Illustrator Saturday – Doris Ettlinger

A number of years back I discovered the artwork of Doris Ettlinger and have been enjoying the children’s books that she illustrates ever since. I am happy to share Doris with you. I know you will enjoy her talent as much as I do. Here’s Doris:

Doris Ettlinger graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and received an MFA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She has been illustrating ever since. 

Most of her early illustrations were for magazines and newspapers. Her clients included The New York Times, Forbes, Penguin Books and Scholastic. 

Motherhood and the move from Manhattan to Warren County changed the direction of Doris’ career. Educational publishing, with its longer deadlines, was a better fit with her family-driven schedule.  In 1992 Doris signed with Cornell & McCarthy, artist representatives in the children’s market.

Sketches for Memories of the Manger

Doris’ models come in very handy when doing an overhead point of view.

Most of Doris’ picture books include a view from overhead.

Or a view from the ground.    The Orange Shoes.

“Supper” from The Orange Shoes

Doris used glazes of transparent watercolor to create the mood of this piece.  When the watercolor is finished she uses colored pencil to recapture the line and add lighter color to the dark areas.  

Abe Lincoln Loved Animals

Daughter Ivy

Since then Doris has illustrated picture books for Albert Whitman & Co. Simon & Schuster and especially Sleeping Bear Press. 

Doris’s recent books include:

THE ORANGE SHOES by Trina Hakes Noble, selected for the 2008 IRA Teachers’ Choices List in the Primary Category, as well as 8 state nominations, including the Charlotte Award for New York State. 

G IS FOR GARDEN STATE by Eileen Cameron

PILGRIM CAT by Carol Peacock

MORRIS & BUDDY: THE STORY OF THE FIRST SEEING EYE DOG by Becky Hall

ABE LINCOLN LOVED ANIMALS by Ellen Jackson

March 2011 is the release date for Doris Ettlinger’s next picture book, A Book for Black-eyed Susan, by Judy Young (Sleeping Bear Press).  Be sure to have a hanky ready when you read this book.  Here’s the opening scene.  A print of this illustration was in the juried show at this year’s NJSCBWI conference.

Thumbnail for  “Birth”

Final sketch – Aunt Alma holds Cora’s baby sister.  Cora’s mother has died in childbirth on the Oregon Trail.  

Drawing on watercolor paper  (arches hot press – stretched on board)

First a thin wash of aureolin yellow.  Then rose madder genuine.  (Winsor Newton)

A splashy wash of ultramarine blue with a little alizarin crimson and winsor green.  Cerulean blue at the horizon.  Not dark enough however.

Winsor green and alizarin crimson for the grassland and hills.  Details in colored pencil. 

To see more of Doris Ettlinger’s work visit her website at www.dorisettlinger.com. 

Doris’ next goal is to illustrate a story she has written herself.  To that end she joined the Hunterdon County Children’s Writer and Illustrator Group (HCCWIG).  This association, as well as teaching the Musconetcong Watercolor Group, has expanded her network of like-minded friends and brought her work to a new level.  She is no longer a studio hermit. 

Doris lives with her husband, Mike McFadden – artist, craftsman, and high school teacher – in a 150-year-old gristmill on the banks of the Musconetcong River near Hampton, NJ.  She’s usually in her studio or walking the dog.  Otherwise, she’s teaching art class on the third floor.

Doris’ studio

Please visit her website at www.dorisettlinger.com.

Make sure you click on the link to visit Doris’ website.  We just scratched the surface with her illustrations.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Doris.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy