John Burningham - Illustrator

John Burningham was born on April 27, 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, England. In 1956, Burningham started his studies at the Central School of Art, where he received a diploma. He wasted no time putting his artistic abilities to good use. He designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He found his ultimate calling of writing and illustrating children's books in 1963.

Leo and Diane Dillon - Illustrators

During more than four decades of illustrating children's books, two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon have received nearly every award and honor in this genre. They have illustrated scores of books written by others, and they have written two of their own titles.


Leo Dillon and Diane Sorber were born eleven days apart in 1933 — Leo in Brooklyn, New York, and Diane near Los Angeles, California. When they met at Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1954, each already aspired to a life of art. The Dillons have produced an incredible variety of drawings and illustrations for prints, book jackets, textbooks, album covers, and of course children's books. (see more of their biography here)


Leo Dillon died in Brooklyn, NY, on May 26, 2012. He was 79, so I thought it would be fitting to post their work on the Turquoise Umbrella. I most remember them for their beautiful work in "Why Mosiquitoes Buzz in People's Ears."

Maurice Sendak - Illustrator

Maurice Sendak died last week (May 8, 2012), and because of my complete love for many of his books, I felt it appropriate to add his work to the Turquoise Umbrella.

Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn on June 10, 1928. He spent much of the 1950's illustrating other author's books before writing and illustrating his own. He was best known for his Little Bear illustrations, and his book Where the Wild Things Are.

Retta Scot Worcester - Illustrator

Retta Scott Worcester (23 February 1916 - 26 August 1990) was an American artist. She was notably the first woman to receive screen credit as an animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. She was hired in 1938 and assigned to the Story Department, where her stunning sketches caught the eye of Disney himself, she worked under the film's supervising director, David D. Hand, and she was tutored by Disney animator Eric Larson. Retta Scott left Disney in 1946 and moved to the East Coast, where she continued to freelance, illustrating for many more years. 

Kelly Oechsli - Illustrator

Kelly Oechsli (1918-1999) illustrated many children's books, including Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock books. One of my favorites by him is Humpty Dumpty's Bedtime Stories (published in 1971). Not much more information is provided by any of the sites that mentioned him or his books.

Here is some of his work:

 

Eyvind Earle - Illustrator

Born in New York in 1916, Eyvind Earle began his prolific career at the age of ten, and was in a one-man show in France at the age of 14. At the age of 21, Earle bicycled across country from Hollywood to New York, paying his way by painting 42 watercolors.


In 1951 Earle joined Walt Disney studios as an assistant background painter. Among other projects, Earle was responsible for the styling, background and colors for the highly acclaimed movie “Sleeping Beauty” and gave the movie its magical, medieval look with his meticulously detailed, hand-painted backgrounds.



After about 15 years creating animated art, Earle returned to painting full time in 1966 and kept working until the end of his life. Eyvind Earle passed away on July 20, 2000 at the age of 84 (Excerpts taken from the Bio of Eyvind Earle http://www.eyvindearle.com/Bio.aspx).

Aurelius Battaglia - Illustrator

Aurelius Battaglia was an American illustrator, muralist, writer, and director (January 16, 1910 – May, 1984). He worked for Disney in the late 1930's and contributed most notably to Dumbo, Fantasia, and Pinocchio. He was also well known for his picture books in the 1950s and 1960s. His work features bold, solid colors and striking, stylized pen and brush work - indicative of the looser, more abstract mid-century cartooning style that he helped pioneer.