Illustrator Adam Gustavson visits PCA&D

On November 7th, the Illustration Department was proud to host Adam Gustavson as its guest speaker and demonstrator for the day. Adam began the day speaking about his life as a children’s book illustrator (Simon and Schuster) and his gravitation to mural and gallery work. His publications vary from fictional tales to nonfiction historical illustration. Some of his books illustrate the life of the Beatles before their fame as well as the rambunctious life of Alice Roosevelt. He also described his ability to bounce back and forth between oils and gouache and his love for creating fun small sketches that he features on social media under the hashtag #fereltown.

Work by Adam Gustavson.

After a Q&A with the students he enjoyed pizza with the class then immediately dove into painting! He brought in a sketch he did for inktober and began to demonstrate his gouache process step by step. Meanwhile he told stories to the class about his life as an artist, husband, father and teacher. It was an invaluable experience and the students absorbed every bit of information. We even had some seniors come and sit in during the demo. It was a good time had by all. Thanks to Adam for giving his day to our PCA&D class and allowing us to pick his brain and gain insight into his methods!