To See Clearly: A Portrait of David Hockney

by Evan Turk

Overview

From award-winning creator Evan Turk, a stirring picture book biography of world-famous artist David Hockney that celebrates seeing beauty everywhere

“It’s the very process of looking at something that makes it beautiful.” —David Hockney

Growing up under the gray skies of England during World War II, David Hockney used art to brighten his world. He discovered that the more he looked and drew, the more he could see beneath the surface to find beauty, possibility, and new perspectives. In the most ordinary things, whether a splash of water, a changing landscape, or the face of a friend, David always found something to love, uniquely capturing the vibrancy and life of his subjects.

Lyrically written with breathtaking, full-color illustrations by Evan Turk, To See Clearly tells the inspiring story of a groundbreaking artist who has shown the world a new way to see.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419752902
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Evan Turk is an award-winning illustrator and author. He is the author-illustrator of The Storyteller, You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks, and Hello, Moon; and the illustrator of Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; Grandfather Gandhi; and The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice With Art, which won the 2021 Robert F. Sibert Medal. Originally from Colorado, Turk now lives in Southern California with his husband and two cats.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/09/2023

Turk (The Red Tin Box) creates an affectionate, frank biography of artist David Hockney (b. 1937), a figure whose openhearted curiosity makes him particularly accessible for young readers. Growing up in a sooty Yorkshire mill town with parents who encouraged his talents, Hockney would cover scrap paper with drawings: “The more he looked and drew, the more he saw.” The cinema nurtured a fascination with California; one of the book’s many marvelous colored pencil, gouache, and crayon spreads shows a film flickering on the round glasses that would become Hockney’s sartorial signature. Moving to Los Angeles in the early 1960s—a milestone portrayed in a fauve-like montage—Hockney finds endless inspiration in the landscape (“Palm trees! Surfers! Swimming pools! Everything seemed to pulse with color and excitement”). He also incorporates scenes of gay life in his paintings—“still very daring,” even in “more accepting” Los Angeles. Hockney’s place in art history was secured early on, as his first exhibition sold out and art collectors and museums sought his work, but “he always kept searching for new ways to see,” and these pages are a fitting tribute to a joyful, restless, and fearless creative life, and to stopping and looking carefully. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Turk, illustrator of the Sibert Medal–winning The People’s Painter (rev. 7/21), adds another excellent biography of an artist to his oeuvre of picture books for older readers."

The Horn Book Magazine

"...this makes a good introduction to this contemporary artist."

Booklist

***STARRED REVIEW***
"A loving profile of one of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists. A perceptive, thought-provoking, winning introduction."—Kirkus

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Turk, illustrator of the Sibert Medal–winning The People’s Painter (rev. 7/21), adds another excellent biography of an artist to his oeuvre of picture books for older readers."—The Horn Book Magazine

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Turk creates an affectionate, frank biography of artist David Hockney (b. 1937), a figure whose openhearted curiosity makes him particularly accessible for young readers...These pages are a fitting tribute to a joyful, restless, and fearless creative life, and to stopping and looking carefully."—Publishers Weekly

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Turk soars again. Featuring quotes from Hockney’s life, re-creations of his most famous works, and a beautiful palette that’s a treat for the eyes, this tribute will ensure that Hockney’s art reaches a new generation, perfect for classrooms and libraries and treasured home collections."—School Library Journal

"...this makes a good introduction to this contemporary artist."—Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 12/02/2023

Gr 3–6—In this gorgeously illustrated, poetic biography of David Hockney, Turk soars again. Following Hockney's life from drawing on the floorboards in World War II-era England through his schooling and to Hollywood, where he was able to live more fully as a gay man and artist, and then back to Europe in his older years, this biography covers almost 80 years and never sacrifices the beauty of Hockney's work in Turk's unique style. Featuring quotes from Hockney's life, re-creations of his most famous works, and a beautiful palette that's a treat for the eyes, this tribute will ensure that Hockney's art reaches a new generation, perfect for classrooms and libraries and treasured home collections. VERDICT Fans of Turk's other work will enjoy this title, as well as readers who love discovering artists coming to life on the page and learning about queer history.—Aryssa Damron

School Library Journal

★ 2023-07-26
A loving profile of one of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists.

In a summary overview of David Hockney’s youth and long career, Turk mentions significant events and people in his life—but with more of an eye to capturing his artistic sensibility than brushing in finer biographical details. Growing up passionate about drawing in a large British household “full of books, art, and love,” Hockney went on to break barriers by “put[ting] scenes of gay life into his paintings” (after experiencing his first crush, during a Boy Scout camping trip). Over decades of experimentation, he’s created distinctive, hugely popular art using computers, fax machines, and even iPhones as well as paint. Turk tracks his subject’s inspirations, from the early discovery that carefully drawing one blade of grass brought all the ones around it into sharper focus to the realization that slowing down to look closely allowed him to find multiple ways of seeing everything from portrait subjects to swimming pools. Young readers will find pathways to developing their own artistic visions and to properly appreciating those of others. In the colored pencil, gouache, and crayon illustrations, the artist, all big round glasses and brown (later blond) hair, smiles cheerily while working on or posing next to reasonably exact copies of actual select works. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A perceptive, thought-provoking, winning introduction. (biographical information, author’s note, cited quotes, referenced artwork) (Picture-book biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews