Meet the Illustrator: Mike Lowery
by the Brightly Editors
Known for his sense of humor and sketchbook-style illustrations, Mike Lowery is the artist behind Laura Murray’s Gingerbread Man stories, Ken Jennings’s Junior Genius Guides, the Doodle Adventures series, and Prince and Pirate, a story about two incompatible fish forced to share the same tank. In this installment of Meet the Illustrator, Lowery reflects on the important role his grandma played in him becoming an artist, how art helps kids get comfortable with making mistakes, and his favorite feathery character named Carl.
What first made you excited about art?
I used to spend the summers with my grandmother in Tennessee. She wasn’t a professional artist, but she liked to paint as a hobby. She introduced my brother and me to keeping a sketchbook, which I still do today. Later, when I won an art competition at a comic book store in eighth grade, I was allowed to use my dad’s car phone — which was only supposed to be used in case of emergency — to call her and tell her about it.
What’s your favorite thing to draw at the moment?
Right now, one of my absolute favorite things to draw is BUGS. I draw them all the time.
Which illustration from Prince and Pirate did you especially enjoy creating?
I loved drawing the spreads where Prince and Pirate weren’t too happy with each other, which is most of the first half of the book!
Which characters from your books would you like to spend time with?
One character that I like to draw and who’d be fun to meet is an angry duck named Carl. He seems kind of rude when you first meet him, but then he warms up and is sort of sweet.
Can you draw us a self-portrait?
Of course! How’s this?
What illustrated book have you read recently and been wowed by?
I’m always reading illustrated books, so it’s hard to just pick one. Though, I recently read California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas by Pénélope Bagieu while on vacation with my family in the National Parks in Utah. I loved it. She drew Mama Cass with so much energy and humor. Of course, we immediately started listening to the “Best of the Mamas and the Papas” album while driving around.
Why do you think art is important for kids? What can grown-ups do to encourage kids to engage with art?
It’s really tough to answer this question in just a few sentences! There are so many good reasons for kids to make art, whether it’s drawing, photography, dance, or anything else creative. It helps them learn how to make mistakes and grow, it helps them to find their own voice, it helps them to find others with similar taste or interests … the list goes on and on.
Parents can encourage kids to make art in lots of ways, but probably one of the best ways for me when I was growing up was to have an adult want to make stuff with me. Like I mentioned before, my grandmother would paint with me, but I would also read all the time with my mom and I learned to love playing music from my dad. My dad also helped me build pinewood derby cars for boy scouts and even once helped me make a cake that looked like a castle — with cannon balls! I was surrounded by folks who liked to make stuff and enjoyed art in really different ways, and this stuck with me.
What’s the best name for a color that you’ve ever heard?
Coriander seed.
-
Books by the Illustrator
-
How to be a T. Rex
Also available from: -
Gingerbread Man Stories
Also available from:
Mike Lowery is an illustrator and fine artist whose work has been seen in galleries and publications internationally. A professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mike Lowery lives with his family in Atlanta. Follow him on Instagram @mikelowerystudio and visit him at MikeLowery.com.