The Quest to Create Something Completely Different

I often get asked about my creative process, so thought I'd put together a post on this topic. It also seems to have become about my recent desire to branch out and create varied work.

I recently finished the paintings for a book called BANJO & RUBY RED, written by my lovely friend Libby Glesson. I always start out a book thinking I'll try to do something COMPLETELY different. And then of course it gradually works its way back to being something not that different at all. BANJO & RUBY RED was going to be an utterly different book! It was going to be a combination of printmaking and stencil techniques and expressive, uninhibited drawing.

Of course, as it is with many grand plans and exciting schemes, the final illustrations ended up nothing like this.

Funnily enough, I find it difficult to start drawing - it takes me quite a while to coax myself towards a pencil. So I start the illustrations for a book by writing notes and brainstorming. I don't always (or perhaps ever) 'see' a book the first time I read it. Or if I do have a visual style in mind it will be the work of another illustrator whose work I admire and secretly wish was mine.

At this early stage I like to gather images I find inspiring, fully intending to produce something along the lines of this inspiration. I wave the inspiration around and say, the book will look like this. But inevitably the final product bears no resemblance to it at all!

After a lengthy period of anguish and uncertainty, I produce a storyboard, a series of small sketches that show a basic representation of what I imagine will be on each page.

Here's the storyboard image for the first page of BANJO & RUBY RED.

The storyboard sketches always look wonderful - free and wild and inspired. Then you begin the process of basically ruining each page - cleaning them up, fine tuning them and adding details.

Since this book was going to include printed elements and be 'completely different', I had to do some tests to figure out exactly how completely different it was going to be. I really liked the first result - perfectly messy and different in feel from anything I've done before.

But actually, that was the only one that did look any good and I discovered that what I was hoping to achieve was fraught with complications. Would I be able to sustain an entire book using my very limited lino block print skills? Should I print it all traditionally or composite parts on the computer? Would I therefore have to actually learn how to use photoshop properly? Where on earth do you find a decent A3 scanner? Particularly in Orange? 

In the end I gave up, scared of failure and a looming deadline, and went back to my old faithful paint on paper, something I had complete control over, that wouldn't let me down. To spice things up a bit I used oil paints rather than watercolours and loved the process and the result.

Luke Kelly, the best designer in the world, did a FABULOUS job designing the book. I'll be very excited when the advance copies arrive. 

The end result of all of this is that I desperately want to do a print making course and one day soon create a book that really is completely different!

My New Storage Device

As I'm seriously behind the times and produce my illustrations on paper rather than a computer, I'm faced with the difficult quest for physical storage space. If only it was as simple as buying a new external hard drive.

Plan drawers are a dying commodity, so when an enormous set of metal plan drawers comes along, I'll do almost anything to get my hands on it. Luckily there are plenty of strong, helpful people about.

This is my new set of old drawers... in my studio!

They have come from my dad's office. He was so determined to fit them into his office that he took the old sash window out to get them in. (Similar to the story of the dining table which wouldn't fit into the house and had its legs hacked off).

Of course, the metal drawers needed to be removed the very same way and wooah, they were heavy! 

I'm very happy with my lovely old storage device and the huge horizontal surface it provides me with. Let's see how long it takes to fill it!

Print Madness

Finally! There is an Etsy store up and running where Giclee prints of various drawings of mine can be purchased. Take the quick trip over to my little store at www.etsy.com/shop/FreyaBlackwood or just click here to view the collection of prints currently available. 

And should you feel inclined, please do share this link with anyone you think might be interested. I'd be so extremely, enormously grateful! 

Banjo & Ruby Red Get Packed

Today was one of those rare days, filled with desperation, pride and a teensy bit of sadness, when I have to get my finished book to the courier before 4.30 pm. Of course, I'm not completely finished - there is always one page that needs a bit more work and a cover to do. But the rest went off today!

This is a nice moment:

This is a nicer moment:

Here is a sneak peek at some of the paintings for the new book, written by Libby Gleeson, called Banjo & Ruby Red.

Scaling Up

Until January of 2012 I had only ever painted illustrations on paper at my desk. But about a year ago I was asked by Brad Hammond of the Orange Regional Gallery to paint a mural for the children's ward in the new Orange hospital. It's been up on the wall since about February of 2012 but I've finally got some work in progress images together.

Here's the wall that needed cheering up:

Brad had mocked up a visual of the wall with images from a book I had illustrated called No Room for A Mouse. Essentially the mural needed to be bright and cheerful and interesting to children and their parents and tolerable for hospital staff! 

I went off to think of ideas but it was Ivy who came up with the best idea. She wanted to see a crocodile doing a handstand. Naturally. So this became the basis for the mural design - a procession of animals and children heading toward the seaside.

 

And from that, I produced a drawing in finer detail and to scale:

       

After this concept was approved, I had to somehow make the drawing into a 6 m x 1.77m painting!

The mural was to be painted on MDF panels and installed when completed. This way I could work in my studio rather than in the ward, getting in everyones' way. 

I primed the boards, and then applied a wash of raw umber to give a base colour. I'd rarely used acrylics before so decided I'd just treat it like I would a watercolour painting, but on a BIG scale.   

I then used an old style projector to project the original drawing onto each panel, using charcoal to trace the linework. I fixed the linework with spray fixative and then started painting, learning a great deal along the way about drawing with charcoal, painting with acrylics and various acrylic mediums and that spray fixative causes chemical reactions with most sealers! Eeek!

I also got help from my mum, Katie and some lovely friends, Laretta and Jen.

 Here are the finished panels photographed separately before installation:

And installed in the hospital:

And a few nice details:

This project was the highlight of my year - challenging, super fast, rather gorgeous and for a lovely purpose. I'm a little bit proud! 

If you'd like to read more about Brad's work at the hospital, installing artworks to bring warmth and interest to the otherwise sterile and alienating environment, click here.

The photographs in this post were taken by Kate Blackwood and Brad Hammond.

The Treasure Box

One of the advantages I've noticed of being an illustrator, is that just when life gets a little bit tedious, a parcel arrives in the mail. They don't always contain anything particularly exciting, but every so often a package arrives with an advanced copy of a new book.

A few weeks ago, a nicely wrapped parcel was delivered to my house. I found it propped up on the commode that stands on the front porch. (I haven't quite worked out where one puts a commode nowadays). And the parcel contained The Treasure Box, a story written by Margaret Wild that I spent the first half of this year working on.

It wasn't the easiest book I've worked on, mostly because I decided to create each illustration in layers, cut out and stuck one upon the other like a paper diorama. This meant the illustrations had to be lit and photographed rather than scanned. There were many technical learning curves, much stress and numerous breakdowns. But the final result is rather lovely, thanks to those who helped with the photography, digital editing and design.

Here are some of my favourite images from the book:

The Treasure Box, published by Viking is due out in February 2013. For more information about the book click here.

Maudie & Bear Abroad

It's been a little while since I've posted any news. Really I've been waiting for something to actually happen and this week seems to be the week of happenings.

Quite out of the blue Maudie & Bear has been shortlisted for in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards for the Patricia Wrightson Award. The other books shortlisted for this award are Crow Country, Taj and the Great Camel Trek, For All Creatures, Angel Creek and Bungawitta. Click here for a list of all those nominated in the various categories. 

Maudie and Bear are also making an appearance in New York at present. Published by Putnam in the US, Maudie & Bear was selected for The Original Art, an annual exhibition showcasing the year's best children's books. 

It makes me giggle to think of Bear riding his bicycle with Maudie in the basket all the way over there... while I sit and work. Actually I feel rather envious. Maudie and Bear are currently cycling through the United States, Harry and Hopper bounced through last year but I've never been to New York. But I'm ever so proud of them! 

Here's some more information about the exhibition, which is open until 22nd December and then touring through the US the following year.