Petr Horáček's Blog, page 12

The Fly and the window in Dublin.

Two exciting things happened recently. The first one is the publication of my book “The Fly” in U.S.A.

The Fly is a book I had published 2010. It took me a couple of years to persuade my publisher to do a book about a fly. The publisher’s argument was, that people don’t like flies; therefore they will not buy the book. It’s true and this is the way the market works.

Paradoxically that’s also what the book is about. About how difficult it is to be a fly.

I like the book. It was really fun to work on it and whenever I do a public reading this book gets most laughter.

The book is now officially out in America and so far has very a good response. It makes me happy.

Here is one of the pictures of the fly which was given to me by a young enthusiast.

The other exciting thing was my trip to Dublin. Going to Dublin, from where I live, takes only a couple of hours, but I had never been there before. I had no idea how much I’d been missing!

Dublin is amazing, so trendy, and full of lovely people, a great atmosphere and lots to see.

I was there to take part in Dublin Literary Festival. I did three talks and three workshops. It all went pretty well. “The Ark”, the place where most of the children’s events took place is a brilliant place. Perfect for shows, talks and workshops.

The whole festival was very well organised.

It wasn’t just work. Together with fellow authors, we were well looked after and taken around Dublin.

I managed to see Chris Haughton’s talk, which was really good fun and his illustrations on the big screen looked amazing!

I Went to Nicola Davies‘ talk. Nicola knows so much about animals that you could listen to her for the whole day. A real treat.

And I also saw the brilliant Gary Northfield in action. He ran on to the stage dressed as Julius Zebra and I laughed a lot. Unfortunately soon I had to also run, because I had one more event to do, but next time when Gary is a Zebra, I go again!

I was asked to decorate a shop window in one of the best bookshops I’ve been to recently. The Hodges Figgis bookshop in central Dublin.

The shop is big and incredibly busy. I was signing books for stock on Saturday afternoon and couldn’t believe when I saw a long queue of people trying to quickly buy a book just before the shop closed for the night. People in Dublin do like books a lot!

My installation was about my latest picture book “The Mouse Who Ate the Moon”.

And the last information is……. I’m going to be in this exhibition!

 

 

More about it later, but mark the date in the calendar if you can!

 

Talking about books

Two school visits this week. I was in the lovely Portway Infant School in Andover. In fact it was my second visit there in two years, so it was like coming home. Lovely teachers and nice children. We made a picture with flying animals. It was a busy, but a great day!

On Thursday I went to Rowan Prep School in Claygate in Surrey. Another nice school where I was once before. Rowan Prep School is a girls’ school and they invited children from a couple of neighbouring schools to join us. It was a nice day. Hot dogs and ice cream were served and we all made little picture books about puffins.

I love the whale in this book … and this one. This cat is black and white, just like Paul, but she is not a puffin.

I just came home from SWINDON FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE. I did an event in Lower Shaw Farm and was welcomed there by nice man Mat Holland who has been running the festival for twenty two years.

The place has a great atmosphere and people who come to such events make a wonderful audience. I went to see the puppet show “Three Billy Pigs” by fabulous Noisy Oyster.I enjoyed the show very much and so did everybody who was there.A good end to the weekend.

Next time I’ll be at the International Literature Festival in Dublin. The list of events is huge. I’m going to be in Dublin from Friday to Monday. I’ve never been before, so I’m very excited!

 

Nice Post

I got nice post this weekend. An advance copy of my new book.      “The Mouse Who Reached the Sky” is coming out soon!

Last week I went to King’s Oak Primary Learning Centre in Barnsley. Nice day in the nice school. Children worked very hard and did great pictures. I got lots of drawings to take home.I love this one. It’s me getting ready to demonstrate how to mix colours. The proportion of me to the children is accurate.

I forgot to ask what this picture is about, but I like it all the same.

Another master piece. This drawing reminds me of drawings by Rodger Hilton.

My favourite is this picture. It’s me fishing from the moon. I don’t know where the idea came from, but it’s rather poetic.

For the rest of the week I was working on my new book “Greedy Goat”.

Sketching and developing the character.I’m enjoying it so much!This is my favourite stage of making a book.

 I will need to spend more time drawing the farmer and his wife.

Well, that is it for this week…oh yes, one more tiger from Barnsley.

Rabbit in Chipping Norton window

I’m back from my travelling. As I wrote last week, I spent a nice couple of days in Munich International school.

