From the January/February 2010 issue of The Horn Book Magazine

Color Commentary
The Power of Color

by Jerry Pinkney

have been making pictures from as far back as I can remember, using whatever materials were available. By age eleven you could not find me without a sketchbook and pencil in hand. The images I drew were almost always in black and white. I had no interest in color, in part because of the expense but also because a sketchpad and pencil were easy to tote.

In my high school art class I was introduced to color, but it was not until attending the Philadelphia Museum School of Art that I began using color to evoke emotion, such as in an oil painting where I wanted to capture the light passing through potted plants. Brilliant yellows and oranges conveyed light and energy; shades of red suggested blossoms. It was then, for the first time, that I began to understand the power of color and its ability to play on one’s feelings.

In design class I learned the importance of color to enhance the message within an image. I began using color freely and found that my use of color was intuitive. The process of painting begins with putting that first color on paper; then the applications of hues and shades follow. Over the years, color would become one of the elements most joyous in my creative process. I use it to create moods and emotions and to shepherd the viewer’s eye to a specific place within an image.

I just need to have a brush in hand and a sense of what I want to say. Cool blues and grays in The Ugly Duckling suggest the duckling’s feelings and the beauty and harshness of winter. Pulsating blues and reds describe in Sweethearts of Rhythm the energy and joy of swing music. In The Lion & the Mouse, rich oranges and browns portray the landscape of the African Serengeti and bring out the emotional warmth of the narrative. The red neckerchief worn by John Henry directs the eye to the folk hero, no matter how active the picture. When I clearly define my intent for each illustration, my sense of color quickly follows.

Drawing, composition, and perspective remain a work in progress. However, my use of color is a gift, one wrapped and tied with a ribbon made up of all the colors of the rainbow.

Jerry Pinkney is the reteller and illustrator of The Lion & the Mouse (Little, Brown).

From the January/February 2010 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
Illustration from Artist to Artist. © Jerry Pinkney.