On September 8th, I went to the Orlando Museum of Art (2416 North Mills Ave
Orlando, Fl) to see Tall Tales and Huge Hearts: Raúl Colón a show of Children’s book illustrations. Raúl Colón,is a popular award-winning
artist who has illustrated more than 30 books for children. Colón
created the art for a number of acclaimed picture books, including Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Pat Mora, which won the prestigious Pura Belpré Medal; My Mama Had A Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray; and José! Born to Dance: The Story of José Limon by Susanna Reich, winner of the Tomas Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award. Raul’s illustrations are, tightly rendered using watercolor and colored pencils. He then
rakes the image giving each image a swirling surreal feel. The artwork was hung low on the wall so kids could see his work at eye level. Arranged chronologically, it was interesting to see his style evolve from early watercolors to the much tighter later work. Mark your Calendar! This show in on view through November 3rd. During the first weekend of every month Bank of America and Merrill Lynch card holders receive free gallery admission. Otherwise, admission for adults is $8.
Also on display was the Contemporary American Graphics Collection which includes more than 150 original, signed and numbered
lithographs, etchings, silk-screen prints and woodcuts by America’s
foremost artists. It is one of the most comprehensive 20th-century
contemporary print collections in Florida. The works vary from realism
to abstraction, reflecting a variety of techniques and styles that
emerged from the revolution in fine art printing that has occurred in
the last 55 years. Artists represented in this collection include Andy
Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Bryan Hunt, Lesley Dill,
Katherine Bowling, and many other American masters. One piece that particularly impressed me was a huge portrait of Leslie done by Chuck Close using just his finger prints.