Monday, January 31, 2011

Jan Brett



 Jan Brett has been one of my favorite artists ever since I was a little girl—I grew up reading her books over and over, partly for the clever stories but mostly for the amazing illustrations that accompanied them.  While her illustrations would be enough as companions to the stories, she also includes highly detailed borders in most of her books that serve to guide the reader and give clues on what will happen next in the story.

This illustration is from her website; she has activities for children that are related to her books, and this is one of the printable masks she has from her book “The Mitten”.  Her attention to detail never fails to amaze me.  I especially like her ability to depict the animals in a realistic yet distinct style.

While many good artists have a more minimalist style, I have always been drawn to artists who use a lot of detail in their work, and I believe this stems from Jan Brett’s influence on my life as a child.  My own style has been influenced and inspired by her works of art.

Here is her website: http://www.janbrett.com.

3 comments:

  1. When I first looked at this Illustration I passed right by it, it looked simple. But really looking at it, it is very detailed and I'm sure it took the artist quite a time for it. As I continue to look it makes me wonder how long it took and what was she thinking. I also love how the eyes of the owl are big and black, and those other colors (i.e. yellow) makes it feel warm and kind of inviting.

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  2. When I see something with this much detail it always makes me wonder how they did it. Every tiny space has been given close attention. I can't imagine how long it must take to finish each image.

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  3. Jan Brent was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I read so many of her books, the illustrations were beautiful. The amount of attention to detail is amazing. I remember her illustrations to The Owl and the Pussycat were rich in color and really told a story; she almost did not need the words to accompany it.

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