Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Fragoso.
Jose is a kid’s books author and illustrator. He is the writer and illustrator of the children´s book “La Increíblemente Alucinante Historia de Marcial, el niño normal” (“The Incredibly Amazing Story of Marcial, the normal kid”) and “My Voice”, published in Spain by Narval Editores and in US by Green Seeds Publishing.
He studied Cartoon Animation and Graphic Design in Madrid (Spain) and Illustration at School of Visual Arts New York. His illustrations have appeared in children´s books, magazines, comic books and album artworks in Spain and US, with clients as Sony Music or Instituto Cervantes Chicago and publications as 3×3 Magazine and Creative Quarterly.
He teaches Illustration at Instituto Cervantes Chicago and many public schools.
Jose is the in-house illustrator and story-board artist at Picture Farm Production, where he helps their directors visualize their ideas and serves as a valuable member in many of their projects, discussing the relative merits of many decisions from conception to the final product with a clear, strong creative voice.
He is a proud member of the Society of Illustrators. He is the co-creator of the children´s books App Mr. Glue Stories. He believes in Jean-Jacques Sempé, Sir Quentin Blake, Charles Addams and the Muppets. He lives in Chicago with his wife, his two daughters and his french bulldog, his hands are always inky and he is 100% feliz.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create children´s books with watercolor and color pencils. I’m not a big fan of perfection, so my work has been getting rid of computer in order to get closer to the fresh idea of the original sketch.I think an illustration tells a story, so the most important thing is that it touches our heart. You have to be a good illustrator to get it, but there´s nothing to do if you don´t start from a good idea.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
I would recommend to focus on trying to find your style and create artwork that you can sell, instead of just drawing the illustration we like to draw.Drawing is fun, but if you cannot sell it afterwards then it´s just a hobby and not a job. That´s why you need to have a style that a customer wants to buy, and then adapt to their needs and ideas.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I´ve published two children´s books as an author: “La Increíblemente Alucinante Historia de Marcial, el niño normal” in Spanish and “My Voice / Mi Voz” in dual english/spanish. You can get both trough Cinco Books, the publisher in the USA.
I also give talks about creativity and different uses of illustration. I also teach illustration workshops for kids and adults in schools and many other venues, where I focus on the creation of good idea, more than improving our drawing techniques.
A creative life is a much happier life, so I invite everyone to try to draw and try to make your life much more creative.
Contact Info:
- Address: Chicago, IL
- Website: http://fragosoart.com
- Phone: 6465098944
- Email: josefragoso@fragosoart.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/josefragosoillustration
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fragosoartillustration/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoseFragoso5
Image Credit:
Images copyright by Narval Editores, Green Seeds Publishing, Think Equal Foundation and José Fragoso, 2018.
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