John Shelley's Blog, page 2
December 18, 2018
Seasons Greetings!
Wishing all my friends and followers the very best for a fantastic Festive Season.
November 4, 2018
Inktober Wrap-up
Here's the final batch of drawings I made for Inktober this year.
’Expensive’. Day 22
What a month it was! With a pending house move and deadlines to contend with, October proved a pretty hectic month all around. I wasn't sure it was wise to attempt another daily drawing activity like #Inktober straight on the back of the September House of Illustration challenge, but pen and ink is my favourite medium, how could I not? I love the challenge, even though time was limited and I didn't have chance to prepare, pre-plan or draw anything before the start.
’Muddy’. Day 23
Because of this, I decided to stick with the prompt words, some of which caused a lot of head scratching - I didn't want to draw blandly comic renderings of the prompts, though some clearly lent themselves to such approaches than more nuanced interpretations. That's half the fun though, coming up with ideas that take the prompt words in directions beyond the obvious.
’Chop’. Day 24. Returning to the theme of one of my picture books!
Every sketch was made on the day, I'd wake up with absolutely no idea what I would draw for that day's challenge, worry about it while I got on with other stuff, and then set to work in the evening. Gradually due to other pressures it grew later and later before I started, by the time I got to these drawings I was squeezing them in just before bed at 12 midnight and beyond.
’Prickly’. Day 25
Does it show? Perhaps it does. When the pressure is on, I tend to fall back on tried and tested methods, so drawings are less about experimentation, less exploration of style, and more focus on rendering an idea, drawing it as best I can under the circumstances. One of the positive things about pressure is that it encourages things to flow, you don't over think, or play about with directions, you just decide something, knuckle down and get on with it.
Sometimes it's difficult to pare down, when the pressure is on it's hard to be zen-like and elegantly drop something minimal onto the white page - in my case fatigue encourages me to gnaw at a drawing, go for broke with cross-hatching, rather than pull back and touch in something lightly.
’Thunder’. Day 27
Fortunately, it's the kind of think I like to do, it's getting to honest, unadulterated closeness with your creative flow. Some of the drawings ended up as more of a 'meal' than I'd intended, some I looked at the next day and thought - ah, I could have pushed this a bit more, or simplified that a little, but on the whole I'm pleased with them all!
’Gift’. Day 28
Virtually all these drawings were sketched with a Pilot Hi-Tec-C pen, either 0.4 or 0.5. Day 28 'Gift' was a slight exception as I drew the figure in a Kuretake Fude-gokochi, and finished it with a Pilot pen. One of the earlier drawings (Day 6 'Drooling') was drawn entirely in a Gokochi. and another (Day 13 'Guarded') was in a sepia pen, but otherwise I stuck to my favourite Pilots. When I'm tired and want to just work away at a drawing the Pilot with it's hard, fine-point tip is always my first choice, though my published illustrations are nearly always in a traditional dip pen and ink bottle.
’Double’. Day 29
One of the big lessons I learned from Inktober last year was to experiment and expand my use of pens, but for this year, consistency and familiarity were at the heart of it. For years I only used dip pens for final art, and my sketchbooks, drawn with more convenient disposable pens, were a separate, looser activity. But the combination of exhibitions and Inktober has bridged the gap between sketchbook art and commissioned professional work for publishing. I've yet to illustrate a book using Pilot or Kuretake pens, but it might be on the horizon!
’Jolt’. Day 30Well, now we're into November, and I'm enjoying some time off these kinds of daily challenges for a while. I've been galvanised by these exercises, but I need to crack on with winding up some deadlines before I move house, then pack..... and I especially need to pick up the pace with my stories and book dummies!!!!
’Slice’. Day 31 - the last one, for Halloween!
’Expensive’. Day 22 What a month it was! With a pending house move and deadlines to contend with, October proved a pretty hectic month all around. I wasn't sure it was wise to attempt another daily drawing activity like #Inktober straight on the back of the September House of Illustration challenge, but pen and ink is my favourite medium, how could I not? I love the challenge, even though time was limited and I didn't have chance to prepare, pre-plan or draw anything before the start.
’Muddy’. Day 23Because of this, I decided to stick with the prompt words, some of which caused a lot of head scratching - I didn't want to draw blandly comic renderings of the prompts, though some clearly lent themselves to such approaches than more nuanced interpretations. That's half the fun though, coming up with ideas that take the prompt words in directions beyond the obvious.
