By Sarah Stebbins
From our November 2018 issue
1. Cover Art
Van Dusen keeps most of his original paintings, and displays a few, like the cover of The Circus Ship, in frames. “I tend to hold onto them [versus selling them] because once they’re gone, they’re gone.
2. Awards
The Maine Library Association’s Katahdin Award for lifetime achievement and Lupine Award for The Circus Ship decorate the wall. “I have other awards, but the ones from my home state are really special.”
3. Characters
The robots in Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit are literally and loosely based on Van Dusen’s collection of reproduction 1960s machines. The Iron Giant bank references a favorite movie, and tutu-wearing pig Mercy Watson stars in the eponymous Kate DiCamillo series he illustrates. In his hand: a clay version of “Hudson,” on whom Van Dusen modeled his Hattie and Hudson sketches.
4. Brushes
“I use cheap watercolor brushes I buy in bulk,” Van Dusen says, noting that the opaque watercolor paint he employs, known as gouache, quickly frays bristles.
5. Palette
Van Dusen pulled the vivid, retro palette he used in If I Built a Car from a 1964 Sears catalog he bought on eBay. He’s using the same scheme in his latest book, called — you heard it here first — If I Built a School, due out next fall.
6. Work in Progress
Next, he enlarges each picture on a copier, rubs the back with pencil, and lays it, image side up, on illustration board. Tracing the drawing with a pen transfers it to the board, where he’ll create his final painting using the earlier, more detailed picture for reference. A book’s worth of illustration takes six to nine months.
7. Light Table
The artist does his initial sketches freehand, then traces them onto fresh sheets of paper on a light table, creating cleaner, tighter drawings.
8. Literary Inspiration
“I am most inspired by Robert McCloskey — he added so much detail to his pictures — and Dr. Seuss. His rhyme is perfect.”
9. Jacket
This belonged to Van Dusen’s best friend, a die-hard music fan who passed away. “I keep it on that chair, and it’s like my buddy Dave is here.”
