Hello there! Summer has just ended and I am looking forward to cooler weather. For those of us in Sydney we finished summer with a heat wave and now the few cooler days we have had, are bringing joy to my bones!
We also had a wedding in the family! Such a joyous ( and busy) occasion. I had the privilege of designing the invitation, the illustration was also used for the order of service- a little bit different to my usual style!
Here’s a little update of current projects I have been working on. My studio is a busy place and I always have a few projects going on concurrently. Let me share the one taking up most my attention at the moment…
It’s exciting to share with you about my current project which I am working on behind the scenes. It is a book that is being published by Wombat books called Walls. It's been a joy working on this project, I love the daily discipline of bringing characters to life.
However, one of the challenges faced by picture book illustrators is not being able to share any of the illustrations until the release date. As an illustrator, I'm always eager to share my work and get feedback from others. But I also understand the importance of keeping the illustrations under wraps until the book is ready to be unveiled. Then the fun begins!
Recently, I also had the opportunity to take part in SCBWI Create a Palooza, and it was such a fantastic experience! I listened to some amazing speakers and learned so much from them about the craft of illustrating for children's books. I also had the chance to participate in portfolio assessments, which was incredibly helpful. Getting feedback from industry professionals helped me to plan and grow as an illustrator, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. Huge thanks to the SCBWI East team- I know this would have been a huge amount of work to facilitate!
I continue feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I love - bringing stories to life through my illustrations. It is always a delight to be entrusted with authors ideas. I am also in the process of writing my own stories, we will see where that journey takes me.