The Artist

10 QUESTIONS with NATHAN WONDRAK

Nathan Wondrak is the ILLUSTRATOR who created the artwork for Today I Found God.  He also is responsible for the creation of Cecil the Mouse– the official mascot for Laugh-A-Long Books.

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1.  Where were you born? 
               Cleveland Clinic– Cleveland, OH

2.  Who is your favorite artist?
               That’s hard to say– I guess I have two favorites.  ( I can have two favorites, can’t I?)  For really dynamic poses, my favorite is Phil Hale.  For textures, I’m a big fan of Alberto Cerriteno.

3.  What are your favorite styles of Art to create?
               Right now my favorites are: Pencil Sketches, Ink Colorings, and Photoshop “Fix-ups”.  Ask me tomorrow, though, and that could all change– being an artist means constantly challenging yourself to grow and try new things, so I don’t think I’ll ever settle on one particular style for very long– at least I hope not.

4.   What are your hobbies?
               I love skateboarding and Climbing!!!

5.  How long did it take to create the art for a typical page of Today I Found God?
               Counting all the pencil sketches and then the inks and the guash painting, a typical page for Today I Found God took about a week– that’s without any distractions– but no matter what you’re doing, there always seems to be distractions… you just have to keep a smile and stay focused.

6.  Do you have a favorite picture for Today I Found God?
              That’s kind of unfair– all the pictures are sort of like my babies– but if you’re forcing me to choose, I’d have to say the picture of Billy on his bike is my favorite– That art really has a lot of motion and offers an interesting perspective– both of those artistic qualities are two of my favorites to create.

7.  What are your plans for the future?
               I am thinking about traveling the United States for a while– this is such a beautiful country, and I believe we should all get to know the place where we come from.  I’m also working on some other children’s book ideas.  I see myself designing characters for movies and video games sometime soon.

8.  Do you have any advice for young artists?
               The best advice I can offer is “RELAX“.  You can’t force creativity, it just has to flow.  So, relax.  And I find my best work happens when I really love what I’m creating, so try to create art that really interests you and makes you excited. 

9.  What is your favorite thing about knowing God?
               Now that’s a really tough question–  just when I think I know God, He shows me a new side to fall in love with.   Lately, He has shown me great Peace– which has helped me apprecitate all the little things in life– like blue-raspberry slushies– who knew that something so meaningless could have so much meaning?   I’d have to say my all-time favorite thing about knowing God is the fact that He calls you when you are lost– you just have to follow His call and He will lead you to where you need to be.

10.  Do you have any closing remarks?
               God gives each of us special talents- so do what you love to do for God and you won’t have any regrets.