Meet Marc Majewski | Picture book illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marc Majewski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marc, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always loved drawing and painting. As a child, I spent most of my time with a brush in hand. My mother often jokes about having to drag me away from my drawings to play outside. She and my father always encouraged me to be creative, and I remember them buying me stacks of notebooks every month at the grocery store that I would fill up quickly. Sometimes I would staple sheets together to make little books, or my grandmother would sew me a nice binding and I would simply fill in the pages. I would also create comic books and illustrate short stories, mostly about witches. My aunt, who worked at a publishing house in Germany, often gave me picture books, introducing me to numerous children’s book authors like Květa Pacovská, Ali Mitgutsch, and Quint Buchholz. This greatly influenced my desire to pursue illustration and a career in the publishing world.
After my studies, I naturally gravitated towards children’s literature. I have never read as many children’s books as I did as an adult, and I have come to appreciate how rich and complex this art form can be, despite its seemingly simple appearance. I have been deeply enchanted by authors such as Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey, Tomi Ungerer, and Kitty Crowther, just to name a few. This all led to my aspiration of becoming an illustrator.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being an illustrator is and continues to be a thrilling adventure. What I find most intriguing about this work is how connected it is to who I am, my daily life, background, and people I meet. Many of my illustrations stem from real-life experiences, and I find it quite inspiring to blend my life with my illustrations. Through my work, I feel like I am constantly evolving, growing, and changing. I often say that I understand things better by drawing them, whether it’s a tangible object such as a bicycle or abstract emotions. The process of drawing and painting also encourages me to be more empathetic, to observe more closely, and I believe it has a positive impact on all aspects of my life.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am grateful for so many people in my life – my family, teachers, and friends. The list goes on and on! I think to my parents who never pushed me to find another job, my painting teacher Marc Chalmé whose lessons greatly impacted my understanding of painting, and my friends Juliette, Ivan, Angélique, and Sébastien who always provide me with good advice.

Website: www.marc-majewski.com

Instagram: @marc.majewski

Other: Behance: https://www.behance.net/marc-majewski

Image Credits
Photo credit: Chloé Desnoyers Illustrations: Illustrations from La Poésie,Késako?, by Thomas Vinau and published with Gallimard Jeunesse, 2023.