Winter at Mystic Seaport & Ezra Jack Keats Honor

It's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy finishing up the artwork for my next children's book! It is my first book as author and illustrator, called The Storyteller, due out in 2016 (more to come soon)! I'm also thrilled to announce that I received the Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for New Illustrator for Grandfather Gandhi! Keats was an incredible illustrator, and I am so honored to be in his company in this way.

I also had the chance to go back up to Mystic Seaport with Dalvero Academy this past weekend, for a snowy and beautiful couple of days. The first day was COLD, so my hands only emerged for brief amounts of time before I ran back inside. The Charles W. Morgan looked like an ice-stranded Arctic vessel in the frozen Mystic River.

This was our first time seeing Mystic Seaport's newest acquisition, the Mayflower II! Built in 1957, it is a historical replica of the original Mayflower, created in England as a symbol of partnership between our two countries after WWII. She's an odd looking ship, but a lot of fun to draw! I'm looking forward to learning more about her as the restoration continues.

The next day we were treated to the most beautiful snowstorm, with snowflakes the size of butterflies settling over the quaint New England houses. A small flock of hooded mergansers (some of the most adorable little ducks) flitted all over the frozen river.

As the snow cleared away, all of the color began to return to the landscape.

Blue sky and sunlight finally broke through the clouds.

Still trapped in the ice, The Morgan seemed like it was coming to life too.

Hopefully this is a sign that spring can't be too far off, and the ice will be melting soon.

For more of Evan Turk's travel illustration, check out the link below: 

Evan Turk Travel Illustration

Olives of Gethsemane

For the start of the new year, I thought I'd post some drawings I did near the beginning of last year from my trip to Israel. Outside the walls of Jerusalem lies the Garden of Gethsemane, a grove of ancient olive trees said to be the same trees Jesus prayed beneath the night before his crucifixion.

Whether or not these could really be the same trees is up for debate. The trunks of three of the trees have been dated as old as 1092, 1166, and 1198 CE. Nearly one thousand years old, but not old enough to have witnessed times during the life of Jesus. It is said that when the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 70 AD, they cut down every tree in the area.

But olive trees have a miraculous ability of perseverance and regeneration. Beneath the thousand year old trunks lie even more ancient roots. Some say that the roots may be over two thousand years old.

Olive trees can regenerate themselves from their roots, even after fire, destruction, and decay. Despite the hollow, scarred trunks, the new life in the branches springs from the life of the ancient roots.

Olive branches are a symbol of peace, but also of the essence that survives hardship and renews itself.

So here's to a brand new year, with the possibility of healing, growth, and new life!

Happy 2015! 

For more of Evan Turk's travel illustration, check out the link below: 

Evan Turk Travel Illustration

Black Lives Matter

They stood surrounded by monuments to justice in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. The crowds gathered and grew to vent their frustration, confusion, disappointment, and anger. The appalling decision on Wednesday not to indict the police officer responsible for killing the unarmed black man, Eric Garner, in Staten Island, reignited the spark from the similarly disappointing decision in Ferguson, MO. The officer who killed Michael Brown, another unarmed black man, also walked free without an indictment from the grand jury.

Thousands assembled across Manhattan in Foley Square, Union Square, Times Square, and marched across the city to let their anger be heard. The crowd is made up of men, women, black, white, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, young, old, and every piece of the New York melting pot that should make it a safe place to live for all.



The police presence was immense and intimidating. They stood like a wall, diverting the bubbling river of protesters through the streets and across the bridges of the city.

In the recent months, social media has become full of #hashtag activism to call attention to racial disparities, especially in their dealings with the police.

#HandsUpDontShoot, recalling the surrender by Michael Brown that witnesses described before he was killed.

#ICantBreathe, echoing Eric Garner’s last words before he was killed by police.

#BlackLivesMatter, the phrase that New York Mayor Bill De Blasio lamented “should never have to be said”, but still does need to be said, because black lives are frequently undervalued by the law.

#CrimingWhileWhite and #LivingWhileBlack try to highlight specific instances of how black citizens are treated by law enforcement compared to white citizens. White people committing actual crimes are ignored, while black people minding their own business are hassled, arrested, and sometimes killed. (Although this has been criticized for focusing too much on white stories in the talks about racism.)

While I may not love Twitter and Facebook, I can’t deny that these platforms have opened up discussions on race in way that allows the privileged to see a small piece of what minorities endure on a daily basis, myself included.

At one point in the protest, people carried coffins bearing the names of black people killed by police. Like pallbearers in a time of mourning, they carried the black coffins through the crowd as reminders of lives lost.

I noticed a black family next to me as the coffins passed, with a young boy, about twelve years old, chanting along with his parents. Hopefully it is empowering and maybe as he grows he will know that he does not deserve the burdens of racism he is forced to carry.

It reminded me of another popular hashtag this summer within the children’s publishing community, #WeNeedDiverseBooks. (You can read more about it here) It is a call on publishers, editors, authors, and illustrators to show a more diverse world in books for children, to reflect the world we live in.

 

Part of the campaign's platform is that children of color need to see themselves reflected in the books they read as kids, or they may not ever want to read at all. Black lives matter, and black stories matter. Each individual has a story that matters. These are stories that need to be told, so that the legacy of this anger will no longer be a burden, but a source of power and empathy.

My friends Carly Larsson and Audrey Hawkins also reportaged the protest.

