Kisses for SCBWI

Make your Storybook Dreams come true! 

This year I went to my first Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI for short) conference in Winchester.  The weekend was filled with amazing talks, seminars, discussion panels, competitions, as well as fun parties (in a medieval guildhall, at that!), sketch crawls, and lots of new friends.

In order to make the most of my first conference, I entered every competition available.  I got carried away with my submission for the "best promotional postcard" competition.  The brief was:

design a postcard based on a minor character from a fairytale; 100mmx150mm.

  I chose the Frog Prince, and put the little amphibian in a pop-up kissing booth.  When folded, the card matches the exact dimensions, but it can be unfolded into a shadow box featuring this little green fellow.  

Any kisses, only 50p.  Make your Storybook Dreams come true!  

And my dreams did come true, because I won the competition!  The judges comments were, "The postcard is beautiful, and imaginative, and has many layers of narrative significance.  Plus, it would look lovely propped up on an art director's desk."

But more importantly (and long lasting), was all the inspiration, affirmation and motivation we all received.  We all left the weekend feeling buoyed up by all the positive critiques and discussion.  For myself, I realized that I'm going in the right direction.  I've been muddling along, trying to improve my illustrations and writing as best I can, but you never know if it's "right" until someone else sees it and says, "Yes, this is lovely, keep going."  And that's what happened.

Now I have so much motivation to keep working, and to finish those projects that have been living in my head for so long.

Tell me:  how does one keep that motivation and enthusiasm long after the conference is only a dim memory from months ago?

I've decided to keep my Frog Prince on my studio desk, so that I can see him every morning and remember the affirmation I received.

What are you planning to do to keep the SCBWI conference energy alive?  

In addition to the postcard competition, I was also included in a juried exhibition showcasing the best illustrators of the British Isles. Below you can see my illustration.

Thank-you SCBWI for making this all happen!  

NOTES:

You can see the other conference winners here:  

http://scbwiillustrators.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/print-showcase-winners-at-2012.html

On Designing Characters

August is over, and September is whispering around the corner. My blogging rate has fallen short, but that's more of a sign of busy-ness than neglect. (Though, some neglect as well)

The last few months have been full of friends and family, and lots of love and laughter.

They were also full of illustration and design work, but nothing that I'm at liberty to share quite yet. And the sketches, well... I just don't feel like sharing them.

There's something really wonderful about a sketchbook that's full of doodles and mistakes, research, scribbles and half-finished thoughts. It's a repository for all my mind's imaginings. It's a collection of all those half-formed thoughts that flit around the edge of the brain, and only materialize into something more concrete if you ignore them and give them space.

And if I put them online, they don't have the space they need to grow...

In any case, here is something I will share: a snapshot of my studio table and a little character I've come to know.

I know I've designed a good character when I recognize her. Not that I've copied her from somewhere else, but that I always knew she existed in my mind. It's like I've released one of those ideas that flitted around those dark corners (see above) and it finally decided that it was the right time to materialize on paper. I scribble, scribble, scribble and then I sit back and say, "Yes, that's her! I knew it all along!"

Do you find the same thing, when you're writing or drawing? That you recognize your characters?

Oh, and my most recent quote inspiration is:

"It's great work that wins a break. It's being great to work with that wins a career."

That is paraphrased from a blog post by

Chris Oatley

.

The Diamond Jubilee in pictures

This weekend I was privileged to be in London while Queen Elizabeth was celebrating her Diamond Jubilee weekend. It seems to me that the whole nation has gathered together in a rare atmosphere of complete joy.

Every street is bedecked with bunting and streamers; every garden is fragrant with multitudes of English roses. The whole city simply blooms with rose petals, ribbons and bunting.

I didn't attend any of the events, preferring instead to watch them in the comfort of my home on the telly. However, we live so close to the Parks that I heard the loud "hip-hip-hoorays" and the fireworks after the Jubilee concert carrying through the night air. And, the planes that flew over the Palace also flew over my flat. From my own cozy lounge I felt like I was in the centre of the action!

Previously I didn't give the Queen much thought, except to know that she's on our money, and on my passport, and that she is the head of the Commonwealth. However, the Jubilee celebrations uncovered my nascent affection for her. Why? I love her because of her gentle, feminine influence. The world can be such a harsh place filled with conflict and hatred. The Queen is a benevolent spirit who travels around listening to people and protecting the arts. And, that's what the world needs more than warrior dictators, don't you think?

So long at the fair

Just a little ditty to cheer up a Wednesday.  

I loved singing this song as a child.  I woke up with the tune in my ears, and had to put a little sketch to paper. 

And, if you have a moment, and you need a little inspiration, you can listen to Julie Andrews singing a variation of this nursery rhyme

HERE

.  

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!

