KEYNOTE: Loren Long: The Picture Book--My Two Cents Worth

Loren Long (a fellow Cincinnatian and amazing illustrator) is the #1 NY Times best-selling authors of WATTY PIPER'S THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD and Madonna's MR. PEABODY'S APPLES. Other titles that he's illustrated include Angela's Johnson's I DREAM OF TRAINS,  Randall de Seve's TOY BOAT, and OTIS which he wrote and illustrated. He is also part of the illustration team for Jon Scieszka's TRUCKTOWN series.

What we learned about Loren as he spoke:

• He's won 4 Golden Kite Awards
• He acquired a large contusion on his bottom playing paintball in a TRUCKTWON jumpsuit
• He learned that illlustrators must take text and own it, make it their own
• The get into a project, his goal is one sketch on one day, then onto the next (how do you eat and elephant--one bite at a time)

Some facts about Loren:

• He uses acrylic paint, paiting thin with washes, building it up in layers.
• He used guache for his most recent book OTIS.
• It takes him 2 to 3 months to make th sketches for a book and  to 6 months on the final art.
• He does 2 books a year, but it takes him a year and a half