Mixing It Up: An Exploration in Mixed Media with London Ladd Part 1...and 2

 London Ladd is an award-winning illustrator who has featured artwork in numerous publications such as HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, the New York Times, Scientific American, and community-based murals throughout Syracuse. He received recognition from the American Library Association, Black Caucus of the American Library Association,  Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, American Illustration, World Illustration Awards, and multiple NAACP Image Award nominations. Ladd utilizes various materials, such as acrylic paint, cut paper, and tissue paper, to create vibrant textures throughout his artwork. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor at Syracuse University, where he received his BFA and MFA degrees in illustration.

    The energy of the first day of an SCBWI conference is palpable. It’s a Saturday morning in Times Square. There are so many artists collecting in a room with dreams and experience and wisdom… it’s buzzing. You really do feel the excitement and the camaraderie between all of these children’s book creators. 

I’m here with you at Breakout session 1…and 2. This year, there are a few sessions that are twins and have to be taken together. This particular one is with London Ladd, and he’s going to guide us through the controlled mess that is mixed media. 

And there’s nothing like a little mixed media in the morning. 

As soon as we walked into the space, London was already working and covered in paint. He started out with a presentation about his career before we started throwing our materials around.   

London didn’t grow up with children’s books. His first book was a gift he received for his daughter, “Goodnight Moon.” He was introduced to children’s books while at Syracuse, studying under James Ransome. Ransome introduced London to the great Jerry Pinkney and the great Bryan Collier and all the other great Black children’s book illustrators, which opened up the world of kidlit art. 

London believes that “style” is confining. He believes in voice and process. He believes in being tactile. He always a sketchbook. He paints ON his sketchbook. It’s touch, it’s feeling. It’s also materials. The materials are as varied and important as London’s style. Tissue paper acting as paint, drawing with tweezers, pages of magazines adhered on drawings. It’s all on the table (literally) and London’s a master over them. 

His approach to mixed media work is about 25% pre-conceived intent and about 75% improvisation. 

After his demo, we all broke out into our separate work stations and we tried our hand at speaking through our materials. 

 

Can't make it to the In-Person Winter Conference in New York City, join us online at the Virtual Winter Conference featuring inspirational talks, industry panels and deep-dive Creative Labs, taking place in February of 2026. Videos of all sessions are available to watch for approximately 30 days after the event.