’Chop’. Day 24. Returning to the theme of one of my picture books!Every sketch was made on the day, I'd wake up with absolutely no idea what I would draw for that day's challenge, worry about it while I got on with other stuff, and then set to work in the evening. Gradually due to other pressures it grew later and later before I started, by the time I got to these drawings I was squeezing them in just before bed at 12 midnight and beyond.
’Prickly’. Day 25Does it show? Perhaps it does. When the pressure is on, I tend to fall back on tried and tested methods, so drawings are less about experimentation, less exploration of style, and more focus on rendering an idea, drawing it as best I can under the circumstances. One of the positive things about pressure is that it encourages things to flow, you don't over think, or play about with directions, you just decide something, knuckle down and get on with it.
Sometimes it's difficult to pare down, when the pressure is on it's hard to be zen-like and elegantly drop something minimal onto the white page - in my case fatigue encourages me to gnaw at a drawing, go for broke with cross-hatching, rather than pull back and touch in something lightly.
’Thunder’. Day 27Fortunately, it's the kind of think I like to do, it's getting to honest, unadulterated closeness with your creative flow. Some of the drawings ended up as more of a 'meal' than I'd intended, some I looked at the next day and thought - ah, I could have pushed this a bit more, or simplified that a little, but on the whole I'm pleased with them all!
’Gift’. Day 28Virtually all these drawings were sketched with a Pilot Hi-Tec-C pen, either 0.4 or 0.5. Day 28 'Gift' was a slight exception as I drew the figure in a Kuretake Fude-gokochi, and finished it with a Pilot pen. One of the earlier drawings (Day 6 'Drooling') was drawn entirely in a Gokochi. and another (Day 13 'Guarded') was in a sepia pen, but otherwise I stuck to my favourite Pilots. When I'm tired and want to just work away at a drawing the Pilot with it's hard, fine-point tip is always my first choice, though my published illustrations are nearly always in a traditional dip pen and ink bottle.
’Double’. Day 29One of the big lessons I learned from Inktober last year was to experiment and expand my use of pens, but for this year, consistency and familiarity were at the heart of it. For years I only used dip pens for final art, and my sketchbooks, drawn with more convenient disposable pens, were a separate, looser activity. But the combination of exhibitions and Inktober has bridged the gap between sketchbook art and commissioned professional work for publishing. I've yet to illustrate a book using Pilot or Kuretake pens, but it might be on the horizon!
’Jolt’. Day 30Well, now we're into November, and I'm enjoying some time off these kinds of daily challenges for a while. I've been galvanised by these exercises, but I need to crack on with winding up some deadlines before I move house, then pack..... and I especially need to pick up the pace with my stories and book dummies!!!! 
’Slice’. Day 31 - the last one, for Halloween!October 22, 2018
Week 3 of Inktober 2018
Well here we are at the third week of #Inktober 2018, I'm surprised I'm still able to keep up... just about! It is getting ever tougher though - with so much going on for me at the moment (house move preparation, deadlines etc), it doesn't take much to fill the day's schedule, a lot of these drawings have been squeezed in right at the end of the day.
But still hanging in there!
‘Weak’, for Day 15. Sometimes the darkest places are near the brightest lights.
‘Angular’. Day 16, in anticipation of my forthcoming house-move!
’Swollen’. Day 17. Inspired by air-bags. Safe driving folks!
’Bottle’, for Day 18. Another late night experiment!!
’Scorched’. Day 19 rather speaks for itself.
’Breakable’, for Day 20. Our fragile planet, beset by man-made disasters. Save the earth!!
’Drain’, for Day 21. A Sunday-night late rainy scribble, though here in Shelleyland it was actually quite dry outside.
The final week's drawings ahead.... if I can make it!
Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB to see each one as it goes live!
But still hanging in there!
‘Weak’, for Day 15. Sometimes the darkest places are near the brightest lights. 
‘Angular’. Day 16, in anticipation of my forthcoming house-move! 
’Swollen’. Day 17. Inspired by air-bags. Safe driving folks! 
’Bottle’, for Day 18. Another late night experiment!! 
’Scorched’. Day 19 rather speaks for itself. 
’Breakable’, for Day 20. Our fragile planet, beset by man-made disasters. Save the earth!!
