Celebrated Artist Draws On Happiness For Merryhill Students

By Larissa Lytwyn

There are two things many young children get giddy at the very thought of — animals and drawing.

The 4- and 5-year-old classes at Merryhill Child Care Center recently enjoyed both during a visit from Randall Enos, a nationally renowned artist and illustrator whose work has been featured in Atlantic Monthly, Time, Sports Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and Forbes, among countless others.

Mr Enos, who currently resides in Easton, is a close friend of John Brandt, a Westport resident whose granddaughter, Hannah MacDonald, attends Merryhill.

“Mr Enos’s visit to Merryhill marked the first time he’d ever presented to children of this age group before,” said Mr Brandt with a chuckle. “He’s been accustomed to teaching students at Parsons [School of Design]!”

But Mr Enos said he was delighted by the youngsters’ energy.

“When I headed to Merryhill today, I didn’t have anything really concretely planned,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. The kids just blew me away with how smart they were, how focused!”

The artist spent most of his visit challenging his young audience to guess what kind of animals he was drawing.

“I swear, I think one of those kids were psychic!” Mr Enos laughed later. “He began guessing, and guessing right, before I’d even drawn two strokes!”

Mr Enos delighted the children with his renditions of a number of creatures, including sharks, horses, snakes, cats and dogs, and lions.

Sometimes, he drew the same animal a number of different ways, from a closeup of a lion’s grizzled face to a cartoonish profile of a lion wearing a cock-eyed crown.

He also took requests, including one for a long-lashed mare, another for a kitten.

He signed every picture with his standard block-letter signature and distributed them to each child.

“This is the first time we’ve had an artist of this caliber come,” noted Merryhill Director Michelle Kean.

She said the children clearly enjoyed the visit, even more so than she had anticipated.

“It was a long presentation, but the kids kept right up with Mr Enos until the very end,” Ms Kean noted. “He really kept them engaged.”

Mr Enos said he was pleased with how polite and “well-behaved” the children were during his presentation.

“It was really quite a delight,” he said. “I can say that I really enjoyed myself!”

In addition to his work in magazines, Mr Enos has illustrated children’s books including Elinor J. Pinczes’ My Full Moon is Square and Inchworm and a Half.

Mr Enos’ work also illustrates “Life’s Work,” a New York Times column by Lisa Belkin published every other Sunday.

Mr Enos described his style as “a little bit out-there, a little bit wacky.”

He laughed, “If [the client] wants something serene, they won’t call me. But if they want something a bit more edgy, or wild, they’ll pick up the phone!”

He said his favorite work included his diverse collection of caricatures.

“I loved one of [Aerosmith front man] Steve Tyler I once did,” Mr Enos said. “He was a lot of fun to do, as you can imagine.”

Mr Enos has also depicted Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock.

 “He’s just a great guy — really energetic and a lot of fun,” said Mr Brandt. “I was so happy that he decided to come to Merryhill!”

Learn more about Mr Enos at www.randallenos.com.