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Author: Judy Butler

  • Let’s Support Human Creativity

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    Judy Butler
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    Rosa Bonheur wants to be an artist. Tomie dePaola wants to be an artist. Allen Say wants to be an artist. Each one embraces their aloneness and pursues a path that is different from their peers.  In The Art Lesson, Tommy wants to be an artist when he grows up, so he “drew and drew…

  • Rabbits Learn to Share

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    Judy Butler
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    If You Plant a Seed by Kadin Nelson (2015) is a beautiful book illustrated with lovely paintings. The cover is a close-up of a rabbit and a mouse that radiates light and color. It appears they’ve  collaborated to plant something. They gaze at a young seedling that’s emerging from rich brown soil. We can infer…

  • Eric Carle – the Why

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    Judy Butler
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    Herr Krauss. That’s the why. Herr Krauss secretly showed Eric Carle modern, expressionistic, abstract art. “‘Just look at the looseness, the freedom and–ah!–the beauty of these paintings. The Nazis have no idea what art is; they are charlatans!’” Eric Carle’s art teacher praised the freedom and looseness of his drawing and painting. “‘I’m only permitted…

  • Black and White Drawings

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    Judy Butler
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    Picture books with black and white drawings are rare at library book sales. I’m always glad to discover one. Andrew Henry’s Meadow by Doris Burn (1965, 2005, 2012) tells of Andrew Henry Thatcher’s passion for building things. Andrew loved to piece together elaborate constructions. His mother could not tolerate the helicopter Andrew designed to hang…

  • Wessman and Wiesner: Serious Play with Paint

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    Judy Butler
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    I had the pleasure of meeting Robin Wessman at a local art show. The Provincetown Independent featured Wessman’s paintings in “Robin Wessman’s Destabilizing Reality” (March 20, 2025). In this article we see Wessman’s color and light leap off the page. Reporter Abraham Storer describes these still life images as “rendered realistically, with fastidious care given to…

  • Collage Fun

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    Judy Butler
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    As I play with collage, I realize one reason I love childrens’ picture book illustration is that every image tells a story. My collage is just an arrangement of objects and colors without a message. Something to think about. Here’s a few in frames from local thrift stores.

  • Where – or Who – is Mom?

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    Judy Butler
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    I came across The Overeager Egg by Milja Praagman (2022) at the bookstore and took a peek. The overeager egg is one that tumbles out of its nest, hits a rock, and partially hatches. When it sees other creatures it asks, “Are you my mommy?” A swan at the end of the story has found…

  • Bliss’ Bailey Goes to School

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    Judy Butler
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    Bailey by Harry Bliss looks like an easy laugh at first glance. Bailey is a stocky, softly spotted dog whose tail wags all the time. That’s one clue to how I learned to love this story. On the cover, in Bliss’ characteristically clean illustration style, Bailey is writing the title and author’s name in white…

  • Walls

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    Judy Butler
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    The Wall by Eve Bunting (1990) is an emotionally powerful story. A young child and his father search for a name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “The wall is black and shiny as a mirror. In it I can see Dad and me. I can see the bare trees behind us and the dark, flying…

  • More Collage Play

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    Judy Butler
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    Many thanks to the Illustration Department podcast, the Learn to Paint podcast, Skillshare, and The Artist’s Way (along with The Artist’s Way with Hells and Rua) for my informal and intermittent art education. Thanks to my local art association as well. Here’s a few more of my collages. No, they’re not fine art, but they…