Art From Her Heart

A picture book biography of the remarkable folk artist Clementine Hunter.

Can you imagine being an artist who isn't allowed into your own show? That's what happened to folk artist Clementine Hunter. Her paintings went from hanging on her clothesline to hanging in museums, yet because of the color of her skin, a friend had to sneak her in when the gallery was closed.

With lyrical writing and striking illustrations, this picture book biography introduces kids to a self-taught artist whose paintings captured scenes of backbreaking work and joyous celebrations of southern farm life. They preserve a part of American history we rarely see and prove that art can help keep the spirit alive.

"The message of Clementine Hunter's life, to not wait for the perfect time to create, will inspire many readers." —Ashley Bryan, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the Arbuthnot Prize

"Whitehead’s lyrical text speaks of Hunter’s perseverance and talent as well as of the simplicity, love of nature, and caring of friends and family that informed her work. Evans bolsters Whitehead’s words with bold mixed-media illustrations that portray Hunter in hard times and in good." —School Library Journal

"Clementine Hunter . . . overcame prejudice, poverty, and hard times to create beautiful folk art that is now celebrated across the country. . . . Evans' full-page paintings with bright collage and black line evoke Hunter's hard work on the plantation, and happy times, too, including weddings and baptisms; and they show her creating beautiful, glowing art in the dim kerosene light, as she draws on her memories of her long life." —BooklistKathy Whitehead lives in College Station, Texas.

Shane W. Evans lives in Kansas City, Missouri.