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MEET DIANE BROWNING (2/2011)
by Ann Stalcup

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Diane Browning

Usually I was busy drawing, making little books (which for some reason always opened backwards), writing stories, or reading a rather eclectic array of fiction and nonfiction.  I loved English history and the history of the American Civil War.  I liked boys’ books too—adventure books by Howard Pease and Eloise Jarvis McGraw—as well as girls’ books like LITTLE WOMEN and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.  I adored a very old set of THE BOOKS OF KNOWLEDGE and read and re-read them endlessly.  My sisters and I wrote and acted in our own plays and wrote a series of very gossipy family newspapers. I also loved to see movies, which I was sometimes inspired to rewrite!

Did you write stories when you were growing up?  At school, or at home as a hobby?  As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

When I was a child I joined a creative writing club at the main city library in Dallas.  It was started by the children’s librarian, Siddie Jo Johnson, herself a published children’s book author and poet.  I won ‘awards’ for my writing (one – a story about a ghost in a Scottish castle).  It was a wonderful experience and the encouragement I received there made me want to continue writing.
In high school I had some excellent writing classes.  We wrote stories and poetry and printed a book of class work.  I’ve always loved words and creative phrasing and in high school I first began studying and collecting sentences I read in books I especially liked so I could try to analyze really beautiful writing.  Closer to home, my aunt was a talented poet and storyteller. I very much admired her and her writing.

Who influenced you in your desire to be an artist?

My mother was a painter and fashion illustrator.  A wonderful, self-trained artist, she had great self-discipline, dedication and love of art. She taught me a great deal but not in a structured way.  I think I always believed I would follow in her footsteps and become an artist.

Why did you choose to pursue children’s book illustration?

As a child I loved the story illustrations in the women’s monthly magazines. My mother and sisters and I collected the pictures.  We knew the illustrators names and had favorites—Ben Stahl, Bernie Fuchs, Coby Whitmore, Edwin Georgi, Jon Whitcomb and many more!  I also pored over the old 19th century book illustrations in adult books as well as children’s.  I was enchanted. They made the stories come alive.  I wanted to do that.  When I grew up I entered Art Center as an illustration major.  Bob Peak and Mark English were favorites then. But the age of the great magazine story illustrators was soon over. Luckily we still have children’s picture books!  The joy I felt as a child, the love I had for illustrated stories is still with me and I am now fortunate to be a part of that wonderful world.

Was your first book accepted immediately, or did you experience a number of rejections?

I was very fortunate with my first book!  I was encouraged when the manuscript won an SCBWI Writers Day contest, but I edited it again before submitting it to an editor.  It was rejected, but with an encouraging note.  A month later the dummy and sample illustrations were seen by Abigail Samoun of Tricycle Press at an SCBWI Summer Conference portfolio display.  A contract was offered soon after.

What gave you the idea for SIGNED, ABIAH ROSE?

I saw a PBS documentary made by filmmaker Mirra Bank – Anonymous Was a Woman.  It told of the many 18th and 19th century women who created art for their homes or to sell to their neighbors.  Art historians believe many of the unsigned folk paintings of the period were done by women.  I was inspired to write a fictional story of a young girl who wants to paint and to sign her name to her work, when those around her say ‘best not’.

You illustrated your book yourself.  What did you consider when planning the illustrations?  How much freedom did you have?

Since my book is about a folk artist and the paintings she created, I wanted to evoke that style as well as the time period—the 1830s—in which the story takes place.  I did extensive research on the painters, their paintings (clothing, furniture etc.) as well as the locale in which the story takes place.  I chose a color palette the artists would have used for their paintings.  I would like to have used oils or egg tempera, in keeping with what the folk artists themselves would have used, but because of time constraints I painted the illustrations in acrylics.
The finished book is very close to the dummy design I submitted.  Only a couple of illustrations were changed, due to manuscript changes that evolved as we edited.  Even the cover illustration I originally designed was used.

Has your book earned special recognition?

SIGNED, ABIAH ROSE received a starred review from Booklist and was named to their Top Ten List of Historical Titles for Youth for 2010, as well as their Top Ten Art Books for Youth 2010.  It is also on the ALA Amelia Bloomer Project Recommended Titles List for 2011.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

I’m a Gemini, and the twins are a good symbol for me.  I sometimes read two books at the same time, and I work on more than one manuscript and, yes, pieces of artwork too can be developed simultaneously.  I’m very fortunate in that I’ve been able to maintain my enthusiasm about projects, even some I’ve been researching and thinking about or working on for years.  Of course when you’re working to finish an assignment you concentrate solely on the work at hand.

Does writing or illustration give you the most pleasure?

I always think of my books simultaneously in terms of words and pictures.  To me they are joined in my mind – I always think visually as I write.  I work equally hard writing, editing and designing/reworking illustrations.  I love writing and illustrating equally, and though I like to think that if a story were wanted without the illustrations I would let it go, it might be difficult for me!