Nightowls by Joan Charles
One of the first illustrations I saw by Joan Charles is this delicious plump elephant with its rider standing atop a mountain peak looking at a horizon of more mountain peaks. At once, the illustration felt fun and hopeful. I liked the way looking at it made me feel as though anything was possible. I also loved the soft hues and the way the colors Joan uses work together (like in Faye Afloat, one of my favorites) to create a comforting effect. She tends to use dark colors and says, “I’ve come to think of my work as painting in a minor key!”
That elephant resonated with me so much, I created a special post devoted to the magic of those enormous creatures filled with an entire herd of art from around the world.
As I mentioned in that post, Joan’s illustrations speak to the kid in me, to the playful me, to the me who believes in magic of sorts.
Joan Charles
Spend a little time with her portfolio and you’ll find a combination of elegance and charm, of magic and playfulness.
Her characters have personality. They have attitudes – not in the contemporary sense of copping an attitude (though a few may fall into that category), but in the sense that they’re not merely illustrated representations of imagined, lifeless people.
This trait, it turns out, is especially important when illustrating books and it reflects Joan’s love of designing characters and of trying to create pictures that truly interpret an author’s words.
In addition to creating work for gallery exhibitions, juried competitions, curated shows, magazines, and books, she’s the illustrator of the award-winning middle grade adventures Lost in Lexicon and The Ice Castle, written by Pendred Noyce.
Her foray into book illustration seems fitting given the fact that Joan has been writing and drawing as long as she can remember. Her work today is, in essence, what she was doing as a child: “thinking up stories and making pictures to illustrate those stories.”
Joan Charles
For her, the story is the thing.
“I want to tell a story,” she states. “I want to make an emotional connection between the viewer and the picture. I always try to leave lots of room for the viewer to fill in the blanks and interpret the paintings in her own way.” Even without any words accompanying them, Joan’s work makes for some delightful stories.
When asked what she thought some people might not understand about art, her response was simple, but apt. “Art is everywhere,” she said. “It doesn’t exist only on the walls of a museum – art isn’t a thing that is apart or separate from every day living.”
Circus by Joan Charles
Technique: Although Joan works in pencil, pastels, acrylic, and other media, “Nightowls” was created in Photoshop.
I recently discovered several new illustrations on her website that I love, especially this one of the sleeping girl as it makes me wonder, is she dreaming or does she live in a magical world. And maybe that’s why Joan’s work always makes me smile. It reminds me that I love in a magical world, too. One of dreams, yes, but also one of imagination and wonder.
Click on the link here to fly silent as an owl over to her website and be sure to check out her blog, Illustration Matters. You can also find out more about Joan on Facebook and Twitter. And if you’re looking for something special to give someone, check out Joan’s Etsy shop where she’s transformed her wonderful illustrations into cards.
