilliant. Her work is grounded in both imagination and direct observation, resulting in thoughtful, unforgettable images that resonate with the text."
Peaks Island residents and landscapes often are reflected in Jamie Hogan’s work. A Peaks Island kitchen appears in the opening spread of Tilbury House Publishers’ ISLAND BIRTHDAY, and the model for the Matinicus Island boy of that story lives across the street from Hogan. Her daughter Daisy and her friends can find their younger selves pictured on the pages of SEVEN DAYS OF DAISY (Down East Books) and ICE HARBOR MITTENS (Down East Books).
“Pastels are color dust, a very direct medium that I love,” says illustrator Jamie Hogan.”To lay it down on paper to tell stories for children’s education and imagination is an unparalleled honor.”
COMPLETE LIST OF RELATED EVENTS
June 27, 10:00 AM
Hello Hello Books
Rockland, Maine
Illustrator Jamie Hogan and author Eva Murray will read, sign, and hold an activity for children to celebrate their children’s picture book, ISLAND BIRTHDAY. The book is set on Maine’s Matinicus Island.
July 9, 5:00-7:00 PM
Portland Public Library Children's Room
Portland, Maine
Opening reception and artist talk for the children’s book illustration exhibit, “The Storybook Waters of Illustrator Jamie Hogan.” There will also be a book sale and signing of Jamie Hogan’s latest children’s books, ISLAND BIRTHDAY, JOHN MUIR WRESTLES A WATERFALL, and TIGER BOY.
July 10, 6:00 PM
TEIA Club
Peaks Island, Maine
Illustrator Jamie Hogan will join other authors and artists for “Color and Pages of Peaks Artist & Author Reception” for a book sale and signing of her latest children’s books, ISLAND BIRTHDAY, JOHN MUIR WRESTLES A WATERFALL, and TIGER BOY.
July 23, 1:00-2:00 PM
Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library
Kennebunkport, Maine
As part of the “Every Hero Has a Story” Summer Reading Program, illustrator Jamie Hogan will talk about hero naturalist John Muir and lead a children’s art activity in a association with her new picture book, JOHN MUIR WRESTLES A WATERFALL.
August 22, 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Camden Public Library
Camden, Maine
As part of “Book Fair by the Sea,” illustrator Jamie Hogan and author Eva Murray will read, sign, and hold an activity for children to celebrate the children’s picture book, ISLAND BIRTHDAY. The book is set on Maine’s Matinicus Island.