Bryan Collier

Sometimes you stumble across an artist who is doing what you want to be doing, but doing it so well, it makes your teeth hurt. That's how I felt on the third floor of the Multnomah Public Library's Central Branch on Tuesday, when I found myself in the middle of an exhibition of works by Bryan Collier.The exhibit featured originals of his children's book illustrations: large, mixed-media collages featuring water color, pen and ink drawing, and an amazing sense of color.

Collier has illustrated children's books about John Lennon, Langston Hughes, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King. I loved seeing the collages up close, being able to distinguish between each section of torn and assembled paper. If you get a chance to see this exhibit, do it!

Here's a link to a website for the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature: www.nccil.org. Here you can find more information about Bryan Collier and see more images from the exhibit.