Reinis Pētersons: Latvia ⋆ Illustrator

Through his unique illustrative style and the animated worlds he creates, Reinis Pētersons has asserted himself as one of the most talented young illustrators in the field of children's literature. Born in 1981, Pētersons boasts an impressive education in the arts: he attended the Janis Rosentāls Rīga Secondary School of Art, studied photography at Andrejs Grants' workshop, and graduated with a certificate in visual communications from the Latvian Academy of Arts. His first children's illustrated book was published in 2007 (A True Story of Chingo Baba, Big Snail, and the Sorrow of the Ruler of the Sea), and since then he's illustrated numerous children's books and animated stories.

Pētersons is not a typical or traditional illustrator—his innovative and somewhat eccentric artistic style pushes the limits of the genre. He is attentive to character detail, and captures real-life emotion and expression through expressive—and frequently grotesque—representation. While Pētersons conveys a recognizable and cohesive style among his illustrative works, he is no stranger to artistic experimentation. In each project he takes on, he works to suit his style and color palette to the text at hand, and thus creates a cohesive and exciting relationship between text and image.

Pētersons's illustrative technique is not limited to the medium of picturebooks—he is a successful and innovative animator, creating short animated videos narrating children's stories. His attention to detail and commitment to artistic expression allow him to immerse his readers/viewers in Latvian cultural experience, yet his interest in the mind of the child reader allows him to relate to children on many levels.

While Pētersons career in illustration is in some ways still only beginning, the fact that he boasts such an impressive list of awards and distinctions asserts him as one of the most prominent illustrators to come from Latvia. In 2009, he won the Pastariņš Prize for Achievement in Children's Book Illustrations, and in 2012 he won the National Zelta ābele [Golden Apple Tree] Book Art Competition Artist of the Year Award for Mufa. While this is his first Hans Christian Andersen Award nomination, he has been nominated for a number of other prestigious awards, including the International Baltic Sea Redion Jānis Baltvilks Prize in Children's Literature and Book Art.