Oliver Jeffers at the Writers and Readers Festival 12th May 2012

First page of my freshly signed copy of The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers did a fantastic job of tailoring his presentation to suit the audience, which was full of adorable, wide-eyed children. He was very entertaining and spoke with refreshing candor about his work and about making picture books. From the drawing demonstrations to the making of paper planes, every minute was engaging.
I'm looking forward to his next book, This Moose Belongs to Me, which he laughingly described as "a thinly veiled platform for my political rantings." Love it.

Afterwards at the Book Signing
Em and I stood patiently in line debating which books we should get signed... we had all of them with us but it seemed rude to present him with a pile! I decided on The Heart and the Bottle (above) and The Great Paper Caper.

Oliver Jeffers: Can I make these out to someone?
Me (star-struck): Hi. Um. Nah, that's okay, thanks.
Oliver Jeffers: Will probably be worth a bit more on eBay that way, aye?
Me (in my head): Doh, oh no! That wasn't what I meant! Ah!
Me (out loud): No, they absolutely won't be going anywhere! I promise.

It's hard meeting your heroes. He was so cool. And I was so not.
Writers and Readers Festival

I want I WANT MY HAT BACK print

Just wandering around on the internet, I found www.gallerynucleus.com where you can buy prints from I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (and many more from other artists)
This is my pick:

WANT IT

That is all.

Oliver Jeffers: Lost and Found

Images from Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers - 2006

This book always makes me smile. So adorable. I love Oliver Jeffers. 

I am looking forward to seeing him draw live at the www.writersfestival.co.nz

The boy and the penguin feature in a sequel called Up and Down. 

Here's a fun trailer for the book: Up and Down on www.youtube.com

Lost and Found has been adapted for an animated short film - which is quite an extension of the book and equally adorable. Here is the trailer on www.youtube.com

Jeffers' website is worth a visit. He has a shop - I want the Four Dimensional Glasses print.

www.oliverjeffers.com

Shaun Tan: The Bird King and Other Sketches

Front Cover - The Bird King and Other Sketches - Shaun Tan - 2010

Detail of a page from The Bird King and Other Sketches - Shaun Tan - 2010

Shaun Tan is one of my heroes. I've collected his books for many years and was lucky enough to see him speak at the Storylines Festival back in 2007.  

The Bird King and Other Sketches, published in 2010, is a collection of drawings, doodles, observations and trials, straight from the pages of Tan's sketchbooks.

Revealing process and writing about one's approach is a sensitive matter for most artists, let alone opening up the pages of your workbook for all to see! Tan writes openly about his practice and refers to Paul Klee's concept of "taking a line for a walk."

Reading that Tan can feel "utterly uninspired and unreceptive" when staring at a blank piece of paper made me feel so much better!

"There is only one thing to do: just start drawing."

See more at www.shauntan.net

If you visit, do read his account of learning that he had achieved the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2011. It's on the news page. Heartwarming story. A well-deserved honor for a great artist.

Link for this book on www.fishpond.co.nz

Working drawings for a story I have in mind

A Man - working drawings - Steph Chalmers - January 2012

Book Rave: I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen

Front Cover - I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen

I have to rave about this book, it's perfect in every way. (I will try to do this without spoiling it for anyone)

I read I WANT MY HAT BACK in a book shop, and laughed so hard I cried. Obviously, I had to have it. I have since watched my friends and family read it and laughed again with them. There are a few moments of pure magic when you can see readers registering what's happening in the story.

The illustrations seem simple, but are more complex the more you study them. Each character has eyes of a very similar, simple shape, but with slight changes, Klassen captures expressions of cunning, questioning, revelation, determination, fear and friction.

I could not imagine a better choice of typeface than Century Schoolbook, it just works.
The text is colored to suit each character, and color acts as an important visual signal throughout the book.

End Pages - I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen 

The end pages alone are charming. I want it as wallpaper!

For a short book it's a total page-turner. Masterfully done.

Jon Klassen's blog Burst of Beaden is well worth a visit.
Took me a while to get that... Beast of Burden... funny guy.

Another Owl and Pussycat - Illustrated by Stephane Jorisch

Page spread from The Owl and The Pussycat, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch

I was slightly sad for myself when I discovered this beautifully whimsical treatment of The Owl and The Pussycat, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch, for the Visions in Poetry series (Kids Can Press).

The Visions in Poetry series helps to give classic poetry new life, as each poem is reinterpreted by a contemporary artist.

Jorisch has also illustrated the weird and wonderful, Jabberwocky (Lewis Carroll, 1872) for the same series. And Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven (1845) gets a scrumptiously, dark and twisted treatment from Ryan Price. Price shows he is a master of drypoint with this work. Drypoint is very close to my heart (must explain more in future posts).

See more of Stephane Jorisch's work at Wanda Nowak Artist's Representative

See more of Ryan Price's artwork at Ingram Gallery (Toronto)

The Owl and The Pussycat - Book Project 2008

Working drawing - a discarded composition - Steph Chalmers - 2008

Final book - the first page "The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea..." - Steph Chalmers - 2008

Back in 2008, I made a series of prints illustrating Edward Lear's 'The Owl and The Pussycat'.
Looking back on early sketches is quite funny. I think I made some good decisions, though overall it is too literally illustrated. I'm glad I kept the color palette simple.
Here's a slideshow that starts with my first sketches, and then shows each page of the final book...

On Making Picture Books

One shelf of our bookcase

I have wondered for a while, if I have a picture book inside me just waiting to come out.
If I was to write and illustrate one myself, what do I need to know?

Making Picture Books by Libby Gleeson has been a very helpful read this week.

Gleeson writes about many aspects of creating picture books; starting, characters, setting, language, structure, all the way through to production. She is open about her own experiences as a writer and brings together views from other writers, and illustrators. There are wonderful quotes from illustrators including Armin Greder, Shaun Tan, and Donna Rawlins. 

For me, this book reinforced that a picture book is not the same as an illustrated story.
In great picture books images contribute to the content, rather than being mere decoration.

I appreciated the example of Armin Greder's illustration for The Princess and the Perfect Dish.
Greder manages to portray the disappointment the character feels. In denying the reader an image of the "exotic dishes from faraway lands" the princesses' dissatisfaction is amplified... to have illustrated the dishes more impressively would have missed the point entirely.

"Why draw a picture when the words already say everything" Armin Greder

Read more about Libby Gleeson here