The Lincoln Family

I was priviledged to be asked to supply illustrations for Rosemary Wells' emmensely moving story about Abraham Lincoln and his relationship with his family, “Lincoln and his Boys”. 

I did a great deal of research and background reading about Lincoln, and I travelled to Springfield, Illinois with Rosemary to visit the Lincoln home there, and to get as much authentic visual reference material as I possibly could.

I came to see Lincoln as a hugely likeable and admirable figure. In Rosemary’s story he is laid back and relaxed with his sons, Willie and Tad, a funny, indulgent father more than the granite prophet we know from the Lincoln Memorial.

Abraham and Mary Lincoln were shattered when Willie died in the White House from typhoid fever in 1862, and it is no surprise that when Tad also died young, a few years after Lincoln’s assasination, Mary Todd Lincoln was utterly unhinged by grief and depression.

Bisto Children’s Book of The Year Shortlist Announced

The 10 book shortlist for the 20th Bisto Children’s Book of the Year Awards has been announced, and I am delighted to have been included once again. This time for my work on "Lincoln and his Boys" by Rosemary Wells.
The winners of the Awards will be announced on the 24 May.

THE FULL SHORTLIST:
An Gréasaí Bróg agus na Sióga – Catríona Hastings and Andrew Whitson
Chalkline – Jane Mitchell
Colm and the Lazarus Key – Kieran Mark Crowley
Gluaiseacht – Alan Titley
Lincoln and his Boys – PJ Lynch
Solace of the Road – Siobhan Dowd
The Eyeball Collector – F.E. Higgins
The Gates – John Connolly
The Third Pig Detective Agency – Bob Burke
There – Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Maire Uí Mhaicín, Chair of the 2009-10 Judging Panel, said: “This year’s shortlist provides challenging and entertaining reading material: the works included span across the ranges of fantasy, mystery, folklore and the gritty realities being endured by young people as they cope with life changes. The variety of books shortlisted will ensure satisfying reading material for readers of different ages, interests and reading levels.”

The Publication of "Lincoln and His Boys"

Tomorrow, is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, and "Lincoln and His Boys" written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by me is now in the bookshops. I've been asked on to the Tubridy show tomorrow morning on RTE Radio 1 to talk about the book, and about Lincoln generally.
Kevin Stevens who wrote a very interesting piece on Lincoln in the Irish Times yesterday will also be there, so hopefully we'll all have an interesting discussion.

Here, to celebrate his birthday, is a happy picture from the early part of "Lincoln and His Boys".

Lincoln at the Great Western Railroad Depot in Springfield

Here's another from "Lincoln and his Boys".
The speech I quoted from in the previous post was spoken at the Great Western Railroad Depot in Springfield, Illinois. The depot is still there, preserved as it was on the day that Lincoln left.
When I visited Springfield with Rosemary Wells, we sought it out, and I took hundreds of photos from every angle, knowing that I would be illustrating this scene of Lincoln and Willie returning from Chicago. However there was no way I could make the composition work and also show the depot in the background.
This was a case where it was important to jettison the great research I had done for the sake of a better picture.
That kind of background research is never wasted though. It meant a lot to me to stand where Lincoln had been, and to see some of the things he and his family had seen.
Here is a shot of the depot as it is to-day.

My Obama picture from "Lincoln and his Boys"

In this historic week in US politics, I thought I'd share this picture from the forthcoming book, "Lincoln and his Boys" by Rosemary Wells.
I was working on it at about the time that Barack Obama declared in Springfield, Illinois, that he was running for President.

Shortly after the confederate stronghold of Richmond was taken by the Union forces, Lincoln was urged to parade with troops through the centre of the ruined city. Not wishing to glory in the defeat of the South, he chose instead to walk through Richmond with his son, Tad.
This was a very tricky picture for me, in that Rosemary's text accurately describes how the former slaves threw themselves at Lincoln's feet calling him Father Abraham.
But was important for me to present the scene in a dignified way. I wanted to show the joy of the crowd surrounding Lincoln and Tad, but I needed to hint at the mixed emotions and foreboding that some of the people would have had, and also to show a measure of defiant strength.
All of this is focussed in the thoughtful individual holding his hat at the lower left in what is compositionally, the counterpoint to Lincoln's position.

Obama is a stirring orator, but he'll have to go some to match Abraham Lincoln, whose speeches contain some of the most poetic and inspiring words ever spoken.
As President elect Obama prepares to take on his great challenges, to address the financial crisis and to try to redeem the position of the US in the world, I think of some lines that Lincoln spoke as he left Springfield for the last time, knowing that he was facing almost inevitably into Civil War.

"My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail...."