Meet the illustrator Kęstutis Kasparavičius from Lithuania

 

My books do not conform to the standards. I try to make the book interesting to all, a

young reader, a seventeen-year-old, as well as their mom and dad.

Kęstutis Kasparavičius, born in Aukstadvaris near Vilnius in 1954, is a writer and illustrator.  He has illustrated 62 books, the first appearing in 1984, including many books of classical children’s literature – such as those by Andersen, Collodi, Hoffmann and Lear. His personal favourite is Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, which he first illustrated in 1993. He has also illustrated children’s books by contemporary Lithuanian and international writers and in recent years, his own texts. ... He is known for the subtle colours of his watercolour painting, his precise drawings, masterfully rendered detail, innovative composition and for the elegance as well as the wit and humour in his illustrations. IBBY.org

Here is the Hans Christian Andersen dossier for Kestutis. (121 pages but 76 pages are illustrators just scroll to the final page of the dossier and then move through in reverse order).  I also found this Pinterest with 268 images of his work and here is his Instagram. Kestutis has been nominated three times for the Hans Christian Andersen Award - 2008, 2010 and now for 2022.  Here is an interview in English with Kestutis. 

His five nominated books are “Inginiu Šalis” (The journey into Lazinessland, published by Nieko ritmo), “Zaginiony Obraz” (The missing picture, published by Wydawnictwo Ezop), “Pinocchio” (published by Coppenrath), “Florentius der Gärtner” (Florentius the Gardener, published by Urachhaus) and “Kaimyné už kampo” (The neighbour around the corner, published by Nieko ritmo). All book covers below are from the IBBY Facebook page.

Take a look here to see a large collection of art by Kestutis. I am not supposed to have a favourite illustrator nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen award but his art really appeals to me. You can see more here. And also here.

Image Source: Fine Art America 

This version of The Little Match Girl was published in 2002 but I would love to see it because The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen is a favourite story of mine. (Yes I do know it a very sad). 

Here are some more books by Kestutis: