Javier Zabala: Spain ⋆ Illustrator

With a passion for learning and an incredible flair for illustration, Javier Zabala has earned a reputation as one of the most talented and influential illustrators in Spain. Born in León, Zabala originally did not see himself as an artist, but eventually left his studies in veterinary medicine and law in order to pursue an education in graphic design and illustration at the Oviedo Art School in Asturias, Spain. It was in art school that he developed a passion for children's book illustration, and after beginning to publish in a number of prominent Spanish magazines and working for major publishers, he has currently illustrated over seventy books. Having been translated into fifteen languages, Zabala's books are influential in the lives of children around the world, and his ability to relate to children through thought-provoking imagery allows him to immerse readers from all over the world in Spanish culture. Picturebooks such as Santiago and Don Quijote are deeply embedded in Latin American culture and tradition, and Zabala's attention to detail and unique artistic style capture his young readers' attention and familiarizes them with Spanish experience.

Zabala's artistic style has been deemed avant-garde, but while his pieces do offer somewhat abstract illustrations of his characters and their surroundings, he manages to create a relationship between text and image that is both familiar and relatable to his young readers. His ability to blend colors and bend traditional illustrative rules makes him particularly skilled at capturing the essence of the stories he illustrates, and he does so uniquely and innovatively.

Currently, Zabala teaches summer courses at the University of Macerata in Italy, where he has been teaching since 2006, and in 2009 he also began teaching summer courses at the Ostia Library in Rome. Zabala has been recognized by many international awards, exhibits, and children's literature festivals, including the 2005 national award for Best Illustration in Children's Literature and the 2010 APIC Junceda Iberia Award for his illustrations in a children's edition of Hamlet. He is also heavily involved in children's reading programs in Spain, and has dedicated his life to art, children's literature, and the beauty implicit in blending the two.