’Drain’, for Day 21. A Sunday-night late rainy scribble, though here in Shelleyland it was actually quite dry outside. The final week's drawings ahead.... if I can make it!
Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB to see each one as it goes live!
October 15, 2018
Week Two of Inktober 2018 - and a nomination!
Here are my daily drawings for the second week of Inktober 2018.
On Day 8, the prompt word was 'Star’.
It's been a very hectic week, as I'm moving house in a short time and have been busy with preparation, and with a work-load of deadlines I'm trying to clear up before the move. I'm beginning to regret taking on Inktober this year, but hanging in, just about!
On Day 9 the prompt word was 'Precious', so I had some fun with Tolkien. All of these drawings have been created on the day with my usual choice of Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens, no special theme, just my immediate response to the official Inktober prompts. Due to limited time, I've tended to just get stuck in straight away, so the subject matters vary quite a bit!
On Day 10, and the prompt word was "Flowing"
On Day 11 the prompt was "Cruel". Persecution of wildlife for sport is something I'm deeply concerned about. Keep the Hunting Ban!
I'm not moving far, currently I'm on the edge of Norwich, but have found my outlying location somewhat remote from the hub of the city, so am moving closer into town. As a non-driver and former London & central Tokyo resident I've never really felt at ease in the quiet suburbs, so the centre of town beckons. More on the house move later!
Day 12 and the prompt word was "Whale".
As the week wore on time limitations started to take their toll, and the weekend saw me working all the way through too - these last were drawn right at the end of the day, just about squeezed in!
Day 13 for the prompt word "Guarded". Drawn with a hard-point sepia Kuretake pen for a change. Late in the evening again? “Tut, tut!”
Day 14, and the word is "Clock". Very apt, as I was working all day on Sunday, so just time to to scribble this last minute.
My other news this week is the announcement of the candidates for the 2019 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award at the Frankfurt Book Fair. To my great delight I can reveal that I've once more been chosen as one of the nominees from the UK.
http://www.alma.se/en/Nominations/Can...
I was absolutely astonished to hear of my selection last year, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is one of the most important children's book prizes in the world, my inclusion in the list of 235, a tiny figure amongst all the giants of publishing, did a tremendous amount to make me take stock, and reassess my work in publishing.
That I've once more been singled out for the 2019 shortlist is remarkable, and incredibly humbling. Though I personally doubt I have anything approaching the stature or worthiness to win, as one of the organisers told me at Bologna, it's not the award that's important, everyone on the selection list is honoured. My deepest gratitude to those who've nominated me.
On Day 8, the prompt word was 'Star’. It's been a very hectic week, as I'm moving house in a short time and have been busy with preparation, and with a work-load of deadlines I'm trying to clear up before the move. I'm beginning to regret taking on Inktober this year, but hanging in, just about!
On Day 9 the prompt word was 'Precious', so I had some fun with Tolkien. All of these drawings have been created on the day with my usual choice of Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens, no special theme, just my immediate response to the official Inktober prompts. Due to limited time, I've tended to just get stuck in straight away, so the subject matters vary quite a bit!
On Day 10, and the prompt word was "Flowing"
On Day 11 the prompt was "Cruel". Persecution of wildlife for sport is something I'm deeply concerned about. Keep the Hunting Ban! I'm not moving far, currently I'm on the edge of Norwich, but have found my outlying location somewhat remote from the hub of the city, so am moving closer into town. As a non-driver and former London & central Tokyo resident I've never really felt at ease in the quiet suburbs, so the centre of town beckons. More on the house move later!
Day 12 and the prompt word was "Whale". As the week wore on time limitations started to take their toll, and the weekend saw me working all the way through too - these last were drawn right at the end of the day, just about squeezed in!
Day 13 for the prompt word "Guarded". Drawn with a hard-point sepia Kuretake pen for a change. Late in the evening again? “Tut, tut!”
Day 14, and the word is "Clock". Very apt, as I was working all day on Sunday, so just time to to scribble this last minute. My other news this week is the announcement of the candidates for the 2019 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award at the Frankfurt Book Fair. To my great delight I can reveal that I've once more been chosen as one of the nominees from the UK.
http://www.alma.se/en/Nominations/Can...I was absolutely astonished to hear of my selection last year, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is one of the most important children's book prizes in the world, my inclusion in the list of 235, a tiny figure amongst all the giants of publishing, did a tremendous amount to make me take stock, and reassess my work in publishing.
