Satomi Ichikawa

One of my research methods has been to simply pick a shelf at the library and go through each book.  I take a quick look at the art style and a quick glance at the text.  If the text is in verse, I take it; if the art style is anything that catches my eye, I take it.

The book pictured above is one with an art style that caught my eye.  The author and illustrator is Satomi Ichikawa, who, surprisingly, has no formal training in art.  She paints in vivid watercolors, sometimes with a touch of outlining, that beautifully capture the details of other cultures.  I took home My Father's Shop and My Pig Amarillo, and reading them gave me all of the same people-watching pleasure as reading an issue of National Geographic.

Her books nicely illustrate how when a writer illustrates her own book, she can leave so much out of the text.  The remaining writing is spare and clean, without redundancy.