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The Picture Book Art of Loren Long is an exhibition now exhibited at the Orlando Museum of Art. The exhibits of children’s picture books illustrators have been a mainstay of this museum for the last few years. The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature dedicated to illustrations in children’s literature and established in 2000 in Abilene, Texas, has been loaning illustrator’s work to the OMA for a deeper look at this particular type of artwork.
As a fine artist I did not pay much attention to this kind of work until I became a designer of young peoples’ books. Suddenly, I saw the ingenious way the illustrator worked hand in hand with the writer and book designer. Putting their own vision down while appealing to both designer and writer while the big nod was toward the audience, the child.
Loren Long also reached back upon his own childhood experiences to be in touch with that child. He drew upon the memory of feeling small in the comfort in his mother’s arms while she read children’s picture books to him. How a parent or guardian might read and then stop pointing out imagery that relates to the text on the page is one of those childhood experiences that I personally hope will never fade. It stays with us as adults, forever.
In a film In a film that was shared with students who were lucky enough to attend the Symphony and Storytime @OMA with their schools, Long shared this experience. While musicians of the Philharmonic string quartet played, and images were projected at the front of the auditorium, the reader expertly reads with dramatic intonation the words from the writer Wally Piper. The children speak loudly with him as he reads, “I think I can, I think I can.” They bop up and down and sway back and forth with the tunes that the musicians play.
The most remarkable part of what I learned about this illustrator is finding out that Loren Long is color blind. After drawing and loving making images as a teenager knowing making art is his calling, a physician diagnoses him and tells him that it is not a problem, unless he wants to be an artist! How compelling that this book was the one that he remembered and was his favorite as a child. He thought he could be an artist and even after he was told it would be difficult, he succeeded. He thought he could and not only did it but is successful at what he wanted to do with his life.
Connecting this with real estate is not a stretch for me. Dreams are not only meant for when we sleep, most can be accomplished when awake. So many people want to sell or buy a home but are frozen in the notion that this is not the right time. I say to all those who are waiting on sideline that the real estate market is a seesaw. When rates are up, prices come down, and visa versa. This is the best time, during the holidays to make your pitch to buy! My purchases for my homes closed January 2nd! That means I got under contract in December. For those that want to sell, make your home available because others are not competing with you! For myself, my experiences to buy started with the thought, “I Think I Can” and when it was all over, I said to myself, “I Thought I Could!”
