Illustration West is gearing up for an exciting time as SILA’s annual art competition begins its 59th season! First of all, it was an honor to be invited to be this year’s chairman. By way of introduction, I have been working in the illustration and animation industries for the past twenty-nine years. So, secondly, I opened my digital Rolodex with twenty-nine years of industry contacts to reach out to a number of accomplished colleagues to be a part of our nine-member jury, a jury which was just recently confirmed. We know you’ll be thrilled to see who these industry heavyweights are that will be looking at your submissions this year. We have people well versed in art for children’s books, magazines, advertising, fantasy, portraits, caricature, comics, and fine art. Who they are will be announced in the near future, but for now, we are busy gathering materials for the Illustration West 59 website, and the exciting promotional poster is currently in the process of being created! So, start gathering those pieces you plan to enter this year!

©Goni Montes; ©Scott Bakal; ©Bill Morrison; ©Cliff Cramp; ©Chuck Grieb

Illustration West 59 Chairman