Ed Emberley

by Todd Oldham (Illustrator), Caleb Neelon, Ed Emberley (Illustrator)

Ed Emberley shies away from calling himself an artist and instead likes to say that he draws pictures for a living. Now in his eighties, Ed Emberley is a Caldecott award-winning children s book illustrator and writer who has been creating original books since the 1960s. He has written and illustrated more than 100 books and is perhaps best known for his beloved how-to-draw books for kids such as: "Ed Emberley s Big Green Drawing Book," "Ed Emberley s Drawing Book of Faces," and "Ed Emberley s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book," and many others.
These simple and straightforward books, first published in the 1970s, have encouraged a generation of kids to take the drawing process step by step. Contemporary working artists today often cite Ed Emberley as a beloved early inspiration in their development as artists. By encouraging kids to draw using just a few simple shapes, Emberley has made drawing and creating accessible to everyone. As Emberley likes to say, Not everyone needs to be an artist, but everyone needs to feel good about themselves.
This definitive monograph on the wide repertoire of Emberley s life s work has been beautifully put together by Todd Oldham and Caleb Neelon. Highlighting work spanning over five decades, this gorgeous and comprehensive book celebrates the talented and prolific life of Ed Emberley.
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Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Jacky Todd Oldham is an American fashion designer originally from Corpus Christi, Texas. He hosted a segment called "Todd Time" on MTV's House of Style in the 1990s. He produced a clothing line associated with the Warner Brothers Batman Forever. Oldham designs furniture and home accessories for the La-Z-Boy Furniture company and was named creative director for Old Navy effective Oct. 1, 2007.

Oldham is openly gay. He is a member of the board of advocates for Bailey House, the nation's oldest supportive housing program for persons with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Oldham supports the animal rights movement and has worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Oldham was the host of Top Design on Bravo for the 2007 season.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed Emberley has wielded a significant influence on my creative instincts. His greatest influence on me was his drawing books where he broke everything down to an alphabet of drawing. He wanted to at least make us all competent, and for all of us to have fun. This book is a warm biopic and a stunning art book that shows off illustrations from a number of children’s books, many of which are lamentably out of print. There’s some of those that I would love to add to my collection for the art alone.

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved my Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals as a kid, and spent hours sketching and coloring animals from the book. I was pretty surprised to see an entire book dedicated to Ed Emberley's work, since I haven't seen or thought about an Emberley book since grade school.

I absolutely LOVE this book. A bit of information about Ed and his methods, and a whole lot of beautiful color reproductions of his work. I have looked at this book at least once a week since I bought it, and still find new bits of illustrations each time, and new favorite pictures.

[Sarah Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there had been a little more information about the writing of the books

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal capture of a great slice of Emberley's artwork. I would have loved to see even more of his art, but this is a great collection and really brings me back to my first encounter with Ed Emberley, in his drawing books.

My brothers and best friend growing up checked these books out of the library and wore them out -- his specific and simple drawing forms were incredibly simple but also deeply imaginative. It wasn't style that we learned from Emberley, but the idea that we COULD draw -- his lessons were inspirational and instructional, and I still keep those ideas tucked away.

Also, it's not until going back to these books on drawing that I realize how impressive a feet of graphic design each one is -- he packed tons of information and explanation in simple forms and clever shorthands that you learned quickly over time reading his books.

This collection of his work is a testament to the creativity and generosity of gift that Emberley has, and I look forward to sharing his work with my young children. Thanks to Ed and to those who put the time and effort into this volume, reminding us and preserving the work for future artists.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good grief, what a genius. If you know him mostly from the How to Draw books, like me, this beautiful coffee table book will blow your mind. Recommended for people who enjoy shape, pattern and color!

[Jesse Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Emberley is a creative genius and should be lauded for bringing art to such a wide audience. I spent millions of hours as a kid reading his books in the library and drawing from them at home.

[AskNezka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful retrospective of a key illustrator/book maker from my childhood. ❣️❣️❣️