Background

Woodleigh Marx Hubbard was born in the 1950s in Sharon, Connecticut, United States. She is the daughter of Earl and Barbara Marx Hubbard. One of five children, she grew up in an artistic home and was surrounded by the wild beauty of nature.

Education

Between the ages of 12 and 18, Hubbard studied at a very strict all-girls’ boarding school. This experience allowed her to deal with low self-esteem for decades. As she continued her search for creative knowledge, she attended various prestigious art schools around the country. In 1976 she received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Evergreen State College.

Career

Hubbard is the creator of several well-received concept books - such as an alphabet book, a counting book, and a book about friendship - as well as a modish version of the traditional Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. She has also provided the illustrations for such works as retellings of a Navajo creation myth and a Korean folktale, an original picture book about a feline jazzman, and a new edition of a classic story by Margaret Wise Brown.

As an illustrator, Hubbard favors whimsical animals and stylizes shapes and patterns to complement or enhance her texts. Hubbard’s first self-illustrated work, C Is for Curious: An ABC of Feelings, was published in 1990. In this picture book, the author offers an emotion for every letter of the alphabet, from angry through zealous. With each word, Hubbard includes an illustration of an animal depicting that emotion. For angry, for example, Hubbard created a red-faced beast while happy features serene-looking cows jumping over the moon.

Hubbard’s next two works, Two Is for Dancing: A 1, 2, 3 of Actions and The Friendship Book, are considered similar in style and form to C Is for Curious. In Two Is for Dancing, actions such as dreaming, singing, and reading are paired with numbers from one through twelve. Each action is characterized by Hubbard’s distinctive animal illustrations. In The Friendship Book, Hubbard examines twelve adages about friendship, such as Friends don’t always agree and a friend keeps your secrets.

Initially working in pen and ink, she moved to color after losing her entire artistic portfolio while traveling from France to the United States. In 1996, Hubbard published her illustrated version of Clement Moore’s The Twelve Days of Christmas, a work in which the artist enhances the song lyrics. Expanding her artistic talents, Hubbard began illustrating books for other authors in the early 1990s. She made her initial contributions to Holly H. Kwon’s The Moles and the Mireuk: A Korean Folktale, a retelling of a Korean folktale about a mole father.

Hubbard also provided the pictures for Hip Cat by Jonathan London, a picture book that received favorable reviews, won several awards for its illustration and was featured on the popular PBS show Reading Rainbow. Woodleigh has also been designing jewelry since the late 1990s, incorporating colored stones with the unusual antique pieces she discovers at estate sales and other sources.

Achievements

• Hubbard's books have won a range of awards such as Parents' Choice Fight 'N Face Fear Book Selection, the Society of Children's Illustrators Award, the Bookbuilders West Award, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts Award for Excellence. Hubbard’s works have been translated into other languages, including French, Japanese, and Korean. Her paintings have received comparisons to such artists as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Joan Miro.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Twelve Days of Christmas

    (Complete with twelve press-out ornaments and vibrant illu...)

    1996
  • C is for Curious

    (Raging dragons, leaping cows, and baseball playing dogs a...)

    1995
  • For the Love Of A Pug

    (A picture book celebrates the love of a dog owner for her...)

    2003
  • All That You Are

    (Celebrates individual uniqueness and the powers one posse...)

    2000
  • Whoa, Jealousy!

    (Jealousy, envy, greed, and rivalry come into a person's l...)

    2002
  • The Friendship Book

    (Filled with exuberant and whimsical illustrations, this d...)

    1992
  • Park Beat: Rhymin' Through the Seasons

    (Pumpkins grinning, snowballs flying, birds chirping, hot ...)

    2001

Views

When young Hubbard traveled in Europe, she was particularly influenced by French modernists. When she illustrates a book or give a school presentation, her sole aim is to make children feel joyful and confident about learning. Her purpose behind writing or illustrating a specific book is always the same: to make the art as original and beautiful as possible while allowing learning to be a joy. She loves illustrating and writing picture books. She receives deep satisfaction and pleasure from working with children. They continually inspire her and make her laugh. Her book For the Love of a Pug was inspired by her pug Oliver Wink.

Quotations: "As far as my contemporaries, many of them are fine artists and I am frequently humbled by the skill level of my peers. Also, I find illustrators as a group generous, deliciously eccentric, and very funny."

"Knowledge is power, knowledge is freedom; there’s nothing that motivates me more than playing whatever small part I can in bringing this into the lives of children."

"Being surrounded by children as a children's book illustrator for so many years has shown me the endless possibilities of an enthusiastic mind, the creativity of chaos, the unmitigated joy of an imagination gone wide. It has inspired me to embrace new venues for expression, jewelry being the latest."

"Whether you are an adult or a child, make your learning into art, love, rhythm, and rhyme. And if you have a dream never, never, never give it up."

Personality

Woodleigh Hubbard was a terrible student, in part because she was a visual child; thinking in words and concepts was both awkward and challenging. She was made to feel stupid because her linear thinking process was not as developed as other students'.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Hubbard’s work a unique blend of brilliant color, abstract art, and imaginative graphic design with a duality of concept." - Marie Orlando
  
  "Hubbard creates vibrant spreads that ideally complement the narrative."

Interests

• Artists

  Saul Steinberg and James Thurber

Connections

Father:

Earl Hubbard

Mother:

Barbara Marx Hubbard