Scott E. Sutton

By K. Jenney Friday, 19 February 2010

LEANDER — Three people—a nun who taught Catholic school, a publishing house owner and a virtual stranger—all played a hand in Leander artist/illustrator/author Scott E. Sutton’s success.

As a first-grader in Santa Monica, Calif., Sutton’s Catholic school teacher Sister Mary Plunkett addressed his artistic passion by placing him in the corner with a stack of paper and crayons and telling him to draw to his heart’s content. He spent the rest of that year drawing dinosaurs.

Sutton eventually transferred to public school, where he turned in all of his school work with accompanying illustrations.

He contributed original cartoons to his school newspaper, and in the seventh grade, he submitted a cartoon to Surfer magazine. It was published, and he was paid $10.

“I was a hero,” he said. “Surfer magazine was the magazine for California teens. It was then I realized I could actually do what I love and get paid for it.”

Now, more than 45 years later, Sutton has sold close to 150,000 books and has made a living doing what he loves. Like most artistic jobs, however, it wasn’t easy finding his way at first.

During high school, Sutton’s family relocated to Washington state. Unimpressed with the cold, wet weather, he returned to California to stay with friends while finishing high school. He sold his ink and watercolor whimsical fantasy paintings and took a job working at a fast-food restaurant to make ends meet.

Sutton continued to sell his work at California galleries and found a layout and design job at a publishing house. The owner of the company had operated an art school in New Zealand for 13 years and saw Sutton’s talent.

“He took me under his wing and formally trained me,” Sutton said. “I received the most incredible on-the-job training in graphic arts, visual arts, writing, illustrating, public relations, marketing and finance. I could have never paid for that experience.”

In 1985, he was approached by a publisher to create what would be the first of two children’s books based on his paintings. With hundreds of orders already lined up, Sutton was devastated when the publisher went out of business before the first book could be printed. He borrowed money from his mother and self-published, selling his work in galleries and art shows.

Sutton spent most of the next two decades painting and adding to his three series until a 1991 diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease forced the artist to go on dialysis in 2002.

Sutton was not doing well, and he and his wife decided to move to Texas, where she had family.

Just before leaving California, he was contacted by a client who wanted to commission more pieces, but Sutton declined, citing poor health and the impending move. The woman’s response was not what he expected.

“She told me she wanted to donate one of her kidneys to me,” he said.

In 2004, the woman flew to Texas, and Sutton received her kidney.

He spent the next couple of years recuperating and has since refocused on his career. He now gives drawing workshops at Barnes and Noble, attends artisan and book festivals and continues to give school workshops.

“People think art is genetic, but it’s a talent that needs to be developed, like many other jobs,” Sutton said. “I’m just glad Sister Mary Plunkett saw that potential in me.”