ART : Seizing Mythic Images : David Shannon says he realizes that his ‘darker, moodier’ illustrations of folk tales can influence a child.

Discovering your artwork trampled on the floor of a New York subway car can be humbling.

Several years ago, editorial illustrator David Shannon found his drawing, printed in the New York Times’ editorial pages, layered with dirty footprints. “It really brought home the impermanence of my work,” said Shannon, who lives in Burbank with his wife, Heidi. “I immediately suspected that other people were lining their bird cages with my art.”

Today, readers prop Shannon’s drawings on their knees when they tell bedtime stories to their children. Shannon, 33, began illustrating children’s books after an editor for Scholastic Publishers spotted his drawing alongside a children’s book review in a newspaper.

His first project for Scholastic, “How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?” by Julius Lester, appeared in 1989 and was accompanied by rave reviews.

The book, a combination of Jewish and African folk tales, was just the beginning for Shannon. He has since illustrated an Algonquin tribe Cinderella tale, “The Rough Face Girl” by Rafe Martin (Putnam) and “Encounter” by Jane Yolen (Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich), told from the perspective of a Taino Indian boy who encounters Columbus and his crew in 1492.

Shannon’s present project, “The Boy Who Lived With the Seals” by Rafe Martin (Putnam), will be released in April. The Chinook Indian tale recounts the trials of a boy who is returned to civilization after living with a seal colony.

A self-described “darker, moodier quality” in Shannon’s work--sometimes revealed in rich browns, reds, greens and blues--complements the telling of folk tales.

In Lester’s book, the tale “Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky” is depicted by surrealistic figures garbed in African dress. The man’s head is a sun, the woman’s a moon. Standing above a globe with continents woven from thatch, the figures clasp hands and are, in a word, enchanting.

“As soon as we saw his first work, it was so unique and powerful that we knew it could stand on its own,” said Abbie Phillips, co-owner of Every Picture Tells a Story, a Los Angeles gallery that features Shannon’s acrylic paintings along with those of children’s illustrators Maurice Sendak, Don Wood, Hilary Knight, Graeme Base and William Joyce, among others.

“So much of this work is not noteworthy and is derivative,” said Phillips, who sells Shannon’s work for up to $1,500 a painting. “David seemed to have his own voice and style. His images can stand on their own. They work fine as paintings for the most sophisticated art person. He’s able to capture mythic images very well.”

Shannon got his start at age 3 while growing up in Spokane, Wash. “Some of that work was pretty good,” he said. “Somehow I could never match what I did at that age.”

The artist, who has also drawn editorial work for Time, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, moved to Los Angeles at 19 to enroll in Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. After graduating in 1983 with a bachelor of fine arts in illustration, Shannon moved to New York City, where Time’s and Newsweek’s editorial offices were located. He moved to Burbank in 1991.

“At first, I thought illustrating children’s books was all about drawing cute ducks and bunnies,” said Shannon, who teaches a class on illustrating children’s books at Pasadena’s Art Center. “I had no idea about the variety and quality of stories out there. It’s a real booming industry right now. Telling the story is as much the illustrator’s job as it is the writer’s. Ideally, the whole story exists somewhere in between the two.”

Shannon said he realizes that his illustrations, which some have called “strongly emotional,” can have a hefty influence upon a child’s mind. Images from N. C. Wyeth’s “The Boys of King Arthur,” which Shannon received as a gift from an uncle when the artist was 10, inspire his own drawings today. Shannon, in fact, is at work illustrating a King Arthur tale written by his brother Mark, who lives in New York City.

“I was always drawing knights, battle scenes, Indians and sports figures as a kid,” said Shannon, who has also launched a career as a writer of children’s books that he illustrates himself.

After working for six months on 20 book panels, Shannon said he feels a “great deal of accomplishment.” But there are always critics.

“A little boy came up to me at Every Picture Tells a Story and said, ‘I don’t like your paintings,’ ” Shannon said. “He said, ‘I like paintings with brighter colors.’ Everyone’s a critic.”

Where and When Location: David Shannon’s paintings can be viewed at Every Picture Tells a Story, 836 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. The gallery has a small bookshop. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and by appointment. Call: (213) 962-5420.