Thoughts on Illustrators

   A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes.  I love to look at illustrations, as they give insight to the artist's take on the story.  Simple or elaborate, colorful or monochromatic, watercolor or oil paints, the variety is amazing. 
   I especially like Trina Schart Hyman.  Her bold paintings bring to life tales like St. George and the Dragon, The Kitchen Knight, and The Canterbury Tales.  I also fancy Alan Lee for his graceful watercolor illustrations for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  K. Y. Craft's paintings for several traditional fairy tales exude a warm, eye-soothing glow, and John Jude Palencar's cover art for The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is some of the most beautiful dragons I've ever seen.  Juliana Kolesova's cover designs for Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern are a visual delight as well.
   I can't leave a discussion on illustrators without mentioning Pauline Baynes, who illustrated The Chronicles of Narnia.  While not my favorite pictures, there is a pleasing sort of childhood simplicity about them.  Nevertheless, I would like to see a more intricately illustrated edition of the Narnia series.  Perhaps I'll become that illustrator...