Interview with the Thompsons

Judy and Sandy Thompson, daughters of Ranger Rick artist, Lorin Thompson stumbled upon my site recently and were very interested in the site and its focus. Both were very friendly and gracious and said if there were any questions about Lorin's work on Ranger Rick or anything else I should ask. Well, of course I did--its not everyday you get to speak with people who personally knew someone whom you discuss in your own site. My questions their answers are posted below, for all fans of Ranger Rick to read.

Q: How did Lorin get involved with Ranger Rick?

Judy & Sandy: I don't know. I'm stumped. I know at one point he had an agent, but I don't know if he did at the time of Ranger Rick. He had worked at both Norcross Greetings and later at Prentice Hall a textbook company. He did illustrations for the books. He might have made contact with someone through these positions. He illustrated maps, other books, games, greeting cards and designed covers for some books. He did what he needed to to make a living.

Q: Did any character (in regards to design or even antics) give Lorin any trouble when illustrating?

Judy & Sandy: I don't think so. He researched the animals from multiple sources and did many sketches before deciding on a final composition. He did much homework on his projects.

Q: Did he have any favorite character that was always fun to illustrate?

Judy: I think he liked Ollie Otter best though I couldn't say for certain.

Q: How long would it take Lorin to create and illustrate the drawings?

Judy & Sandy: My recollection is that he would spend a great deal of time on the artwork- it seemed to me that he would be in his studio for days on end. He was a perfectionist when it came to his art and wanted to like something before he sent it. Most of the time the art directors at NWF would love the work but if they criticized something or told him that the character should be doing something differently or posed differently Dad would sometimes have a hard time with this and would explain that something would not work as well etc. He was given the story line and did the illustrations based on this as he saw it.

Q: Did Lorin ever regret some of the drawings and later wished he would've changed the way he illustrated the story?

Judy: He would not always agree with the folks at NWF that he worked with.

Sandy: He had a lot of respect for the art director Bob .......I can't remember his last name.

Q: You mentioned that Lorin "did his homework" studying animals to get the correct anatomy. Was he also a wildlife photographer or interested in photography?

Judy: No, he was never into photography. As little kids Sandy and I would look through many magazines for photos of certain things Dad would want to have for his files like certain animals or objects and we would get paid a penny for each picture he felt he could use. It was fun for us to do this and I remember enjoying the reward.

Sandy: He loved the Polaroid camera when it came out. He would sometimes pose my sister or me, then use these snapshots to refer to when doing some illustrations. These weren't Ranger Rick of course! I believe it was for a job having to do with the National Parks.

Q: What other things did Lorin work on besides Ranger Rick?

Judy & Sandy: He was constantly sketching at our dining room table and painting at his drawing board in his studio, which was just off the kitchen in our house in Huntington, CT. He drew our dogs, many subjects from nature, cartoons, abstract forms, buildings, Christmas cards, his grandchildren's birth announcements, the Tappen Zee Bridge, charactures....

We have many scrapbooks filled with his sketches from various times in his life. He continued to paint and work in many mediums after RR. He worked for a time at the Famous Artist School in Westport Connecticut.

Q: Ranger Rick has changed throughout the last ten years, and now they no longer print the magazine adventures as represented on my site. I feel the loss of the artwork and stories as presented in past issues has hurt the charm of Ranger Rick and made it look more like a children's tv show. Granted, I feel that Ranger Rick had to change to make it more like other children's magazines to remain competitive. Do you feel Lorin would agree on this that the changes have really affected how we present media to the children of this generation?

Judy: Absolutely. I doubt he would like what is out there now. He was a very creative artist and worked in multiple media (he even made an amazing snow sculpture in our front yard that had cars stopping to photograph it) and would also work on different styles of art. He did sculpture,( wood carving and stone as well as clay and plaster), modern looking works ( many media from oil to watercolors), cartoons and whimsical styles of drawing and painting, pencil, pen and ink, charcoal and pastel works (large and small.) His murals that were commissioned by the government are still to be found in post offices throughout the US.

He wrote a children's book and illustrated it but was unable to find a publisher which I know was a true disappointment to him. The book was excellent and so much better than so much that is out there for kids now (ick!!! Barney, Sponge Bob etc).

Sandy: Many years ago I sent copies of this children's book (The Farmer's Wig) to various publishers. There was no interest and this is truly a shame. I still believe it's a wonderful story with a message about the mistake of making personal assumptions and listening to rumors and gossip.

Once again, I thank the Thompsons for taking the time to answer questions and the chance to share more information about a great artist around the world.