You can see their drawings here:
Audrey Hawkins
Carly Larsson

Cubic Greco-Romans

I had the chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time in a while yesterday! I got to check out the new 65 million dollar entrance (meh) and the new Cubism show (yay!). It was a quick trip, but I got to spend a little time drawing around the Greco-Roman galleries afterwards.

It is always a nice palate-cleanser to go to such an amazing museum after working on projects for a while. It helps to scramble your brain a bit, and point it in new directions.

Can't wait to go back next week!

Grandfather Gandhi Updates!

It has been a great couple of months for Grandfather Gandhi!

Today it was announced that Grandfather Gandhi is one of 20 titles on the 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award list of nominees! Kids then read 5 of the books, and will be able to vote for their favorite book for the award. Such an honor!

At the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show

Also this week, I was so pleased to be a part of the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show! I went to the show several years ago (I remember ogling Ed Young's brilliant artwork for Tsunami) when I was an intern at Penguin, and it felt great to be there now with work hanging in the show! So nice to meet and see illustrators I've admired the work of, and reconnect with great art directors and editors.

I did a mini-interview with John Schu of "Watch. Read. Connect." where I finished his sentences on a variety of topics: Grandfather Gandhi, Morocco, reading, and tragic stories involving obscure animals. Check it out here:

Watch. Connect. Read. - Evan Turk

I also did an interview with the always wonderful Bethany Hegedus for the Hunger Mountain VCFA journal. She asked some great questions, so take a look!

Hunger Mountain - Bethany Hegedus interviews Evan Turk

Finally, back in September, and also with the fabulous Bethany Hegedus, I had the chance to do a couple school visits in the New York area! We stopped by the Lincoln School in Fairview, New Jersey where we talked about the themes in Grandfather Gandhi, and how it relates to bullying. The wonderful Sammy Juliano did an amazing job setting up the talks, and we had a fantastic time with great kids!

Next, Bethany and I went to the Sycamore Avenue School in Long Island where we had the privilege to talk to another wonderful group of kids. The principal, Stu Pollak, even asked me to paint a mural on their wall. How could I say no? So much fun! A couple highlights:

A girl in the 5th grade who is blind came up and was able to feel the collage illustrations for the book as her teacher and I explained what she was feeling. It was amazing! I had never thought of collage artwork being experienced in that way. She could feel the outlines of the shadows, the puffs of cotton, and the yarn of Gandhi's mustache.

My favorite question from a student came for Bethany. She talked a bit about how, like the Boston Tea Party in the United States, India rebelled against British rule and taxes. A third grader then asked, "Why did Britain want to own so many countries?" Ha! That is a good question. A very good question.

If you are interested in booking me for a visit, please contact my fantastic booking agent, Carmen Oliver, at The Booking Biz.

Michael Mahin (Photo by Roxanne Young); Evan Turk (Photo by Veronica Lawlor)

Publisher's Weekly Muddy Announcement

In non-Grandfather Gandhi related news, an upcoming book project was just announced!

"Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has bought world rights to Muddy by Michael Mahin (l.), to be illustrated by Evan Turk. It's a picture-book biography of blues musician Muddy Waters, whose fierce and electric sound laid the groundwork for what would become rock and roll. The book is tentatively scheduled for summer 2017; Minju Chang at BookStop Literary represented the author and Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger represented the illustrator."

So excited for this story, and to learn more about Muddy!

*Whew* That's all for now!

Rainy England

 

It was a rainy day in New York City today, so I thought I'd post some drawings from some of the rainier days of my trip to England this summer. It rained for about half the trip, and although it impeded some drawing opportunities, I don't think I'd have had it any other way. The countryside just looked so much more English on the rainy days. The painting above is from the village of Ebrington in the Cotswolds, which is possibly one of the quaintest places on the planet. I started the painting during a brief break in the rain, but soon the rain began to pick up. The colors started to blend into one another, and everything took on a soft, squishy look that was much more what the village felt like. The mist dappled the watercolors and made them feel just like the moss that covered every surface.

Continuing the soft and squishy trend of the English countryside were the flocks of adorable sheep that dotted the hillsides. I painted these one very rainy morning from our bedroom in a local farm house that overlooked a field covered with sheep.

Sheep are hilarious looking animals, with silly, huggable shapes that seem predestined for nursery rooms and plush toys.

I couldn't get over how cute the lambs were. Often, two of them would run at their mother from a distance and begin suckling on either side with their tiny tails wagging.

The last rainy painting was from our journey to Highclere Castle, or as it's more commonly known, Downton Abbey. Like all good American tourists, my knowledge of English culture is dictated by a melodramatic soap opera with gorgeous production values! I have to say, TV show aside, the Highclere estate really is incredible. The house is surrounded by lush, rolling hillsides covered with dark forests, scurrying white lambs, and enormous bushes of rhododendrons and azaleas in sunset colors.

For more of Evan Turk's travel illustration, check out the link below: 

Evan Turk Travel Illustration

People of Marrakech

I just returned from a trip to Morocco where I was exploring, drawing, and researching for an upcoming children's book about Morocco. I met amazing people, saw amazing things, and left feeling bewildered and inspired. Most of the work I did there, I will be posting closer to the release of the book (2016!) but I couldn't resist posting a few snapshots of people in Marrakech.

 

 

For more of Evan Turk's travel illustration, check out the link below: 

Evan Turk Travel Illustration