ABOUT DENIS GASTON
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I graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in graphic design and worked in Atlanta for many years. During those years, I developed my illustration style and did free-lance work for newspapers, magazines and advertising agencies.
At the same time I began writing children’s stories to accompany some of my portfolio illustrations, the opposite of how it is usually done.Since 2000 my focus has been on picture book writing and illustrating.Denis Gaston, 2020
ARTIST STATEMENT
University trained as a graphic designer, I soon began accepting free-lance jobs as an illustrator for magazines, newspapers and advertising agencies. This led to writing stories based on portfolio illustrations, completely backward from the way it’s usually done.
After college, I took my portfolio and several manuscripts to New York, where in the space of three days I visited eight publishing houses. That was a time when you could walk in and if you were lucky get in to see an editor. Most of them wanted to know if I considered myself to be a writer or an illustrator. I said both writer and illustrator and was told that most illustration projects were farmed out to free-lance illustrators.In 2000 I began editing some earlier children’s stories and that led to new writing projects. After joining SCBWI in 2006 and participating in critique groups over the years, I’ve become more patient, confident and professional with my writing and illustrating.Denis Gaston, 2022
