Essay About Illustrator Report And Eb Lewis

Illustrator Report: E. B. Lewis
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Illustrator Report: E. B. Lewis
Earl Bradley Lewis (EB Lewis) was born December 16, 1956, in Philadelphia, PA, to Charles
and Earline Lewis. Lewis grew up in a family of art enthusiast; his uncle Lyles Smith taught at the
Philadelphia College of Art, his uncle Bradley Lewis was a sculptor and taught classes at the Temple
University, and his father was a art handler at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As a result of this
rich artistic heritage, Lewis interest for art occurred as early as the third grade. By the time he was in
the sixth grade he was enrolled in the Saturday morning Temple University School of Art League,
which was taught by his uncle Bradley. In Temples Tyler School of art, Lewis college major was in
Graphic Design, Illustration, and Art Education. This vein of education catapulted him into the
teaching profession for the next twelve years.
After examining several art mediums, Lewis discovered his niche in the light, expressive
techniques of watercolor. Upon his graduation in 1979, Lewis engulfed on a teaching career and
began freelancing in Painting and Graphic Design. After placing a number of his pieces in the Artist
Magazine, Lewis art was seen by Elizabeth OGrady, of Simon and Schuster. Once OGrady
extolled his talents to her partner Jeff Dwyer, Lewis received his first offer to illustrate childrens
books. In 1993 Lewis first book illustrations were used in Jane Kurtzs, “Fire on the Mountain”, and
the rest, as they say, is history. Lewis exquisite artistic style has garnered him several awards, among
them, the prestigious Coretta Scott King Award, which is given to African American Authors and
Illustrators for their exemplary artistic expression in books for youth. Since winning the Coretta Scott
King Award , in 2003 for “Talkin About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman”, written by
Nikki Grimes, Lewis has won three other Coretta Scott King Awards, for “The Bat Boy and His
Violin”, by Gavin Curtis, “My Rows and Piles of Corn”, by Tololwa Mollel, “Virgie Goes to School
With Us Boys”, and several other awards for his work. Lewis decision to concentrate on hard to deal
with subjects has lent a voice to those who before, found no answers to difficult life situations.
As Laren Manelius states in the biography she wrote on Lewis, “Since 1993 Lewis illustrations have
especially focused on books dealing with issues tough to relate to children, such as death, loss, and
love”. In his realistic, slice of life depiction, Lewis eloquently tells a visual story with each stroke of
his brush, as seen in his interpretation of, “The Jazz of Our Street”, by Fatima Shaik, a story about a
neighborhood in New Orleans and the Jazz band that inhabits the streets, invoking the traditional
incorporation of the music of the region.
Lewis choice of blue hues evoke feelings of “coolness and tranquility” (Norton 117); his deliberate use
of line suggest fluid motion, dynamic energy and an exuberant tone to the story. The expressions on
the faces of the children is a hint to the stories, joyous emotional content His use of angle and