That I've once more been singled out for the 2019 shortlist is remarkable, and incredibly humbling. Though I personally doubt I have anything approaching the stature or worthiness to win, as one of the organisers told me at Bologna, it's not the award that's important, everyone on the selection list is honoured. My deepest gratitude to those who've nominated me.
October 8, 2018
The start of Inktober 2018
My, October already! I can hardly believe it.
These last few months have been focused on buying/selling my house and preparation for a move into Norwich, punctuated with regular illustration deadlines for clients in Japan this summer - virtually all of my commissioned work this year has been outside the world of children's publishing. Because of that, I leapt at the chance to have a go at the House of Illustration's 1-inch drawing a day challenge last month, it was exactly the tonic I needed! I'm immensely honoured and grateful to the House of Illustration and John Vernon Lord to hear that my work was chosen as one of the winning three entries.
Inktober 2018 Day 1, prompt word: "Poisonous". Such a sweet, rosy apple, won't you just try it? #SnowWhite
Well, that was September, and now here we are in October, and another daily drawing challenge - #Inktober! I wasn't sure I'd participate in this year, after last months' exercise I have a lot of stuff I need to concentrate on, not least my own story ideas, as well as those regular overseas deadlines... I love Inktober, but there is a fine line to tread between these commitments being an inspiration and focus, or a burden, a procrastination or distraction from stuff you need to get on with.
Inktober 2018 Day 2, for the prompt word: "Tranquil". I often feel this way, but it's not a self-portrait, honest!
Last year, Inktober gave me a tremendous boost, it really helped to revitalise my pen work, giving me fresh stimulation, determination to focus on the type of work I really want to undertake. By the end of the month I was spending more time on Inktober drawings than I was on my other work - it really took over! I wasn't sure I'd be able to contribute this year, straight after the September challenge, but it was of such value to me last year, if John Vernon Lord can draw 1-inch images for an entire year, I can at the very least manage 2 months! So yes, I am doing it again this year, and here are the first week's images!
Inktober Day 3, prompt word: "Roasted". Trying not to lose my head over Inktober this year.
I'm so far keeping closely with the official 2018 prompt list. Some of those prompt words may be an awkward fit for my genre of work, but half of the challenge of Inktober is in exploring ways to interpret the suggestions in a manner that inspires you to create interesting images. Illustration is not just about drawing a literal rendering of a prompt, it's only partly about drawing, with these kind of exercises half of the challenge is the way you expand, or commentate on proposals to portray wider feelings or concepts.
Inktober Day 4, prompt word: "Spell". Double, double, toil and trouble! I tried a different, softer paper, and a 0.05 finepoint pen for this, hence the somewhat scratchy finish.
Scattered through this post then, are my first week's worth of Inktober drawings for 2018. Each was drawn on the day I posted, I've made no preparation at all for Inktober this year, and am trying to narrow the time spent on each image... for the moment anyway! You can follow my daily postings on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, or on my Linked-In profile. Fingers crossed I'll be able to finish the month!
Inktober Day 5, prompt word: "Chicken". Or in this case, the house with chicken's feet.... a modern day Baba Yaga. I didn't get much sleep the night before I drew this, which might explain the interpretation!
Inktober Day 6, prompt word: "Drooling". I tried a different pen for this, (Kuretake Gokochi), which gives a somewhat heavier line, closer to a dip pen.... my love of classic illustrators coming out a bit here perhaps!
Inktober Day 7, prompt word: "Exhausted". The refugee crisis has weighed heavily with me, the awful plight of those fleeing conflict has been somewhat overshadowed by other news lately, but I can't think of anything more exhausting or distressing. Back to a Hi-Tec-C 0.5 for this, small scale drawing.
These last few months have been focused on buying/selling my house and preparation for a move into Norwich, punctuated with regular illustration deadlines for clients in Japan this summer - virtually all of my commissioned work this year has been outside the world of children's publishing. Because of that, I leapt at the chance to have a go at the House of Illustration's 1-inch drawing a day challenge last month, it was exactly the tonic I needed! I'm immensely honoured and grateful to the House of Illustration and John Vernon Lord to hear that my work was chosen as one of the winning three entries.
