Lauren Stringer
Studio
I paint my illustrations in acrylic paint on paper. I use acrylic paint because it dries fast which lets me make quick, spontaneous decisions in the midst of painting. It also allows me to paint over an image with as many layers necessary to complete it to my satisfaction. Some of my illustrations have ten layers of paint on them before they are finished. Others come together in the first layer.
Believe it or not, I like to make mistakes when I paint. I have found that mistakes or accidents can inspire
This is my palette where I mix all my colors. I love paint. I love brushes. Can you tell?
Just a few of my sketchbooks and journals, and...
a glimpse inside.
I carry journals/sketchbooks everywhere I go. They are all sizes and shapes. Some of them have lines to write on, but most of them have blank pages so I can draw, write, or paste in pictures I like, found in magazines and newspapers. When I begin working with a new story I always begin a new journal to go with it. It’s the best way for me to keep track of all of my ideas during the year or two it takes me to finish a book.
Whenever I begin a new book, I write the words of the story very large on my wall, so I never lose them in a pile of papers. Here the story, Winter is the Warmest Season is written between the two windows of my studio opposite my drafting table. It is framed with photos and postcards that may inspire me in my search to discover the illustrations for the book. The words to the story are framed like a work of art I can look at everyday.
my compositions, colors, and images to go in directions I could not have foreseen. Sometimes I even look away from what I am doing just to let an accident happen. It doesn’t always work, but it is worth a try when things get stuck.
Welcome to my studio! I live and work in a big pink Victorian house that is always messy, but always creative. Here I am at my drawing table with my cat, Buster. I do a lot of drawing, painting, and thinking at this table. Buster does a lot of sleeping, dreaming, and posing.
My studio is my favorite place to be. Most of the time I work alone, but every once in a while I have visitors. Among my most frequent visitors to my studio are my children. Ever since they were born they have been welcome. This photo (right) was taken while I was painting the illustrations for Scarecrow, 1997. In the photo below, my kids are working on their paintings while I worked on the paintings for Fold Me A Poem.
Studio Visits
When my editor, Allyn Johnston, visits my studio, great conversations abound and great inspirations are the results. When I was working on Our Family Tree, I was quite stuck. After Allyn’s visit in October 2002, everything came together when she asked just the right questions to provoke the creative flow again.
Debra Frasier, author and illustrator, is a fairly frequent visitor to my studio. I am privileged to visit her studio as well. This is what artist friends do; visit each other’s studios. It is always inspiring. Here, Debra is visiting my studio during the hot summer of 2001. I was just starting the illustrations for Our Family Tree.
It is not common for the author to visit with the illustrator while a book is being painted. However, since the author of Our Family Tree, Lisa Westberg Peters lives in Minneapolis, I was able to invite her over to see the finished illustrations for the book before sending them to Harcourt.
The most frequent visitors to my studio are my cats, Buster, (above), Indigo and Lucy, (right). They are such good posers that they often end up in my illustrations!
copyright © Lauren Stringer, 2008, all rights reserved. If you would like permission
to reproduce any part of this website, Please contact the author/illustrator
