A solo exhibit of children’s illustrations and photography titled “A Kid At Heart” by Roselle Park resident Lynnor Bontigao is at the Casano Community Center through October 19, 2012. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Monday, September 17th from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
This is L
ynnor Bontigao’s first solo exhibit and her collection includes illustrations for children’s books and photography work mostly taken at one of her favorite NJ vacation spots, Cape May. Ms. Bontigao graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts and majored in Visual Communication. She worked at McCann-Erickson Philippines as a graphic designer while freelancing on various commissioned projects such as: illustrations to promote an exhibit for the Philippine National Museum, textbook covers and line drawings, children’s book, character studies, and murals.
She is an alumni member of InK (Ilustrador ng Kabataan), a Philippine-based organization of children’s book illustrators. There, she fell in love with illustrating for children and contributed to the book “Water in the Ring of Fire”, a beautiful collection of stories from countries belonging to the ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Nations) summit. She has also had the privilege of participating in some of their exhibits.
She is currently a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and its Regional NJ chapter. She admires the works of Maurice Sendak, Leo & Dianne Dillon, Charles Santore, Susan Jeffers, and Jose Aruego among many illustrators.
In 1996, she moved to America to be with her family and later began a career in programming. She has been working as a full-time programmer for a major brokerage firm for more than 12 years but she never forgets her love of drawing. She also enjoys photography as a hobby. During this summer she gave free weekly art lessons to some neighborhood children (ages 7-14).
She says, “This Saturday is the last day of class and their graduation. Doing that and the timing of this show brings up memories of the drawing days I miss so much. I must say that I have an extra skip in my step because of these events.”
Bontigao resides in Roselle Park with her husband and two children. You can visit her website at lynnorbontigao.com (link)