Inktober 2018 Day 1, prompt word: "Poisonous". Such a sweet, rosy apple, won't you just try it? #SnowWhite Well, that was September, and now here we are in October, and another daily drawing challenge - #Inktober! I wasn't sure I'd participate in this year, after last months' exercise I have a lot of stuff I need to concentrate on, not least my own story ideas, as well as those regular overseas deadlines... I love Inktober, but there is a fine line to tread between these commitments being an inspiration and focus, or a burden, a procrastination or distraction from stuff you need to get on with.
Inktober 2018 Day 2, for the prompt word: "Tranquil". I often feel this way, but it's not a self-portrait, honest!Last year, Inktober gave me a tremendous boost, it really helped to revitalise my pen work, giving me fresh stimulation, determination to focus on the type of work I really want to undertake. By the end of the month I was spending more time on Inktober drawings than I was on my other work - it really took over! I wasn't sure I'd be able to contribute this year, straight after the September challenge, but it was of such value to me last year, if John Vernon Lord can draw 1-inch images for an entire year, I can at the very least manage 2 months! So yes, I am doing it again this year, and here are the first week's images!
Inktober Day 3, prompt word: "Roasted". Trying not to lose my head over Inktober this year. I'm so far keeping closely with the official 2018 prompt list. Some of those prompt words may be an awkward fit for my genre of work, but half of the challenge of Inktober is in exploring ways to interpret the suggestions in a manner that inspires you to create interesting images. Illustration is not just about drawing a literal rendering of a prompt, it's only partly about drawing, with these kind of exercises half of the challenge is the way you expand, or commentate on proposals to portray wider feelings or concepts.
Inktober Day 4, prompt word: "Spell". Double, double, toil and trouble! I tried a different, softer paper, and a 0.05 finepoint pen for this, hence the somewhat scratchy finish. Scattered through this post then, are my first week's worth of Inktober drawings for 2018. Each was drawn on the day I posted, I've made no preparation at all for Inktober this year, and am trying to narrow the time spent on each image... for the moment anyway! You can follow my daily postings on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, or on my Linked-In profile. Fingers crossed I'll be able to finish the month!
Inktober Day 5, prompt word: "Chicken". Or in this case, the house with chicken's feet.... a modern day Baba Yaga. I didn't get much sleep the night before I drew this, which might explain the interpretation!
Inktober Day 6, prompt word: "Drooling". I tried a different pen for this, (Kuretake Gokochi), which gives a somewhat heavier line, closer to a dip pen.... my love of classic illustrators coming out a bit here perhaps!
Inktober Day 7, prompt word: "Exhausted". The refugee crisis has weighed heavily with me, the awful plight of those fleeing conflict has been somewhat overshadowed by other news lately, but I can't think of anything more exhausting or distressing. Back to a Hi-Tec-C 0.5 for this, small scale drawing. September 30, 2018
One-inch drawings - the final 12!
Well, it's the end of September, and the final day of the House of Illustration's one-inch drawing a day challenge. It's been a lot of fun, the 1 inch square small scale has been a fascinating project, I should work at this size more often! Here are my last twelve drawings, from 19th - 30th September, each created on the day with a 0.1 multiliner pen bought in Japan many years ago.
When they were posted on Instagram and Twitter each of these had a title, without them, it's a rather random selection when I put them all together here! But there are themes.
Tomorrow it's the start of #Inktober2018, so more daily inking. More challenges? Am I going to take part this year? We'll see, at least there are no size restrictions!
When they were posted on Instagram and Twitter each of these had a title, without them, it's a rather random selection when I put them all together here! But there are themes.
Tomorrow it's the start of #Inktober2018, so more daily inking. More challenges? Am I going to take part this year? We'll see, at least there are no size restrictions!
September 19, 2018
One-inch Drawings Part 2
Here's my second set of nine drawings for the House of Illustration challenge, each just 1 inch square, drawn daily, one small drawing a day, from 10th-18th September.
Some day's I've been busier than others, I usually start with little idea of what I'm going to draw, I'm surprised I managed to get so far! Many other artists have created some superb work in colour for this project, but I decided to stick to B/W pen and ink. And so it hopefully shall continue till the end of the month.
All these drawings I'm posting daily on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, by all means please follow me there!
Some day's I've been busier than others, I usually start with little idea of what I'm going to draw, I'm surprised I managed to get so far! Many other artists have created some superb work in colour for this project, but I decided to stick to B/W pen and ink. And so it hopefully shall continue till the end of the month.
