Being the wife of Scott Gustafson, an accomplished illustrator of children`s books, means playing some non-traditional roles every so often.
Like dressing up as the wolf in grandma`s clothes to meet Little Red Riding Hood. And slipping into some knickers to pose as Humpty Dumpty.
On Sunday, Gustafson shared some of his drawing techniques-and his devoted attention to detail-with more than a dozen people gathered at Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
The 35-year-old Chicagoan has illustrated several well-known children`s books, including ”The Night Before Christmas,” ”Alphabet Soup” and
”Animal Orchestra.”
But perhaps more interesting to Sunday`s audience was the story behind the books, the tale of how the highly polished illustrations came to be.
”I`m sort of a groupie of his,” said Donna Havert, 42, of Arlington Heights, who designs toys for a living.
”To get this good, he`s really studied. He`s really dedicated himself to his art.”
But Gustafson`s version of studying can take on some interesting dimensions.
For example, very few people know it, but a house in Marengo, in western McHenry County, is the model for Gustafson`s oil paintings shown in ”The Night Before Christmas.”
And the proportions of the reindeer pulling Santa`s sleigh seem just right due to the fact that Gustafson sculpted a reindeer out of clay and took photographs of the creature from every angle possible.
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”When trying to come up with an idea, I try to pick a moment from the story,” said Gustafson, who lives on Chicago`s North Side.
”I do things I think would be fun to look at, and then try to make it understandable to children.”
Gustafson`s illustrations, from Humpty Dumpty to animals to Peter Pan, are richly colored, marked by careful detailing and a precise likeness to reality.
Diane Accurso, 37, of Arlington Heights had seen Gustafson`s work before Sunday. She brought her two daughters, ages 7 and 9 to the program to get them more interested in books.
”I saw some pictures of what he did and I thought they were wonderful,” Accurso said. ”I just love children`s books.”
Because it`s hard to make a living solely as a children`s book illustrator, Gustafson is now working on collector plates with fairy tale and nursery rhyme themes. Each image takes him about four weeks to produce.