Morrison, Gordon 1944-

Personal

Born June 30, 1944, in Allston, MA; son of Hugh L. and Margaret Vincent Morrison; married (divorced); children: Aimée Morrison-Hefron, Suzanne, John Seth. Education: Attended School of the Museum of Art, Boston, 1963-64; attended Butera School of Art, 1964-67.

Addresses

Home—193 Towne St., No. 3, North Attleboro, MA 02760.

Career

Artist, illustrator, and author. Freelance author and illustrator, 1991—; speaker and presenter at elementary schools, 2000—. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, instructor of biological illustration, 1985-87, independent studies mentor, 1985-91, instructor in botani-

cal illustration studies, 1996. Guest lecturer at Appalachian Mountain Club "Art and Nature" seminars, 1977-80. Created exhibition art for Missouri Botanical Gardens temperate forest and tropical rainforest exhibits, Boston Zoological Society Stone Zoo aviary exhibit, and Public Service Company of New Hampshire salt marsh exhibit, among others. Exhibitions: Works exhibited in various locations, including Cross Roads of Sport, New York, NY; Left Bank Gallery, Wellfleet, MA; Marine and Science Museum, Virginia Beach, VA; and Dennison/Pequots' Nature Center, Mystic, CT.

Awards, Honors

Quill and Trowel award, 1992; Education Award, New England Wild Flower Society, 1996; Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children designation, National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, 1999, for Bald Eagle; Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice designation, 2001, for Oak Tree; Certificate of Merit in recognition of excellence in the category of illustration.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Bald Eagle, Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

Oak Tree, Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA) 2000.

Pond, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2002.

Nature in the Neighborhood, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2004.

A Drop of Water, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2006.

ILLUSTRATOR

Lawrence Newcomb, Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1977.

Christopher Leahy, The Birdwatcher's Companion, Hill & Wang (New York, NY), 1982, revised as The Birdwatcher's Companion to North American Birdlife, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2004.

John H. Mitchell, A Guide to the Seasons, Massachusetts Audubon Society, 1983.

Fred Powledge, A Forgiving Wind, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1983.

John H. Mitchell, Ceremonial Times, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1984.

Edward W. Cronin, Getting Started in Birdwatching, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1986.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to Eastern Forests, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1988.

Gordon Hayward, Designing Your Own Landscape, Whetstone Publishing (Brattleboro, VT), 1989.

Ron McAdow, The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers: A Guide to Canoeing, Wildlife, and History, Bliss Publishing (Marlborough, MA), 1990.

Ron McAdow, The Charles River: Exploring Nature and History on Foot and by Canoe, Bliss Publishing (Marlborough, MA), 1990.

Margaret Hensel, English Cottage Gardening, Norton (New York, NY), 1992.

Alex Wilson, Quiet Water Canoe Guide, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 1993.

Penelope Bass O'Sullivan and Barbara W. Ellis, Successful Garden Plans, Time Life Books (New York, NY), 1996.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain and Southwest Forests, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to California and Pacific Northwest Forests, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

Gordon Hayward, Stone in the Garden, Norton (New York, NY) 2001.

FOR CHILDREN

John H. Mitchell, The Curious Naturalist, Prentice-Hall, 1982.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to Dinosaurs Coloring Book, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1989.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to Seashores Coloring Book, Houghton Mifflin, (New York, NY), 1989.

John Kricher, A Field Guide to Tropical Rainforests Coloring Book, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1991.

Richard Walton, A Field Guide to Endangered Wildlife Coloring Book, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1991.

John Kricher, Peterson First Guide to Dinosaurs, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1991.

John Kricher, Peterson First Guide to Forests, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

John Kricher, Peterson First Guide to Seashores, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

Contributing artist to various publications, including First Guide to Wildflowers, by Roger Tory Peterson, Houghton Mifflin, 1986; Three Seasons of Bloom, by C. Colston Burrell, Barbara W. Ellis, and Sally Roth, Time Life, 1997. Designer and illustrator for various periodicals, including Curious Naturalist, Horticulture, Sanctuary, and New York Conservationist.

Sidelights

Gordon Morrison is a noted naturalist and artist whose work is known to hikers and ornithologists of all ages. Morrison's detailed illustrations have appeared in books such as Christopher Leahy's The Birdwatcher's Companion to North American Birdlife, John Kricher's A Field Guide to Eastern Forests, and several volumes in Roger Tory Peterson's popular "First Guides" series of coloring books and nature guides for young children.

