P. J. Lynch: Ireland ⋆ Illustrator

Abstract

P. J. LynchIreland ⋆ Illustrator Tia Lalani Born in Belfast Ireland in 1962, the youngest of five children, P. J. Lynch has noted that "burying [himself] in books, and the little worlds they created on a page, was a good way of escaping for a while from the horrors that were happening around [him] in the real world." Lynch pursued his own personal form of escape and studied under Raymond Briggs at Brighton College of Art. Studying in Brighton lead directly to Lynch's first publication, the illustrations for a collection of tales from England and Wales titled A Bag of Moonshine, which won him the Mother Goose award in 1986, and he has won several awards since. Lynch's impressive use of light and contrast creates his characteristic serious style. Instead of simply describing the text at hand, Lynch works hard to point the reader towards his or her own observations about atmosphere and emotion, using warm colors or cool colors where appropriate. Lynch's original illustrations only made use of ink and watercolor, though he has now includes oils, and uses computer graphics when he begins a project. The way Lynch goes about his illustrations proves just as interesting as the finished product. He takes his time in researching image and text before he even attempts a story, and often uses photographs or real life models on which to base his characters. Although Lynch does not have a large body of work, his meticulous attention to detail inspires the reader to go beyond the surface in each and every one of his illustrations. The work itself is also quite varied, as Lynch's images can quickly go from endearing to grotesque, and he demonstrates skill in portraying an epic landscape on one page while conveying the intimacy of a domestic scene on the next. Lynch has illustrated stories from some of the greats, including Edith Nesbit, William Butler Yeats and Oscar Wilde. He has also created posters for Opera Ireland and the Abbey Theatre, as well as a Christmas stamp collection for the Irish post, and in 2006, completed two largescale oil murals depicting scenes from Gulliver's Travels at the Cavan County Library. Lynch's ability to branch out of the conventional mold of a children's book illustrator is a testament to his diverse skill, and although Lynch professes to draw not only for children but also for all ages, he has had great success in the field of children's literature. Selected Bibliography • A Christmas Carol. Text Charles Dickens. UK: Walker, 2006. Print. Google Scholar • The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. Text Susan Wojciechowski. UK: Walker, 1994. Print. Google Scholar • Mysterious Traveller. Text Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. UK: Walker, 2013. Print. Google Scholar • The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Text Hans Christian Andersen. UK: Andersen, 1993. Print. Google Scholar • When Jessie Came Across the Sea. Text Amy Hest. UK: Walker, 1996. Print. [End Page 30] Google Scholar Copyright © 2014 Bookbird, Inc.