page_title: Rafael López (illustrator and artist)
section_title: Works
hierarchical_section_title: Rafael López (illustrator and artist) / Works
caption_attribution_description: English: I shot this photo of Drum Dream Girl with the Pura Belpré medal with permission from my husband Rafael the creator of the work. Also spoke with the publisher who gave me permission to do this for wikipedia.
context_page_description: Rafael López is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. The illustrations created by López bring diverse characters to children’s books and he works to produce and promote books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people. As a children’s book illustrator, he has received three Pura Belpré Award medals from the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, and REFORMAin 2020 for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln, Drum Dream Girl in 2016 and Book Fiesta! in 2010. He was chosen by the Library of Congress to create the National Book Festival Poster and has been a featured book festival speaker at this event.
  His illustrations for Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics was honored with the Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators New York Original Art Exhibition. Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You written by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by López in 2019 was a #1 New York Times Children's Picture Book Bestseller and received the 2020 Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association.
context_section_description: Growing up in Mexico City, Rafael López was immersed in the rich cultural heritage and native color of street life. Influenced by Mexican surrealism and myths he developed a style with roots in this tradition. Using bold colors, his textured work is a fusion of graphic style and magical symbolism. López likes to find objects and symbols to communicate concepts. The illustrator is inspired by imagery from different cultures where he gathers ideas to inform the visual language of his works. He paints with acrylic paints that come in large recycled salsa jars from Mexico and uses a variety of objects to scratch textures onto hand-cut and sanded wooden boards. Color and texture is important to Lopez's paintings and he uses a camera to catalogue the colors, textural history of walls and peeling paint to fuel his work. López believes color is an expression of his identity, heritage and a direct route to the emotions of his audience. He cites Mexico as a land of contrasts, surrealism, intense color, texture and imagery . Strongly influenced by indigenous cultures and naïve art, his illustrations for children's books have been cited for their warm, ethereal folk art quality.
  His international clients include Amnesty International, Apple, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Charlesbridge Publishing, Chicago Tribune, Grammy Awards, Harper Collins, Henry Holt & Company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, IBM, Intel, Lee & Low books, Library of Congress, Los Angeles Times, Penguin Books, Scholastic, The New York Times, United States Forest Service, United States Postal Service, the Washington Post and the World Wildlife Fund and his work has been selected into multiple juried shows. Illustrations have been featured in publications like Communication Arts, the American Illustration Annual, and Graphic Design USA.
caption: Drum Dream Girl illustrated by Rafael López, recipient of the 2016 Pura Belpré illustration medal.
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