In addition to his illustration work for field guides and other texts, Morrison has also earned acclaim for creat-

ing original self-illustrated picture books featuring what School Library Journal contributor Susan Scheps described as "lovely, realistic watercolor paintings" balanced by detailed pencil sketches. In Pond Morrison focuses on a glacial pond and the many creatures—both plant and animal—that depend on its water throughout the year. "The detailed watercolor illustrations are evocative and eye-catching," wrote Denise Wilms in her Booklist review of Pond, while Scheps described the work as a "lovingly crafted sketchbook." In Kirkus Reviews a reviewer noted Morrison's technique of changing perspective in his inset illustrations, and commended the book's "superb watercolors and … brief but insightful text."

A child exploring a woodland creek contemplates the drop of water that clings to his fingertip, opening up a discussion of Earth's water cycle, in A Drop of Water, while Oak Tree describes the habitat, characteristics, and growth of the sturdy white oak, as well as the habitat it provides for a variety of woodland creatures. In an interesting shift in perspective, Morrison's Nature in the Neighborhood views a typical American suburb as a wildlife habitat and studies the many plants, animals, and insects that live close to such dense human settlements. Featuring "carefully crafted and beautifully executed" watercolor-and-pencil art, A Drop of Water "re-

wards careful attention," wrote a Kirkus Reviews writer. Carolyn Phelan praised Morrison's "quiet, ever-informative text" in her Booklist review. As Gillian Engberg also wrote in Booklist in a review of Nature in the Neighborhood, "young browsers will enjoy poring over this gentle encouragement to notice and appreciate the buzzing natural world that surrounds them."

Morrison once told SATA: "I grew up in Allston, Massachusetts, a part of the Greater Boston area, with very little exposure to art or to the natural world. In two specific ways, however, I was very lucky. Firstly—and perhaps most importantly—though I grew up in a family of ten children, my father still managed to give my early artistic efforts special attention, gently critiquing and encouraging me. Secondly, there was a place in my neighborhood called Little Hill, a small area of rock outcroppings and ragged trees and shrubs, where a kid such as I could play and imagine an entirely different kind of landscape. Even as a young man, I found Little Hill to be a welcome oasis, a place of quiet where I could watch birds, insects, and the changing of the sea- sons. During my art school days, Little Hill's rocks, trees, and shifting patterns became the subjects of many of my drawings and photographs.

"When I left art school, I worked as a commercial illustrator for a few years, but eventually came to believe that I could do something more meaningful with my talent. For a while I tried to become an illustrator of children's books, with little success. But my growing concern for the environment compelled me to turn my attention toward nature as a subject. Educating myself about natural history turned out to be both a task, because there was so much to learn, and a pleasure, since it meant doing what came naturally to me—going out to draw. I also visited sanctuaries, zoos, museums, libraries, universities, even my own backyard. Field sketching was an especially important tool for me. Through it, I discovered the value of learning through experience.

"Eventually natural history became the main focus of my illustration work. While my family grew, I illustrated and painted dioramas, murals, magazine articles, and several dozen books on different natural history subjects. Eventually, right around the time when my children were going off to college, I decided to try my hand at children's books again. After months of developing story ideas, and several years of searching, I finally found a publisher. Now, many years after first having decided to become a nature artist, I am writing and illustrating nature-themed children's books, and I have had the pleasure of working on various meaningful projects with many extraordinary individuals. For me, field sketching continues to be a wonderful means of understanding, appreciating, and experiencing nature.

"While being an illustrator means being able to support and clarify information, to maintain a certain level of accuracy and detail, I believe it is equally important to try to bring a certain artistic quality into one's work, to try to include balance, a sense of subject and place, perhaps even beauty. Though my father passed away a few years ago, I remain indebted to him for his gentle influence and belief in my artistic abilities; and while only a corner of Little Hill remains today, I like to think, by sharing my experiences through my work, that I may remind others to stay in touch with nature, and perhaps do their part to help protect it."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1998, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Bald Eagle; March 1, 2000, Marta Segal, review of Oak Tree, p. 1240; January 1, 2003, Denise Wilms, review of Pond, p. 884; December 1, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Nature in the Neighborhood, p. 666; August 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of A Drop of Water, p. 81.

Boston Globe, November 29, 1998, Stephanie Loer, review of Oak Tree; May 28, 2000.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1,1998, p. 498; March 1, 2000, review of Oak Tree, p. 304; July 15, 2002, review of Pond, p. 1038; October 15, 2004, review of Nature in the Neighborhood, p. 1011; October 1, 2006, review of A Drop of Water, p. 1021.

Library Journal, May 1, 1980, Virginia Golodetz, review of Oak Tree, p. 1095; May 1, 1998; June 1, 2000.

Parenting, June 1998, p. 85.

School Library Journal, November, 1992, review of Peterson First Guide to Seashores, p. 146; June, 2000, Virginia Golodetz, review of Oak Tree, p. 135; October, 2002, Susan Scheps, review of Pond, p. 150; October, 2004, Kathy Piehl, review of Nature in the Neighborhood, p. 146; October, 2006, Blair Christolon, review of A Drop of Water, p. 142.