As my grandpa reminded me the other day, Easter isn't just about cute eggs and bunnies...  I know that, it's just that sometimes I forget.  For me, Easter is about rejuvenation and rebirth.

It's been crazy-busy at our house these past few weeks.  I've been working flat-out on new illustrations and putting the final touches on a rather long story.  At the same time, I've been helping my husband with a very exciting entrepreneurial venture (my lips are sealed for the time being).  

This means I've been feeling completely fragmented.  While I'm painting my mind is thinking of business ideas; while I'm working on the business plan I'm resolving issues with the plot of a story.   No matter what I'm doing I'm constantly thinking about something else.   

I'm sure we all lose focus when life is so busy.

So, this Easter weekend I want to step back, slow down, and focus on rejuvenation. A little bit of quiet time and a few chocolate eggs will do wonders for the soul.  :-) 

What are you doing for Easter?  

Stuff and Nonsense

March is a month of birthdays for my family, but today isn't one of them.

So, if you're lucky enough to NOT have a birthday today:

Happy Un-Birthday!

As the March Hare says...

Let's all congratulate us with another cup of tea

A very merry un-birthday to you! ...

Now blow the candle out my dear

and make your wish come true

A merry merry unbirthday to you!

The Moveable Art Studio

Three months here... Nine months there

Always expecting, and always the unexpected.

Ian McCallum

So, I'm back in my Cape Town Studio.

That sounds so glamorous, when really it isn't.

I've been thinking a lot about where people do their creative work. A lot of writers and illustrators believe they need a specific room, the perfect place, in order to write, draw or paint. It's only in that magical, fertile, serene place that inspired ideas will form and come to fruition.

That isn't really possible for me at the moment because I travel a lot. My friends and family are scattered around the globe: Canada, Britain, South Africa, Swaziland, The Netherlands, Namibia. I need to be on the move

if I want to spend time with them.

So, my studio isn't a room, it's a satchel; I carry it around everywhere I go. It's filled with my art supplies, my computer and my scanner. I call it my "moveable studio." (like moveable feast) No matter where I am, I can get down to work at a moment's notice.

My "perfect place" to write or paint is actually wherever I am at the moment. My imagination takes hold and I'm transported into a world of stories and drawings. I don't even notice that I'm perched at a fold-out desk in a guest bedroom, or spread out over someone's kitchen table.

In the past year (since my last birthday), I've completed illustration jobs from tables and desks in Cape Town, London, Bologna, Amersfoort, Steinbach, Manzini, and Swakopmund. I have pictures of all the places except Bologna. It never occurred to me to photograph the hotel bedside table where I drew roughs in my down time between visits to the Children's Book Fair.

After all there is no such thing as a perfect place. There's only our imaginations, and the imagination can be used anywhere!

Where do you work?

I love to know how many of you have proper studio spaces, and how many of you work on kitchen tables, floors, or any other horizontal surface that might be available.

Here's an example of my basic art supplies...

My kitchen table in London

The Guest Bedroom in Amersfoort

The Basement in Steinbach

The Guest Bedroom in Manzini

The Kitchen Table in Swakopmund

Birthday number 30

 

This year I turned 30.

And what a momentous year! Here's what's happened:

1. I've spent two consecutive birthdays in Cape Town (that wasn't at all expected).

2. I illustrated educational children's books for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Pearson.

3. I took a writing course with Random House in South Africa.

4. I received a contract for "Digging for Diana" my middle-readers novel from Random House Struik.

5. I declined the aforementioned contract (long story) and I'm still searching for a publisher.

6. I've travelled to United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, United States, Canada, Swaziland, and Namibia.

It's been an amazing year, and I really (really) hope that this coming year will be even better.

And, thanks to all you readers for making this year extra-special online! I love reading all your blogs, and I love receiving your questions and comments. You're such amazingly talented people!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Adventures in... Dublin

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

I just returned from a weekend in Dublin, visiting a friend who recently got a job lecturing in medieval art history (think the Book of Kells) at Trinity College Dublin (I'm so proud of her!). 

I've never been a very good at keeping travel sketchbooks, so I decided that my one goal for this trip was to take some time to do some sketching.  Luckily it wasn't too cold in Dublin, so I didn't have to try to hold a pencil with mittens.  

I only brought pencils along with me; I tend to pack far too many art supplies and then never use them at all.  This time, I only travelled with a selection of pencils, an eraser and a sketchbook.  The simplicity of my supplies made the sketching less intimidating.  There were no decisions to be made (pen or pencil?  Colour or no?), and less to carry in my satchel.  

I haven't posted all my sketches.  Many of them were really messy, just little doodles to help me remember moments I enjoyed.      

This trip to Dublin was a substitute for going to Bologna.  The past two years I have joined thousands of children's book writers and illustrators in an annual pilgrimage to the Bologna Children's Book Fair.  I love the fair, and I love spending time with so many talented and inspiring people...  

But this year is different...  

For the longest time I've been working relentlessly towards my goal of becoming a children's book writer and illustrator.  I love what I do, and I love striving for ever-greater opportunities... but... somehow...the relentless pursuit of one goal at the expense of everything else results in a very flat and shallow life.  

I need to take a small step back to spend time with my friends; have new experiences; be inspired by the random things I encounter. 

And on that note, I need to hunker down in my studio and work towards another illustration deadline (due Friday! eek!).   

Dublin Castle

Georgian House and Plane Tree, Dawson Street, Dublin

Into the great beyond

This week I finished the last of a long sequence of deadlines.  I rushed and panicked, and then sent everything in on time anyway (so why worry so much?).  And now I have this feeling of release.  You know that moment when a helium balloon escapes your hands and it bobs around within arm's reach for a moment before zooming upwards into the great void of sky?  

That's exactly how I feel:  at the moment I'm bobbing around, not far from removed from my previous project.  I can feel the rush of air, and that sense of free breathing.  I'm done!  Yay!

But, any second now, I'll zoom into the great unknown and I'll be surrounded by the outer atmosphere. What?  You mean there's no work on the horizon, for the foreseeable future?  Eek!  

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the illustrations I completed for my latest illustration projects.  They're all commissioned by Pearson Education and Oxford University Press (both in South Africa).  

Michael Rosen and Mark Haddon on Reading

 

Michael Rosen and Mark Haddon discussed the transformative qualities of great books; how reading them can change our outlook on life.

Michael Rosen did a reading, the the manner of his father, demonstrating the magic of "Great Expectations."  Apparently, Rosen first heard Great Expectations when his father read it aloud to the family on a rather wet camping trip in Yorkshire (or was it the Urals?). Rosen held the audience in the grip of each word as he read the first few pages of book, complete with actions and voices.  If you want a sampling of his dynamic reading style, don't miss his youtube rendition of "We're Going on a Bear Hunt."  

Mark Haddon, by comparison, explained how learning ancient Greek profoundly changed his appreciation for reading.  Suddenly he could read the Iliad and the Odyssey in their original form.  Translating the ancient language into English made him consider every word, and every expression seriously.  This isn't something that we do when we read fluently in a language.  Too often we skim forward, only stopping at the 'best bits' to read slowly or re-read.

And while Michael Rosen and Mark Haddon were discussing the merits of different kinds of reading, I was sketching.  I intended to draw both men, but got stuck on Michael Rosen.  He bears an uncanny resemblance to my uncle Paul and my Dad!  Those blue eyes, slightly rounded nose and wiry grey beard.  My first attempt at drawing Michael actually ended up being my uncle Paul, totally by accident!  (See top left sketch).

If you're interested in finding out more about the importance of reading.  Pick up a copy of

Stop What You're Doing and Read This!

which is a book of essays on reading by Michael Rosen, Mark Haddon, Zadie Smith and many more.

Cheers!

Christmas in Namibia - the desert

I think I still have sand in my pores, even though I've been home for a week.  Namibia is the kind of country that stays with you long after you've left.  When I close my eyes, I still see the shifting dunes, and arid, rocky desert, and the wild sea. 

My only excuse for not having filled a sketchbook with watercolours of the dunes and the waves is the mountain of illustration work I had to complete (over Christmas!).  

Mornings in Swakopmund are always submerged in cool Atlantic mist.  I'd wake early, set up on the kitchen table, and churn out as many finals as possible.  Then, every afternoon, when the desert sun had burned the mist away, we'd escape the seashore, or take a drive into the dunes with a picnic.  

One one occasion I came face to face with a lovely little chameleon.  He was crouching in the sun, and looked so melancholy that I named him Leonard Cohen.  All he needs is a cigarette, a tumbler of brandy, and a guitar, don't you think?  

 A desert chameleon

 The Swakop "River" - a dried river bed

Welwitschia Plant - over 2000 years old

And the mist and the waves....

Here's to an amazing year!

Whew!

2011 was an amazing year: a sprint, a marathon, an obstacle course and very, very fun.

It seems that everyone in the blogosphere is doing reviews of their year, and across the board I'd say it was pretty successful for all of us.

And my year?

 January of 2011 started with a BIG change; a change of cities, continents and hemispheres.  I travelled from London to Cape Town to join my husband for an extended holiday.  Since that moment I've been on the move through approximately 22 cities, including: New York, Amsterdam, London, Chicago, Toronto, Bologna, Johannesburg, Brussels...

Pretty far flung, huh?

