Peter Brown His Philosophy of Art

Illustrator Profile: Children's Book Author Peter Brown

The children's book illustrator Peter Brown is the author of a wide variety of books, including My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.), Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, and Creepy Carrots! Brown says that although he began as a visual artist, he now considers himself both a storyteller as well as an illustrator. His work is often humorous. He uses standard, cute images associated with children's literature but gives them a dark spin as can be seen with this illustration from Creepy Carrots!

The illustration of the adorable rabbit in pants is contrasted with the frightening image of the scary carrots with broken teeth. The carrots look like a schoolyard bully and the cover illustration looks like a poster for an old horror film in black-and-white. The headless nature of one of the carrots further unsettles the viewer.

In an online interview with fellow author Julie Hedlund, Brown discussed his philosophy and process. In his view, the illustrations and the text must be conjoined. For example, it is not enough that a row of pink houses looks pretty: the question arises as to why the people in the story are living in those pink houses. But he also notes in the interview that when working with an author, sometimes the author must cut out some of his words because the illustrations now tell the story better. Authors must never forget the fact that they are making picture books, and picture books are always books told by images. Because Brown writes many of the books he illustrates, he is particularly sensitive to this fact.

Brown works in a variety of media, including "ink, watercolor, or gouache. He then scans the images into his computer, where he can adjust them to fit the scene exactly how he wants" ("FAQ"). Brown embraces modern technology although he is still a hands-on illustrator. He says he derives inspiration from the world around him all of the time. "For The Curious Garden, for example, Peter was inspired by an elevated park built upon old train tracks near his home in New York" ("FAQ").

Although Brown illustrates children's books, he says he does not simplify his illustrations or his ideas to suit a childish mindset. His books are not afraid to challenge or frighten children and he actively resists saccharine images. "I treat kids like adults, frankly. Maybe like adults with childish interests. I don't talk to kids in a silly, goofy voice, I talk to them like they're my friends" (Kiriluk-Hill). Brown's books are often both a visual and verbal play upon accepted images. For example, in Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, the central protagonist is a rather stuffy tiger who goes into the jungle to learn about life outside of civilization. This motif of someone going into the jungle to learn about animals or get in touch with their own wild side is reversed. In Brown's own words, it is about a "very proper tiger, in a very proper town, with very proper animals" who is "bored of being proper all the time," and Mr. Tiger becomes more and more like a real tiger throughout the book, which is the "inverse" of the anthropomorphizing of most children's books of animals (Kiriluk-Hill).