David Brinley's original acrylic painting entitled "Csaba" has been selected for publication in
American Illustration, a who's who of the world's best illustrators.
Of the 7,000-plus entries juried by a panel of leading art and creative directors, Brinley's painting joins the 316 other winning images to be published in the 30th annual book and marks the eighth time work by the assistant professor in the University of Delaware
Department of Art has been featured in the publication.
Calling it "the most competitive, selective and rewarding competition for contemporary illustrators," he says past exposure in American Illustration has led to work for TIME, Rolling Stone, Newsweek and many other notable publications and gallery shows.
"It is an incredible honor each time," Brinley adds.
His previous winning images have included editorial work, such as a New York Times Magazine cover portrait of Kim Jong Il, but the majority have been personal illustrations or gallery pieces.
His sailor boy image is perhaps among the most personal.
The picture was initially drawn as part of his early research for "Budapest Boy," a 32-page, full-color story of a family of nesting dolls who flee Hungary during the 1956 Revolution and immigrate to America, where their young son becomes a New York Yankees batboy at the World Series.
The book, which was developed, illustrated and written last summer, was inspired by the immigrant experiences of Brinley's grandmother and his own childhood memories of being a batboy for Major League Baseball teams while vacationing at her Florida home.
While the award-winning blind-eyed sailor boy image does not appear in "Budapest Boy," Brinley says it helped him conceive of and create the narrative of the 16-picture, full-spread book, which has become his largest project to date.
