St Rose Students Learn About Illustrating And Writing History

By Eliza Hallabeck

Children’s books illustrator and author Michael Dooling visited St Rose of Lima School on Wednesday, April 11, to share some of his techniques and speak to students.

Mr Dooling told the students he has illustrated more than 50 books, and each of the pictures in his books were first created as oil paintings. For every character he paints, he uses a model, usually a friend or himself.

Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon, written by Jeannine Atkins and illustrated by Mr Dooling, is one of his favorite books, he said. The illustrated biography of Mary Anning shares how as a child she started looking for seashells and more by the seashore and went on to discover fossil remains, according to Mr Dooling’s website, www.michaeldooling.com.

Using a presentation, Mr Dooling shared images he created for Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon. In 1810, Mr Dooling explained, no one knew what a dinosaur was.

After Mary Anning discovered the fossil, Mr Dooling said, “she thought maybe this is the fossil of an alligator. Maybe it is the fossil of a sea dragon. Mary Anning was the first person in the world to ever find a sea reptile fossil.”

Mr Dooling said he, like other artists, draws with emotion. He also asks friends to stand in as models for characters in his books, he also recreates scenes. For The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, written by James Cross Giblin, he modeled for the part and painted in Benjamin Franklin’s face.

To recreate history, Mr Dooling also said he spends a large amount of time in libraries researching and visiting museums.

With the help of his wife, Jane, he also demonstrated how he would paint a portrait for one of his books. Mrs Dooling held his easel steady for him as he painted an image of a boy for the students.

“An artist has to be very observant,” he said. “So always have your artist eyes with you.”