Scott Menchin
As a child
I grew up in the suburbs of New York. I was always interested in drawing and painting and I took a lot of art classes and visited museums in NYC. When I was very small I would create all my artwork from my father's shirt cardboard (put in by the dry cleaners). When I was older I went to the Arts Students League and then on to the Pratt Institute where I now teach illustration. I had a happy childhood with lots of friends and played lots of sports. My father and brother were both writers. I always loved the work of Van Gogh and Velazquez. When I was fifteen my family moved to Florida, which I hated because it was humid and my clothes always stuck to my body. I moved back to NY as fast as possible.
As an adult
I moved to NY to go to the Pratt Institute, an Art School in Brooklyn. I got out of school and became an art director for magazines. When I was tired of being jealous of all the illustrators I was giving work to I changed my job. I started to show my portfolio so I could get jobs illustrating for newspapers, magazines, design firms and ad agencies. Wanting to take on a more ambitious and long-lasting medium I tried my hand illustrating a children's book and then moved onto writing them. My wife and daughter love exploring New York City together and once a year we try to go to Italy to sit on the beach and eat as much Italian food as possible.
As an artist
I start by sketching and doodling and go from there. Usually working from my text or someone else's I try to come up with artwork that enhances the ideas that have been expressed. I draw at a drafting table and sometimes scan my black and white artwork in order to colour the art on my computer. With Taking a Bath... I used watercolour on top of my black and white line artwork. In the past on books like Dylan's Man Gave Name to all the Animals, I used all sorts of collage materials along with my line artwork.
Things you didn't know about Scott Menchin
- I love to watch and play basketball.
- I love to eat good food.
- On occasion I'm happy.
- I think Sendak's Pierre (I Don't Care) is great.
- I love movies. My favourite is The Horse's Mouth.
- When I'm not working hard I'm very lazy.
- I love to watch my daughter play.
- I have natural gray hair.
- I think museums are religious institutions.
- I was a kid a long time ago.