Enchanted Lion Books | 978-1592702671

“In a way it’s as important to communicate to one person, to one ten-year-old person that’s growing up, as it is to try to make any big effect on the entire world.”

— Keith Haring

Isn’t this how it is? Sometimes we have grand plans and we forget that one small word can make a big difference, one positive interaction can ripple out in all directions.

DRAWING on WALLS: A Story of Keith Haring by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Josh Cochran is about the short life, positive spirit, and impact of an artist who drew “all the time, everywhere.” In school, he and his best friend, Kermit, were known as “The Artists.” Later, when he was 20, Keith arrived in New York City, enrolled in the School of Visual Arts, and began making the art he knew he was meant to create.

Keith didn’t think that “art should be hidden away in galleries, museums, and private collections.” He wanted “to communicate with as many people as possible.”

He said, “Art is for everybody.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE © illustration by Josh Cochran

By the time Keith was 24, his career as an artist began to take off. A one-man show at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in Soho, and invitations to create murals in places around the world, including a stretch of the Berlin Wall, and an exterior wall of the Church of Sant’Antonio in Pisa.

Keith loved life! And when he learned that he had AIDS, “Keith didn’t stop.” He continued “making art and sharing his gifts with the world.” He died far too soon – at the age of 31 – of Aids-related complications.

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A note from author Matthew Burgess:

“I wrote this book as an expression of gratitude for Keith’s courage and creativity. Since his art may be even more accessible today than it was during his lifetime… what I hope to offer is a glimpse of Keith as a human being. An immensely generous person who held childhood and children at the center of his life, and an extraordinary artist whose spirit still inspires, still delights, still transmits his irrepressible energy of openness, freedom, and joy.”

• Check out this wonderful VIDEO/Book Launch with author Matthew Burgess that includes an intro to the book, as well as a terrific writing/drawing activity!

• After reading DRAWING on WALLS, enjoy one more picture book about the artist: ART IS LIFE: The Life of Artist Keith Haring by Tami Lewis Brown, illustrated by Keith Negley.

• Learn more about Haring and his art at the Keith Haring Foundation..

• And, just for fun, check out this video of artist Josh Cochran’s “Cairns In the Forest” installation.