Welcome to BookEnds, Shafer Brown!
- By: BookEnds | Date: May 18 2018
I am so excited to welcome Shafer on board! His art pulled me in and was so different than what I was usually drawn to. Here, take a look!
What book do you wish you had illustrated, and why?
Really supremely hard to choose from previously illustrated works, but today I’m wishing it was The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer. It’s a great book in every regard, but visually it’s just so clever, the treatment of the title characters relationship to the background is just so fun.
If you’re not drawing, what would we catch you doing?
Most of my leisure time with friends is devoted to playing/designing tabletop roleplaying games. It’s a really wonderful synthesis of storytelling, play, humor, and puzzle solving, and getting to do all of those things with a group of your best buds is a treat.
Where can people find you on the web and social media?
I’m on Twitter and Instagram @shaferbrown I’d like to think I’m pretty good at keeping them focused on my work but occasionally you can’t resist sharing how cute your cat is.
What’s the last book you read?
In the realm of adulthood, I just finished Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris.
In the realm of kids books, I’ve recently caught up on what Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett have been up to with their ongoing Shape Trilogy.
If money were no object, what would be your dream drawing location?
A cabin in the woods of western North Carolina. I moved to the city for art school but I’m much more fond of the mountains than the plains.
What’s your favorite quote about art?
“There are people who buy pictures because they were difficult to do, and are done. Such pictures are often only a record of pain and dull perseverance. Great works of art should look as though they were made in joy. Real joy is a tremendous activity, dull drudgery is nothing to it.”
What’s your favorite piece of art advice you’ve received?
One of my illustration professors was fond of reading aloud from texts that helped his practice. So it’s a bit of a cheat but maybe: “Read Art and Fear David Bayles and Ted Orland”
What excites you most about joining the BookEnds family?
I adore picture books as a medium, and am excited to get to work on em with y’all!
Terrific quote by Robert Henri. A friend had also recommended reading Art and Fear so I should check it out. Great to have you on #TeamNat!