All these drawings I'm posting daily on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, by all means please follow me there!
September 9, 2018
Tiny pictures for September
This month the House of Illustration in London is running a daily art challenge to create a 1-inch (26mm) square piece of artwork every day of the month and post to social media. The idea was sparked by their currently running exhibition of the work of John Vernon Lord, who drew daily one-inch square drawings as an exercise for a whole year. This challenge is just for a month, but it's the kind of thing that appeals to me, and I've decided to give it a go. Here are my drawings for the first 9 days of September, each one drawn on the day.
Although John Vernon Lord works largely in black & white there are no restrictions on materials for this exercise, many illustrators are joining in and producing work in full colour, but for me, B/W is at my core, so I decided to stick to monochrome.
Here's one of the above with a penny coin for a sense of scale:
Next month is Inktober, so similar thing, definitely in ink, but no size restriction and with theme prompts, so it looks like I'll be pen and inking for the next few weeks. Yikes!
I've no idea what I'll be drawing tomorrow, any requests?
It's not too late for anyone to join in the challenge, here are the details.
You can see my daily pictures on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, please follow! :)
Although John Vernon Lord works largely in black & white there are no restrictions on materials for this exercise, many illustrators are joining in and producing work in full colour, but for me, B/W is at my core, so I decided to stick to monochrome.
Here's one of the above with a penny coin for a sense of scale:
Next month is Inktober, so similar thing, definitely in ink, but no size restriction and with theme prompts, so it looks like I'll be pen and inking for the next few weeks. Yikes!
I've no idea what I'll be drawing tomorrow, any requests?
It's not too late for anyone to join in the challenge, here are the details.
You can see my daily pictures on Instagram and Twitter @StudioNIB, please follow! :)
August 2, 2018
Summer 2018
Summer Greetings to all my friends and followers!
Sending you the best of wishes this mid-year, hoping you're staying cool and taking care in the heat. It's a working summer for me, but hoping for some pastoral down time too.
May this summer find you peace and tranquility!
April 6, 2018
Bologna Book Fair 2018
The 2018 Bologna Children's Book Fair took place from 26th-29th March. This was my fifth visit to Bologna, but it's been six years since I was last at the Fair, book deadlines have kept me away since I stepped down from volunteering with the biennial SCBWI Stand, so this was a very overdue return to the Halls!
Preparation & Planning
Partly I was there to report on the Fair for Words and Pictures , the journal of SCBWI British Isles (my essay on the Fair goes live this Sunday), but for my personal agenda I had three very distinct plans for Bologna. Firstly, to hear the announcement of the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, for which I was enormously gratified to be shortlisted this year. I hoped my nomination would raise my profile in the UK, perhaps help me sell the rights to some of my overseas books. And of course, in the unlikely case that I actually won, naturally I wanted to be on the ground to celebrate!
Secondly the Fair provided me with a personal deadline to get some new picture book dummies together. As an illustrator, I've struggled to get back into writing after a long hiatus, for the past few years I've had my hands full with commissioned art deadlines, books authored by others, and, although my own story ideas have been a-plenty, expanding them into solid book submissions hasn't been easy. Bologna on the horizon helped me get over some hurdles, so the Fair began working for me before I even got there. I found myself polishing picture book dummies right up to the morning I flew.
Inspiring work from TaiwanThirdly, I wanted to catch up with my overseas clients, who I haven't seen face-to-face for quite a while, absorb the creative energy of the Fair, recharge my batteries, refocus on my direction, my work etc., and especially be inspired by fine international books! I was a little late querying people for appointments so didn't have quite as many as I'd hoped, but there were enough. I took with me three picture book dummies, copies of my 6 most recently published picture books, a colour portfolio showing spreads from older books, plus a B/W portfolio of line work for novels and sketchbooks. Also a pile of freshly printed A5 promotion cards, most of which stayed in my room!
One of the Illustrator's Walls - no I wasn't tempted!Enlightenment
I've spent much of my career as a commission-seeking professional illustrator, working to the contract, and not so much as the submitting storyteller. Changing from the jobber to the writing, story developing, author-artist requires a very different frame of mind. In the past I sought art commissions at Bologna, and was quite awkward showing dummies of my own stories, but this year was very different, with dummies at the core of my focus. I'm not really seeking commissions from Bologna any more unless it's something that really keys into my own vision, what I'm really looking for is to become more fluid at storytelling with both pictures and words, to master the art of picture-book making in it's entirety. What I aim for is a stock of self-written dummies to submit, either directly or through an agent, to a small group of selected editors I have a strong working relationship with.
