Rafael López (Mexican, b. 1961)
Untitled, 2014
Illustration for The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos, Charlesbridge, 2015
Acrylic on wood
Signed bottom right corner
Board 14 x 23 ¾ inches
Copyright © 2015 Rafael López

Rafael López paints on wood to recall the beautiful textures of in his home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There he buys his paints in huge jars at a local tiendita called El Pato. López says the paints and colors of Mexico have a unique spirit and vibrancy he can't find anywhere else, such as a rare shade of pink called rosa mexicano.

López won the 2019 Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the National Cartoonist Society Book Illustration Award for The Day You Begin (2018), written by Jacqueline Woodson. He won Pura Belpré Illustrator Honors in 2006, 2012, and 2014. The Pura Belpré Award is co-sponsored by REFORMA, this year's Carle Honors Angel. López's art was featured in the Museum's exhibition Eric Carle and Friends: What's Your Favorite Color? (2017), and will be included in Now and Then: Contemporary Illustrators and their Childhood Art, opening December 14, 2019.



All proceeds benefit The Carle's mission to instill a love of art and reading through picture books.

Artwork is framed by R. Michelson Galleries using archival materials.

Winners can take their artwork immediately after The Carle Honors. Absentee winners will receive their artwork via Federal Express; a flat shipping fee of $150 per artwork will apply.