Angel Dominguez

I first came across illustrator Angel Dominguez’s work while researching Rudyard Kipling’s The Second Jungle Book. It was his Shere Khan, with the reflection of Mowgli in his eye, that both stunned and delighted me, and I was instantly hooked. And, in early spring 2021, just as I was getting to know his work and looking forward to ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING else that he decided to illustrate, I heard of his passing. I didn’t know him but felt gutted at the loss of such a wonderful illustrator.

I decided then that I had to do a post to hopefully honor this artist who by all accounts on social media and otherwise was known to be a truly wonderful human.

Known for his anthropomorphic animals and his detailed watercolor images, Angel Dominguez was self-taught and took much of his inspiration from Golden Age illustrators Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and William Heath Robinson, along with more contemporary artists such as Alan Lee and Brian Froud.

He began his career in children’s book illustration with Diary of a Victorian Mouse and has since illustrated many other children’s books and classics; I’ve listed some of them below! His final book was titled Pen Dragon and the Age of King Arthur, and he painted himself on the cover as King Arthur, which I think is very fitting.

A wonderful soul, some friends of his that I came across on Instagram have described him as being one of the best people you could have the pleasure of knowing.  Thank You Angel Dominguez for adding your beauty to our world!