Tuesday, Sept 11, 11:00 am, VPA 144
Eric Velasquez is an illustrator who lives and works in New York. He was born in Spanish Harlem, the son of Afro-Puerto Rican parents, and attended the High School of Art and Design. He earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and also studied with Harvey Dinnerstein at the Art Students鈥 League. Illustrating for over thirty years, he teaches book illustration at FIT in NYC.
Velasquez began his career as a freelance illustrator in 1984 and in the first 12 years, completed over 300 book jackets and interior illustrations. These included the complete series of 鈥淓ncyclopedia Brown鈥 and 鈥淭he Ghost Writers鈥, among others. In 1997, he illustrated his first picture book, 鈥淭he Piano Man鈥 by Debbie Chocolate, for which he won the Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Many books and awards have followed. He received the NAACP Image Award in 2010 for 鈥淥ur Children Can Soar鈥, on which he collaborated with 12 notable illustrators of children鈥檚 literature. He also wrote and illustrated 鈥淕randma鈥檚 Records鈥 and 鈥淕randma鈥檚 Gift鈥, which won the 2011 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration. His latest book 鈥淪chomburg: The Man Who Built a Library鈥 by Carole Boston Weatherford has gathered rave reviews and has won the 2018 Walter Award, as well as the Golden Kite Award.
