There are many wonderfully talented artists who have supported my blog over the past year or so. They continually leave hysterical, insightful, and thought-provoking comments on just about every post I make, which is a true complement and leaves me feeling grateful as heck that they care to read what I have to say. They're busy people, with families and blogs and art of their that they're trying to put out in the world. And I'm so grateful that they choose to stop here and share their thoughts. One of those artists is the talented Samuel E. Kirkman. Sam and I met through a children's illustrators critique group that began as an off-shoot of the SCBWI online community. From the very beginning, I had the sneaking suspicion that Sam was destined to be a graphic novelist. He is a gifted, imaginative story-teller. He can connect page after page of visual storytelling and written word faster than I've ever seen anyone do, and he does it with his own unwaivering style and passion. He is dedicated as hell to his craft. Over the past year, I've seen Sam move from traditional to the digital medium faster than a speeding bullet. It's a medium perfectly suited for Sam. And he's joining the ranks of other graphic novelists who are proving that children's book publishing needs this genre now more than ever, that it's relevant and certainly not about to go away.
On our private critique group, we are allowed to post new art for critique. Sam posts a new page of penciled images, inked pages, and colored pages almost DAILY. And at the same time he also finds time to carefully, thougthfully critique the work of other artists. He brings an incessant energy and enthusiasm to his art that is truly, truly infectious. His artwork ALWAYS makes me smile. You can feel the energy behind everything he does. In my recent blog post, Getting Through the Dreaded Creative Block, Sam posted a comment in which he revealed that he was discouraged from doing art and that he didn't do anything with it for nearly 25 years. You would NEVER know it. Sam is a true testament to what you can accomplish when your passion and your energy are synched up, when you're truly on the path that you know to be right for you.
I hope you find time to visit Sam's personal web site where you can check out his amazing art as well as two graphic novels that he's working on, Grew, and OUWANGALAYMAH! . Sam also has a series of interviews with established character designers and concept artists which you may find very interesting. He has spoken with the likes of Stephen Silver, Mark MacDonnell, and David Coleman. I hope you go check those out. Please visit Sam's site and definitely subscribe to his Art Blog. We look forward to seeing more from you, Samuel E. Kirkman!
Thanks for pointing out Sam's work. I haven't had a chance to really explore his site but what I've seen looks great and I look forward to seeing the rest.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see children's book publishers embrace the graphic novel format. I think it's an obvious next step but a lot of people in "real" publishing seem to look down on the format. In addition to being very entertaining, the format can be a very useful step in learning how to read. It's how I learned.
Chris, it's definitely getting to be a more widely accepted format. Otis Frampton received an ALA nod for his Oddly Normal. I hit the kids section of Barnes & Noble about once a week, and the GN section is budding and thriving. I think Sam's work will be a great contribution. I think he has the gift of crossing over into childrens and adult publishing much like Shaun Tan. Yes, I do agree that publishers recognize the value in GN's. However, I wonder if they're cautious now because it could be perceived (possibly?) as a bit of trend. Still, I don't think there's any turning back. The graphic novel for kids is here to stay!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the introduction of this new-to-me artist. :]
ReplyDeleteSuch a shining commendation for a such talented artist! Kudos to Samuel for this very neat work.
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