1/14/2013

How Dr Seuss Artwork Can Bring Color To Your Life

By Dorothea Garner


Several generations of children from all over the world have honed their reading skills by using his books. The stories still have the power to enchant and delight, no matter how old you are. What makes books like 'Yertle the Turtle' or 'Green Eggs and Ham' extra special is the quirky and colorful Dr Seuss artwork that accompanies the text.

Having grown up in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the city of his birth, Ted Geisel went on to study at Dartmouth College. Here he created cartoons for a humor magazine on campus. After an unfortunate event involving gin and subsequently being banned from extracurricular activities, he continued his work for the magazine by simply signing his cartoons 'Dr Seuss'. This was his middle name and also his mother's maiden name. Even though he wasn't officially a doctor just yet, the legitimate title followed after he graduated from Lincoln College, Oxford with a doctorate in Philosophy.

After obtaining his qualifications, Geisel became a professional cartoonist and illustrator for the advertising industry. It was for this work that he became a well-known name in the United States. Some of his early pieces also served as inspiration for characters that would later appear in his popular children's books. For example, an illustration he did for a car advertisement featured cats jumping out of hats, alluding to 'The Cat in the Hat' that would follow.

Geisel published his first children's book in 1937. It was 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'. Dozens of publishers rejected it before Vanguard Press decided to give the author and illustrator a chance. It was a wise move, since the more than 60 children's books Geisel wrote in his life sold in excess of 222 million copies. Some of his books are rated among the all-time best-selling children's books.

Geisel's stories are usually written in a rhyming style. To create his illustrations, he used watercolors and later also moved on to pen and ink. Everything in the pictures seems droopy, from the characters themselves to the machines and buildings. Straight lines, like you would get in real life, don't appear anywhere. This is part of what children love about his style: It's fun and funny-looking, almost magical.

There has been several television series and films based on Geisel's books. He even animated some himself. Proof of just how popular the books have always been the world over is that a team from the Soviet Union also produced a short animated film based on one of his stories. Over the years, there has been other merchandise, like toy versions of the characters, too. In Orlando, Florida there is a theme park dedicated to Dr Seuss and built according to his illustration style.

While Geisel is best known for his illustration work, he also created sculptures. 'A Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy' is indeed very different. Geisel used bits and pieces from actual animals and combined these with other materials to create strange beasts. These were then mounted, like one would mount a hunting trophy of, say, a moose. Today you will be able to find replicas relatively easily.

Even though Ted Geisel passed away in 1991, his award-winning legacy lives on. You can buy Dr Seuss artwork for a touch of quirky magic in your home. These are available at selected art galleries. It's ironic that Geisel, who brought so much joy to children the world over, never had children of his own.




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