Then I took a  train to Prague, the city I was born in. I love walking through sunny Prague. It was the 80th birthday of one of my favourite artists and illustrators Jiri Šalamoun.

I went to see an exhibition of his prints. I could easily spend a whole day looking at his work.

I’m back now getting everything ready to start working on my next picture book about a greedy goat.

I looked at my sketchbooks for sketches of a goat.

 

These are the pictures I found.

A goat in the tent.

 

 

One rather strange goat.

Goat and the shadow.

At the weekend I was at Chipping Norton Literary festival.

On Saturday I decorated the shop window in Jaffe and Neal, the independent book shop. It’s a great bookshop and cafe run by very nice people.

This is the finished window. It was fun. Thank you Steve Strong from Walker Books for all your hard work and helping me to get everything ready for the display!

I stayed until Sunday when I did a talk and reading in the local library.

The festival was great, very well organised. Everybody I met were so friendly and the whole festival had a great atmosphere. Good fun.

Thank you for having me!

 

A bit of travelling

I was in Germany for a couple of days, visiting Munich International School.

The school is in a small beautiful town Starnberg.

From my window I could see a beautiful view with a lake and snowy mountings on the horizon. I met lots of very nice people there and very enthusiastic children, who made great art like the drawing of a rainbow and elephant below. I was looked after by the school librarian Isabel. Thank you for making me so welcome! 

I’m now in Prague, having a little break. I think I need it. I was quite busy recently, working on a big book full of animals.

I love illustrating this book. Each page is individual and it’s giving me an opportunity to try different drawing materials and techniques. I’m having a great time, but I also think it’s good to have a break, otherwise I wouldn’t know if I’m painting a cow, a zebra or a goat.

Talking about goats…just as I was leaving for Germany I had good news. My latest picture book was contracted!

Yes, it will be a book about a goat.

I’ll be coming back this week and on Saturday I’ll be going to Chipping Norton. It’s Chipping Norton Literary Festival and I’ll be there!

On Saturday between 14:00 and 16:00 o’clock I’ll be decorating the window in “Jaffe & Neale” .  It’s a lovely bookshop and cafe and I know it quite well. I’ve been there a couple of times before as a costumer.

So I’ll be making a window display for the bookshop and I had an idea that if anybody comes to say “hello” I will draw them a picture. I mustn’t forgot a sketchbook!

This is an  idea of how I would like to decorate the window.

Then on Sunday I’ll be doing a talk for children their parents and anybody who loves picture books. I’ll be showing lots of pictures and read some of my books, so if you have time, please do come!

 

Coral and a Speaking Tiger

Next week I’m off to Germany to visit Munich International School. Munich is a great city with amazing galleries. I may not have enough time to run around, but I’m looking forward to my trip anyway. I’ll also pop in to Prague for a couple of days, since it’s “just around the corner”.

Knowing that I won’t be in my studio for a while, I’ve been working hard on the book. I’ve been painting mostly underwater scenes, starting with coral.

I’ve finished a picture with seahorses too. It’s the male seahorse who gives birth, did you know that?Last week I also mentioned that I’ll paint blue whales. Here are two versions of them.

A picture of  jellyfish seems easy, but I had to paint them a couple of times.

Clownfish.Oh yes, I also did a picture of a cheetah chasing an antelope.

I’ve already finished the tiger.I looked at my little sketchbooks for related sketches of tigers. here are some.

Swimming with a tiger.

And the talking tiger at the end.

Zebras and stripes

I’m working on ‘My First Book of Animals” written by Nicola Davies. The more pictures I do the more I enjoy the experience. It’s such a lovely book to illustrate and the text is so inspiring.

Here is a sketch for zebras.

And the finished picture.

Painting mostly stripes these days it made me think that I must have more zebras in my little sketchbooks.

Here are some of them.

This is quite an old picture.The zebra is sleeping.

This is another sleeping zebra.  ”Zebra’s stripy dream”.

Looking at black and white animals and animals with stripes, here we have a zebra in company of a panda and tiger. A panda and tiger will also appear in the book. I’ve already finished the illustrations.

Little sketch of two pandas having a friendly fight

The next time I will probably write about…BLUE WHALE!

Shortlisted Mouse!

Last week I visited St. Paul’s Primary School in Leamington Spar. A really nice and friendly school. I did my usual talks and ran a big workshop, but the highlight of the day was the opening of the new school library.I’m even mentioned on the plaque!

There is always something very exciting about opening new libraries. All the school children and the adults who are involved are swelling with pride and enthusiasm and quite rightly so.

