Robert's Snow: Joanne Friar

Today we are featuring Joanne Friar, the awesome illustrator who has designed an absolutely beautiful snowflake for the Robert’s Snow auction:

As you’ve been reading all over the kidlit blogging world, the Robert’s Snow auction is raising money for cancer research. For the full scoop on Robert’s Snow go here.

We had the pleasure of asking Joanne about her job, her childhood artwork and the illustrators she most admires. Here are her answers:

What inspired your snowflake design?
Living my entire life near the New England coast (in Massachusetts) has had a big influence on my work. I love lighthouses. They have a certain historic, mysterious and even romantic quality about them that inspires imagination. You can just picture the lightkeeper’s family celebrating the holidays in their unique home.

How did you get involved in Robert’s Snow?
I’m a member of the Picture Book Artists Association and last spring we received a call for artists who might be interested in painting a snowflake this year. I had always thought it would be an honor to take part in Dana Farber’s fundraiser, and this year I got my chance!

What’s your favorite thing about your job?
It’s always great to work at something you love to do. Sometimes the subject matter of the assignment is something I’m really interested in and that makes it fun. But just the technical process of applying pencil and paint to paper can be very therapeutic and relaxing. It’s also nice to work at home – having the house to myself and then being there when the kids come home from school.

Have you ever illustrated a book that you didn’t love?How did that affect your work? Hmmm. Yes. Once I had a month to finish all of the final art for a 32-page book. I still wish that I could do the whole thing overagain! For me, the most difficult part of any book is at the beginning - coming up with ideas, constantly second guessing every decision. My last trade book had so much going on (visually) in the story that I didn’t think I would ever finish it. But now it’s one of my favorites (like the problem child holding a special place in a parent’s heart).

Do you have a favorite drawing or sketch that you did when you were a kid?
I was an only child until I was 10 years old, so I used to draw pictures of huge families. My husband and I have four children – a fairly manageablenumber. I don’t think there’s any art floating around from my childhood. I guess I just wasn’t too sentimental about my work.

What other children's books do you admire? I’ve I've always admired the watercolor paintings of Jane Dyer, Sylvia Long, and Helen Ward; the painterly style and strong color (and humor) of Mark Teague and Kevin Hawkes; and most recently, I love Brian Selznick’s drawings in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

Reading every night before I go to sleep. It’s the only chance I get (except when we’re away on vacation). And chocolate occasionally.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I’ve received lots of good advice from the artists’ group I belong to. We meet once a month and it’s a great time to share accomplishments and complaints and come up with solutions. Freelancing is a lonely business, so it’s helpful to find others in the same boat. And someone once told me I should try illustrating children’s books. I don’t remember who it was, but it sure was good advice!

Joanne has illustrated a number of popular children’s books, including NATHAN OF YESTERYEAR & MICHAEL OF TODAY and THE BALD EAGLE”S VIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Her illustrations also appear inf educational books for children. She lives with her family in Somerset, Massachusetts.

So head over to the Robert’s Snow website where you can get the lowdown on bidding for Joanne’s snowflake, as well as check out the other snowflakes up for auction. And to get to know a little more about the other illustrators behind the snowflakes, here is the schedule of illustrators being featured for today:

Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
Alissa Imra Geis at Wild Rose Reader
Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden