Paul O. Zelinsky: Boy Artist to Professional Illustrator

Paul O. Zelinsky (Photo retreieved from Amazon.com)

Zelinsky was born into a progressive household in 1953. His father, a math professor at Northwestern University, and his mother, a medical illustrator, were avid proponents of education, art, and literacy. His upbringing was, in many ways, ideal. Their two incomes allowed them to purchase ample art supplies and books, enjoy a membership to the Art Institute of Chicago, and even travel internationally. They were able to send Paul to an Ivy League college and then support him as he earned his Master’s in Fine Arts. 

But financial comfort was secondary to the on-going cognitive and emotional developmental support he received from his mother. She read to him often, his favorites becoming Little Golden Books and Margaret Wise Brown. She encouraged him to sit with her as she worked, giving him his own art supplies. Despite the scientific nature of both his parents’ professions, creativity was critical in their household and Zelinsky had ample opportunity to bring his imagination to paper.

As members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Zelinsky family made regular visits to explore the world of art “where [Paul]… bonded with the collections” (Peck, p. 571). In 1956, the family’s perspectives, both in life and in art, broadened when the family spent a year in Japan. They adored the culture, bringing home new traditions, new clothing and new artwork to display. This cultural experience, with its distinctive methods, themes and styles, all so different from American standards, may well have presented young Paul with a new foundation from which to view the world.

The value of art never diminished to Paul and upon graduation from high school, he attended the art program at Yale College. He adored not only the art classes, but science courses as well. Zelinsky said in a 1999 interview, “I’ve always been interested in how things work and curious, too, about why things look the way they do. That may be related to my style veering around so much” (Peck, 1999, p. 571). The pivotal class that convinced Zelinsky to major in art, however, was History of the Picture Book taught by the famed Maurice Sendak. It provided “an enlarged understanding about what children’s books could be” (Evans, 2008, p. 45) and Zelinsky was hooked. He chose art over science, but continued to explore scientific means in creation of art as well as thoroughly researching his subjects in order to build solid foundations of realism and context. 

His format art education gave Zelinsky the opportunity to travel internationally once again, this time to Italy. He spent a year studying the masters, the light and the culture, all of which would, 25 years later, inspire him during his creation of his award-winning artwork in Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel.

Image retrieved from Amazon.com

After graduation and a brief stint as an art teacher, Zelinsky launched his career as an illustrator with the powerful images he created for How I Hunted the Little Fellows by Boris Zhitkov in 1979. This story “showcase[d] his ability to create a sense of time, place, and character”, thereby giving Zelinsky the credibility in the world of children’s book publishing (Evans, 2008, p. 47). He went on to illustrate 36 books, always giving them distinctive style, always allowing the book to speak to him instead of his demanding his way with it. His passion, his verve, his dedication and his undeniable talent allowed him to eventually start writing his own books, a process that requires so much of the creator, but gives so much back in return. 

In countless interviews, Zelinsky has identified two specific items that spurred his artistic imagination. As an older child, it was John Tenniel’s illustrations in Alice in Wonderland that opened Zelinsky’s eyes to new ideas. “The mystery, fantasy, and magical use of scale all stirred his imagination and left their marks on his mind’s eye” (Evans, 2008, p. 45). But even before he discovered Alice in Wonderland, Zelinsky was captivated by a picture of Hansel and Gretel that his great-grandmother had painted. It was from that picture that Zelinsky first recognized the feelings that emanate from art and he grew up hoping “to tap into the feelings his great-grandmother’s picture had stirred in him” (Evans, 2008, p. 50). It was this painting that led him to one of his strongest artistic philosophies: that “childhood feelings are a powerful impetus to create work” (Peck, 1999, p. 573).

Photo retrieved from Zelinsky's Facebook page