I had a great day in St.Paul’s CE Primary School.

I also popped in to a local school in Worcester where I live. The school was Cranham Primary School. We had a great morning.

I did a bit of painting with the children and I got lots of drawings to take home. Some of them are stunning.

This picture is from Sadie (St. Paul’s).

I also found time to work on the new book.

Here is a sketch for a tiger coming out of the jungle in the moonlight

and here is the final picture.



Another finished illustration is a picture of a big panda.

At the weekend I went to Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival. I did two talks to a great and lively audience.

The festival was well organised and it was also a nice opportunity for me to meet up with fellow writers and illustrators.

On Sunday it was Oxford Literature Festival. I did a workshop in The Story Museum.

This is Alexander. A good drawer and well dressed, matching the occasion.

 

And here is another great artist. Alex surprised me not just with his picture but also with the fact that he could speak Czech!

The festival was of course very well organised and I had a great audience. The Story Museum is definitely the place to visit. It’s beautiful!

And now the exciting news.

“The Mouse Who Ate the Moon” has been shortlisted  for the Independent Booksellers Week Award 2015

It’s always exciting when your book is noticed, but this shortlist is even more special to me. I associate independent book shops with people who are 100% devoted to what they are doing and with people who know the books they are selling. People who love books. It’s impossible to do it any other way if you want to compete with big bookstores.

I do admire those who do the jobs they love and they do it well.

I’m honoured to be on the shortlist this year.

Kangaroo and Butterflies

I’ve spent most of the week in my studio. I’m now back working on “My First Book of Animals” written by Nicola Davies.

I was supposed to do a picture of a kangaroo. I remember the time when I once sketched a kangaroo from my memory. The drawing was so bad, that my editor laughed at me. It made me learn how to draw a kangaroo properly.

In fact I have a kangaroo in two of my books. One is in “Silly Suzy Goose” and the other one in the popup book “Animal Counting”.

I also looked at my little sketchbooks and found this drawing.

Here is the sketch for the book illustration

and here is the final kangaroo.

I’m trying to keep the “freshness” of the sketch in the final picture, but it’s not always easy. It’s the scale of the final picture which makes the difference.

The next was a bumble bee bat. A bat which is so small, than he can sit on top of your finger. Here is the sketch

and here is the final picture.

The third picture I did this week was a Blue Morpho Butterfly. Again, I did a couple of butterflies before. In fact I have a whole book about a butterfly. It’s called “Butterfly, Butterfly”.

I looked at my little sketchbooks and this is what I found.

 

Two sketches. The next one is a very colourful butterfly flying against the sun.

This is the sketch of Blue Morpho Butterfly.

 

And here is the final illustration.

I love working on Nicola’s book, because her texts are so beautiful and inspiring.

On Friday was a solar eclipse. I was driving south with my wife and we were lucky enough to see it and experience it all. The Sun was overshadowed by Moon and the world changed colour for an hour. Everything was quiet for while.

Friday was also the day when the very nice man and great writer Mal Peet had his funeral in Exmouth. It was as if a big butterfly had flown into the Sun.

 

Three schools, a horse and birds

I had three more schools to visit last week. The first one was the friendly small Buryfields Infant School not far from Hook, then another nice school Little St Helen’s School in Northwood and the lovely Blackheath Prep School in Blackheath.

The children were great and the teachers nice and friendly.

It all went very well and everything ran smoothly, so THANK you Speaking of Books for all the great organisation.

In my talks I often mention that as a little boy I used to draw horses a lot. No surprise then that I get drawings of horses from children.

I love the drawings of horses. Have a look at this one.

As much as I enjoy working with children, drawing with them and reading them stories, after three weeks I get tired. It’s the moving between the hotels I suppose, but I don’t get tired of seeing pictures done by children.

I always end up with a bag full of them.This is a sitting bird.

This bird is flying in incredible speed.

This is a Snowy Owl by my niece Edith age 5 1/2. I love it!

 And this is a portrait of me by Guy from Blackheath Prep School. It’s nice to see myself with hair again.

I finished my “tour” on Friday in London at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. There was a Boys and Girls Come Out to Play Early Years Conference. I took part in a discussion with fellow illustrator Viviane Schwarz and with lovely Fen Coles.

It was a nice afternoon and Centre for Literacy in Primary Education is a jolly place with very nice people running it.

I was asked to do a drawing on “the wall of fame” and that is how Suzy Goose and Puffin Peter end up right under the Elmer Elephant by David McKee. I’m so honoured!