Here at Pinwheel Books, we are always looking for unique, fresh talent, and often start in the RISD alumni community when looking for artists. The quality of art from Rhode Island School of Design always exceeds expectations. Recently we’ve been connecting with several alums, and discovered Adam Doyle, who currently is residing in New Zealand (after originally living in New York City). He first emerged on the children’s book market in 1998 with “Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure”, but since then did not create another children’s book. I asked Adam what his experience was like illustrating a book that wasn’t his own manuscript, and what it was like working with the team at Charlesbridge. He said:

Working with Charlesbridge was a good experience. I’m proud to have a book out there being enjoyed by kids. I think kids are great and identify closely with the experience of childhood. Doing Once Upon a Dime was a reality check for me as a recent graduate. It was back in the summer of ’98 following my return to the States after a school year in Rome. I’d interned at Charlesbridge the previous summer doing all kinds of b&w illustrations for their textbooks. When I dropped by to get copies for my portfolio the art director offered me the book, a story about a boy living on a farm with lots of animals and a money tree he grows. It was a real thrill. I had a few months to paint all the artwork. The hard part at the time wasn’t making all the images, that’s what illustrators live for, it was all of the edits and minor tweaks they asked me to make afterwards. As your readers have likely experience, being told to change the color of the sky or twist a rooster’s head the other way makes an artist feel a disjointedness with the flow of their work and a thwack against their ego. But illustration is a world between art and design where we are for the most part doing a service for someone else. Revisions are the norm and you have to get used to other people’s opinions. While it can be frustrating at times, when you’ve got a sharply seasoned art director they can help the work to be unquestionably better.  The author of Once Upon a Dime and I got in contact few years ago over email. She’s a very sweet woman with a long list of titles. People commonly think that once a story is written the author needs to find an artist. But as you know it’s typically the publishing house that marries the two. Which makes sense because it’s about finding the right fit, not just who’s convenient. And there’s payment which most authors cannot afford, especially for those trying to make a living at it. Aesthetically I’m more excited about the paintings I’m making now because the marks have a robust and energized vitality to them. Yet Once Upon a Dime continues to sell and that’s terrific. It was even translated into Korean a few years ago. So again, I’m nothing but appreciative of the fact that kids are reading it. 

When he sent me the link to his most recent work, I was shocked to find he hadn’t broken back onto the children’s book market sooner!  (All Aboard the Anteater – Print from Big Friend Series – 2011) (Zephyr Fish 2011)   (portrait from “Jabberwocky” 2011) His characters have such distinct textures, and have fantastical design and details that would delight any child. Here’s more of what Adam has to say about his art and the industry:

The basis for my children’s artwork generally comes out of a sentiment of friendship, harmony, simplicity, wonder, protectiveness, and openness. The most memorable years of my childhood were spent at a lake catching frogs and turtles. It was an experience of wonder, pursuit, make-believe, and admiration. I enjoy going back to that emotional place. A lot my paintings are about kids keeping company with large animals. There’s something to this contrast of scale that carries a meaningful sentiment for me. The big fish or anteater could clearly overpower the boy, but they don’t. Loving Where The Wild Things Are and Clifford the Big Red Dog, among many others great books when I was a kid, captured the feeling of comfort I had with animals. They reinforced and quantified the big world into a manageable form. I don’t have to tell you that picture books are such a key ingredient in helping children to process the world around them.  Depicting a spirited warmth and protectiveness between people and animals is important to me because it reinforces a collaborative outlook on our relationship with the natural world, like I had as a boy. To illustrate this I’ll literally depict kids riding a fish or reading with an octopus. I’m also mindful of letting the animal hold a space for symbolic narrative. The owl is wisdom. The fox is cleverness. This touches upon the larger vernacular of mythology, a quality shared by all cultures that I fully enjoy and respectfully embrace

I highly encourage you all to check out his amazing website and children’s book portfolio. I know we’ll be seeing lots from him in the future!