Of course, the year wasn't completely leisurely.  I had a lot of illustration work to do as well.  In fact, I travelled with my scanner, sketchbook, pens and paints wherever I went.  I joked that I worked in the

great portable studio

(more on that in another post).  This year, I've finished commissions on hotel bedside tables, tiny guest-bedroom desks, and near-strangers kitchen tables.

I can only hope that 2012 will live up to 2011.

Here's to you all, may your 2012 be happy and prosperous, and worth blogging about!

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Frohe Weihnachten! 

I'm so excited about this Christmas: more than usually excited, in fact.  It will be my first Christmas in Africa with my husband's family... and my Mom.  We're all gathering together in Cape Town, and then travelling to Swakopmund in Namibia to celebrate in the desert by the sea where the dunes fall directly into the Atlantic Ocean. 

How does one celebrate Christmas in a desert?

 I'm used to Canadian/British cold weather: snow, rain, coniferous Christmas trees, twinkle lights and lots of blankets and hot chocolate.  Instead, we'll have sun, wind, heat and a thorn tree for a Christmas tree.  I can't wait to experience all these new things.

So, while things go silent all 'round the internet, and we celebrate with our families and friends, I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year.  Thanks for reading my blog; you make every day brighter.  And... I can't wait to catch up with all of you in January! 

The Tea Robot

Yesterday afternoon Alicia Padrón and I had a twitter conversation about our mutual wish for an assistant in the form of a robot. Alicia wanted hers to make her coffee and bring cake; I'd love mine to bring endless cups of rooibos tea.

She drew the cutest coffee robot ever invented. (See here) And I promised to draw my version of a tea robot. This is a super-duper quick sketch because I'm panicking to finish a huge job before tomorrow.

Where's that soothing cup of rooibos tea when you need it?

A Few Things That Make Me Happy

With the beginning of the holiday season (and deadline season) looming, I've decided I need to focus on the things that make me happy. I need to slow down the pace for a moment and really notice what's going on around me.

This morning, after receiving some disappointing news regarding a long-hoped-for job, my Mom and I went for a coffee in the Bo Kaap neighbourhood. My mind was a fog of sad thoughts, but then I lifted my head and looked around. It's impossible to be melancholy for long in the Bo Kaap, where candy coloured houses tumble down the cobbled streets from Signal Hill to the city centre. Who can be sad when someone is growing pink petunias on the pink wall? It made my heart sing.

Another thing that makes me really happy is my messy desk. Every so often I try to clear it up, but in less than a day it always looks like a whirlwind again. But, I know where everything is, and the mess feels cozy!

What makes you happy this December?

The Sea! The Sea!

Being a prairie girl, I've never had a close acquaintance with the sea. I've admired it on summer trips; I've stuck my toes in it and shivered; I've dreamed of living in a beach house; but, it never seemed like a "real" place. The seaside was a dream and a vacation, not a home.

Now I find myself living within a short distance from two seas: the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic ocean. Each has its own distinct personality and moods, and each are inspiring in their own way. And I love them both!

This new friendship with the sea led me to contemplate children and mermaids. How much fun would it be to have a secret mermaid friend? 

 

The Cape Town Aquarium

Riding Horses in the Atlantic.

Illustration Friday - Stripes

Here's the sketch for today.

I've been staring at a blank piece of paper all week, trying to figure out what to do next. I have two large projects that need starting (need finishing actually, but starting comes first). Do you ever get that crippling feeling of artistic insecurity before you start something big?

It got so frustrating this morning that I just had to draw SOMETHING. So... I did an illustration friday painting. The theme was "stripes." I didn't want to over-think the challenge, as I've been over-thinking my projects all week, so I just did a simple stripey portrait.

And, you know what? Suddenly I think I have more creative chutzpah to tackle those overwhelming projects. :-)

Sketching Llandudno - Cape Town

 

I promise, I have been drawing every day. I just can't prove it. Really. Every day I sit down with my sketchbook and watch my pencil skim across the paper. Sometimes I'm happy with the result; sometimes I'm not; and, sometimes, the sketch turns into something I don't want to share. What I mean is, they turn into something more substantial, a full painting that I will share at a later date (you know, to keep the suspense going).

These daily drawings have forced me to really think about my style. What is my visual language? How do I make marks on paper? The trick with drawing is to be able to anticipate what might unfold. You need to draw as though the sketch could turn into a full painting. That means different things for different people, as everyone works differently. For me, it means working with clear lines and tones (three shades: light, middle, dark).

The exercise has forced me to draw with greater clarity. I have to see clearly in order to be able to draw clearly.

Above you see a little pencil sketch of Llandudno, a lovely bay in Cape Town. To the left is the Klein Leewkoppie, the smaller lion's head mountain. This tiny sketch was done quickly, in my evolving visual short-hand. I couldn't draw them, but the waves in the bay were teaming with seals frolicking in the waves.