Dmitry Trubin

Dmitry Alexandrovich Trubin (b. 1961) — Russian artist and illustrator.

Born in Kotlas, Arkhangelsk Region, Trubin first graduated from a maritime college before completing his studies at the Art Faculty of the Moscow Polygraphic Institute.

He has illustrated more than one hundred children’s books, including Thumbelina and The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Nedopesok and Shamaika – The Queen of Cats by Yuri Koval, Clever Little Dog Sonya by Andrey Usachyov, among many others.

In 2014, he won the national award “Obraz Knigi” (The Image of the Book) in the category Best Illustrations for Children’s and Young Adult Literature for his series of illustrations to Yuri Koval’s Shamaika – The Queen of Cats, published by Malysh, a house he has collaborated with for over 25 years.

He lives and works in Arkhangelsk.

My technique is quite simple: watercolor over black contour, white gouache and pastel — all on primed paper, which allows me to rub and scratch the surface, to truly paint. The primed paper gives the originals their texture. I begin with watercolor, then add white and pastel, then I may wash everything over again and even wipe it with a cloth… It is the cloth, precisely that, which gives the drawings a certain audacity. Without it everything is merely pretty and slightly sterile; with it, it becomes at least somewhat truthful.

If I may say so, I am a favorite of the gods — everything comes easily to me. Publishers invited me themselves; I never pushed my way in. I am versatile. When people say one must devote oneself to only one thing, I smile. Only a miracle keeps me from composing music — because no one taught me solfeggio as a child.

A human being — and above all an artist — is intellect! It is not mere reflection of the external world; it is creation. One must understand where one comes from, who stood before, who one is in this vast line of great artists, what one loves and values in this life.

Literary critic Lola Zvonareva notes that Trubin seems to have “two faces”: one playful, mischievous, sparkling with sly irony — the illustrator; the other, revealed in his painting, a darker, ironic philosopher drawn to erotic subjects and keenly aware of the fragility of human existence.

She also points out that Trubin was brought into children’s book illustration by his teacher at the Polygraphic Institute, May Miturich, who had a deeply personal relationship with color in children’s books. Like his mentor, Trubin avoided easy solutions: he traveled extensively, collaborated closely with writers, wrote fairy tales himself, and published two books of poetic miniatures and verse commentaries to his own paintings. His illustrations are marked by dense texture, an energetic line rich in grotesque nuances, complex compositions full of amusing details, where decorative qualities coexist with a kind of cheerful tenderness.

Artist Lev Tokmakov described Trubin as a rare natural talent — “a pure nugget.” He called him one of the brightest artists of our turbulent time and spoke of his work as a gift bestowed from above.

Website | dtrubin.com