FALL RIVER — An inflatable airplane with a crew of dogs, a little girl who just won’t go to sleep, a bad dog and bear sharing cupcakes are some of the concepts artists brought to the page in the Narrows Center for the Art’s new exhibit, “Studio to Storybook: The Art of Illustration.”
Opening Saturday, Dec. 8, and running through Jan. 26, the exhibit features the illustration work of artists Manette Jungels, Nicole Wong, Linda Bourke and Alex Gerasev.
Taking the viewer through the artists’ creative processes, the exhibit runs the gamut from Bourke’s vibrant whimsical animals and Gerasev’s detailed black-and-white prints, to Jungels' playful watercolors and Wong’s colorful view of life under the sea.
Jungels, who came up with the idea for the exhibit, took on the task of illustrating a song by well-known SouthCoast-based singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler. Normally an artist working in oils, Jungels said her foray into watercolor illustration inspired her to share the illustrator’s process through the exhibit.
“I’m not an illustrator, I’m an oil painter. I’ve never done this type of project and I think that’s part of what I was interested in kids knowing just because you don’t know how to do something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a shot…. I want people to be brave and take risks. I want to put the messy right out there with the finished work," Jungels said.
Pointing at panels of preliminary pencil drawings and then to framed watercolor illustrations from the book, Jungels added, “I think process is really important. Art can be messy and experimental and you don’t get right away over here without going there first. You have to allow yourself to be messy and explore and not have those critics tell you it’s not right.”
Jungels also brought along pieces from the inspiration wall in her own studio of art and images that inspire her as well as pieces that didn’t make it into the book. A friend and neighbor of Wheeler, she said the song came out of a weekend when Jungels’ four dogs were at Wheeler’s house along with Wheeler’s three dogs. “Cheryl was driving off for a show and a dream she had about an inflatable plane popped into her head. And being Cheryl, all of a sudden she was on the plane with seven dogs,” Jungels said.
The book with Wheeler’s song lyrics and Jungels’ illustrations will be for sale at the exhibit with an accompanying free download of the song, “My Inflatable Plane.”
Illustration is a new venture for Jungels, but Fall River native Wong knew she wanted to be an illustrator since she was 5 years old. Growing up with two parents who were artists, Wong said it was easy to imagine her own life as an artist. “I wanted to tell stories through pictures,” Wong said.
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Wong has done just that. Working in conjunction with children’s book authors, Wong produces two to three books a year with diverse subjects. More and more these days, Wong said she’s been working on science books for kids. “Flying Deep,” one of the books she’s showing the process of creating in the exhibit, started with Wong having to do her own exploration.
In order to bring to life author Michelle Cusolito’s story about a day in the Woods Hole Oceanic Institution’s deep ocean submersible vehicle Alvin, Wong first had to turn to the internet to research the dimensions and workings of the vessel, without actually seeing it in person. From there, Wong started researching life underseas. “I was exploring a whole new world through my illustrations, so it was a great way to learn,” Wong said.
With the book geared toward 5- to 10-year-olds, Wong had to dissect all of that scientific information and aim her artwork to that age group. The vessel Alvin and the deep sea landscape became “the characters” in the book and Wong created artwork that makes kids feel like they’re right inside the book, she said.
"Sweet Dreaming," by Julia Rawlinson, the other book Wong illustrated that she’s featuring in the exhibit, is a subject much closer to home: getting a child to go to sleep. Wong even fashioned the young girl in that book after her own daughter, Malley.
After working traditionally in watercolors and ink, Wong went digital a few years back. At the exhibit, a video will be playing that will show attendees how she uses an iPad Pro and the app Procreate to make her illustrations. In addition to signing and selling those two books, Wong will also be showing and selling some of her own artwork, pieces she created that aren’t related to her illustration.
Bourke and Gerasev are both affiliated with the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Gloucester resident Bourke, a professor emeritus, was chairwoman of the Illustration Department and St. Petersburg, Russia native Gerasev is a faculty member in the Illustration Department there.
During a particularly brutal winter a few years back, Bourke decided to write a happy story for her book, “Thursday!” “The bear is the cook who likes to bake,” she said of the character that bakes cupcakes to give to other woodland creatures in “Thursday!,” the book she’s featuring at the exhibit.
“I really like when children’s books are simple and have to do with acts of kindness and generosity. Even the wolf helped the bear. She’s not a big, bad wolf. I gave her eyeshadow, but she has big teeth so she has an edge,” said Bourke, who also wrote and illustrated the books "Eye Spy," "A Show of Hands" and "Pooch Smooch."
Bourke’s work also includes political illustrations and, more recently, life-sized puppets of saints that were featured in a solo show she had last year.
An illustrator, painter, printmaker and muralist known for his bold lines, exquisite craftsmanship and intriguing imagery, Gerasev’s work is exhibited internationally and is held in private and public collections throughout the United States and Europe, according to the press release for the exhibit.
Signed books by all of the artists will be available for purchase at the opening reception at the Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan St., Fall River, on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Email Linda Murphy at lmurphy@heraldnews.com.