Oneida, N.Y. >> Ever since he was a child, Doug Salati has been passionate about art.
“As a kid you always are looking for what you’re good at, and for me that was drawing,” said the Oneida High School Class of 2003 graduate.
The son of Carol and Al Salati, Doug visited the Oneida Public Library on Thursday to discuss his first professional illustration work, the children’s book “In a Small Kingdom,” written by renowned children’s author and illustrator Tomie dePaola. He also took time to talk with both children and adults about his journey through art and where he hopes to go in the future.
His mother used to read him books by children’s literature greats like Trina Schart Hyman, Paul Galdone, and Bill Peet, and at Seneca Street Elementary School, he recalled sitting in Karen Backus’ art room, where she would play music while he drew. Other art teachers followed, including Maria Seely, Lisa Billington, Pamela Lynch and Karen Trush as he made his way through the Oneida city school system.
“They were all wonderful teachers,” Salati said. “They were always encouraging, always trying to introduce students to new artists, experiment with a new technique, or play and just enjoy the experience of making art.”
That support led Salati to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 2007 before moving to New York City to work at the School of Visual Arts in the admissions office. He traveled frequently to meet new students and talk with them about their portfolios, and on the side began taking illustration and printmaking courses through SVA. Then in 2012, he enrolled into the 2-year Masters Program at SVA.
“That kind of got me to refocus on the idea of becoming an illustrator as a full-time profession,” Salati said.
At the School of Visual Arts, he was able to work on narration-based storytelling projects and hone his skills. But his big break came when he was nominated for the Maurice Sendak Fellowship, a residency and workshop that encourages, teaches and supports artists who tell stories with illustration.
“That was the major turning point for me,” Salati said.
The Fellowship gave Salati the room and resources to work on his illustrations, including developing a book project entitled “Lawrence and the Fall” with author and partner Matthew Farina, which will be released next year through Disney Hyperion. Fellowship is also where Salati met dePaola, who tapped the OHS grad to illustrate his newest book, “In a Small Kingdom.”
“I was a little nervous, but I knew that I was ready to take on a professional job,” Salati said.
The two bonded over their mutual love of Schart Hyman, the same author/illustrator who Salati’s mother would read to him growing up, and who was also a good friend of dePaola’s before her death. Salati credits this connection with his being chosen to illustrate dePaola’s newest book.
“He is so easy-going and sweet-natured that I knew it would be a lot of fun,” Salati said. “And who gets to be friends with their childhood idols?”
Salati said he spent a lot of time researching fabrics and patterns to best create the look for “In a Small Kingdom.” With some illustration jobs, the art might come from a feeling Salati gets from the narrative, or because he wants to match the tone of a story. Other times he will research, such as visiting the New York Public Library to thumb through their catalog of magazine clippings. And sometimes, it’s those picture books his mother read to him that influence the style of art for any given piece.
“Without knowing it, a lot of the picture books that my mom read to me kind of worked their way in there,” Salati said.
Since the release of “In a Small Kingdom” in April, Salati said he’s been to a handful of events, including a co-signing with dePaola at Battenkill Books in Cambridge, N.Y., an independent bookstore run by Connie Brooks, as well as at Books of Wonder in Manhattan with a few other new author/illustrators.
And, of course, at the Oneida Public Library, where dozens of family, friends, and community members came to congratulate Salati on his first professional illustration job.
“My kindergarten teacher was here, friends from elementary school all through high school, parents of friends I’m still in touch with,” Salati said. That outpouring of support was “the best gift” he could have gotten, and reflected a life of support from friends and family, whether it was for his art, sports, singing or drama productions.
It also reflected the core theme of “In a Small Kingdom.”
“I think Tomie’s story is about community — the importance of community, and that we are always more alike than we are different,” Salati said.
Salati hopes to make illustrating books a lifelong career, with the eventual goal to write and illustrate his own work.
“It’s different being a freelance illustrator,” he said. “It’s changed everything about my life.”
