Damon Lehrer
Born in Boston in 1967, Damon Lehrer attended Amherst College and apprenticed to sculptor Philip Grausman in Connecticut. He traveled in Eastern Europe and lived in London during the 90s, then taught art at schools including the Rhode Island School of Design, Boston University, and Lesley University. In 2010 he started the Boston Figurative Art Center. His first children’s wordless picture book, Rocket Boy, was published by David R. Godine in 2017. He lives with his wife and son in Lexington, MA.
What was your favorite book as a child?
It depends which age… In the Night Kitchen and The Phantom Tollbooth, certainly. And Susan Cooper’s books!
What do you love to do for fun?
Play soccer with my 12-year-old son!
Mediums:
Specialties:
Action-adventure, Animals, Black & white, Board books, Book Covers, Character design, Concept art, Editorial, Fantasy, Graphic novel interior art, Humor, Illustration, Indie comics, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Penciling, Picture books, Sci-fi, Slice-of-life, Spot art, Writing, Young Adult
Art Process:
For a book project, I sit at my drawing table and visualize what I need to express. If things go well, I collect a few ideas that I jot down and use as the basis for pencil sketches. I often photograph these basic sketches and import them to Photoshop, where I can play with their tonal parameters and get new ideas. I might play with color at this stage, too. When I feel good about a small drawing, I make a larger drawing on Canson 14×17 drawing paper. I’ll import these into Photoshop and play with them in the same way, and if possible do finishing work and small adjustments.
I find the alternation between drawing with paper and pencil and working digitally really enjoyable. It helps me separate from the drawing and see it in a new way. It also makes me feel very free to take risks with color, image order, and pencil drawing.
Published books:
Rocket Boy, David Godine, 2017
Location:
Visit Damon at:
Awards and honors:
Massachusetts Cultural Council Award in Painting, 2000
Available for School Visits:
I do free-form author visits where I place enlarged posters of pages from my book at the front of the room. I ask the kids about themselves to loosen them up (what they do, what they like, what they think of the illustrations, etc.) until they start asking me questions. We have fun and I enjoy it.
