Illustrator Floyd Cooper in St. Charles

I had the great opportunity yesterday to see illustrator, Floyd Cooper, in action at the Missouri SCBWI conference in St. Charles. The award winning illustrator demonstrated his unique style of erasing–using a kneaded eraser to create the underpainting for his works of art. Somehow Mr. Cooper was able to create a quick portrait for us as he talked, the microphone in one hand and the eraser in the other, as he worked with the paper virtually upside down to his perspective. It was amazing, but then he is a Coretta Scott King Award winning illustrator.

He is the illustrator for MEET DANITRA BROWN by Nikki Grimes, whom I met a couple years ago at a writers’ workshop. What an incredible combination of words and art!