Announcement of the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award at the Illustrator's CafeThat, in essence, was my pursuit at Bologna. After Jackie Woodson was announced as the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award there was a lunch event at the ALMA stand with a small table displaying her wonderful books. These are books she wrote from the heart, her background instilled into every story, her authors voice speaking out clearly to her readers. As the jury stated, “In language as light as air, she tells stories of resounding richness and depth.” I thought for a moment, what if, in a fantasy moment I actually had won, and they were my books laid out on that table? How many of them could I actually say were my stories? The answer is - none! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm proud of all the books I've worked on, especially those in the last 10 years or so, with some fine, fine writers, but inevitably as most of them have been written by others there is something missing in my repertoire - my stories!
It struck me suddenly that every time I work on a commissioned book written by someone else, I'm taking a step outside my core imaginative realm to meet the vision of the writer (or occasionally editor). If it's a small step, close to my "core inspiration", then it's going to be a fantastic book, the meeting of worlds, the best of collaborations - there are some titles I've worked on that definitely fit this! But some of my less personalised works have been big stretches away from that core to meet the conditions of the project. They're still valuable and worthy jobs, but they're not "my world". I realised that the "core" part of our creativity is actually a very delicate and shy creature, it's easily suppressed by outside factors, the smaller it shrinks, the harder it is to connect with it, and if you really neglect it, something that could disappear entirely.
I have to nurture this little chap in his tiny green garden. Of course we all do some things to pay the bills, my entire income is from illustration, working to commission is a key part of that! But parallel to this work we must look after, grow and explore that creative core - it's core material that makes great books that resonate with others - it's the honest voice from our personal kingdom of experience and imagination. Examples of these kind of books were displayed all over the Fair! The good news is that, finally, thanks to Bologna, I’ve begun to overcome long-standing story-making hurdles, and am finally seeing solid results.
Exquisite titles in the selected works bookshopBeing the Businessman
One very good bit of advice I had from another SCBWI member (thank you Andi!) was that as a widely published illustrator I should stop thinking of myself as an artist at Bologna, and start thinking like a businessman. I was there to show my new projects and market existing books, not primarily to seek random commissions. This lesson sank in very quickly. After the the first day, I realised my colour portfolio didn't show my older books properly so I left it in my room. Most of the postcards I'd had made stayed there too!
Two of my picture books on the shelves of the Holiday House stand
With editor Grace Maccarone from Holiday HouseMy dummies went down very well, but I was less successful in selling the rights to my previous titles. I've a lot of books published in other countries that have not been released internationally, for which I own the international publishing rights, so I was hopeful to negotiate overseas reprints for them. I didn't think to make appointments with rights staff though, when I met publishers it was with editorial staff to talk about future illustration projects, not to sell the rights of my existing Asian and American titles. Most US, and nearly all UK publishers don't buy overseas books anyway. My American editor told me though that there is no special protocol, I should have as much chance as anyone at selling book rights, so this is a lesson for next year! If you want to sell rights, you need to make appointments with the "right" staff!
Catching up with old friends from SCBWI Bologna - Dana Carey, Andi Ipaktchi, Susan EaddyHighlights
So Bologna was revealing and rewarding. It seemed for me a different, perhaps more mature experience from previous visits, with very positive feedback from publishers on my story ideas, and I left with a new clarity about my work. Here are my top ten memories:
1) Seeing many old volunteering writer and illustrator colleagues from SCBWI Europe and the rest of the world.
2) Discovering a string of immensely fine books (especially French ones) that have inspired and refreshed my vision.
3) Catching up with my US and Japanese editors/art directors, who are all fantastic. One particular highlight was celebrating with staff from my Japanese publisher Fukuinan Shoten their winning of "Best Publisher of the Year" (Asia).
4) Being nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2018. I had absolutely no
illusions about my chances of winning, but it was an incredible honour to see my name bracketed as a UK entry. My deepest gratitude to those who nominated me.
5) Partly as a consequence of 4), having a revelation of sudden and profound clarity about my work, my career, my 'voice', the stories I have to tell, and the direction of my art.
6) Being hugged by writer (Sir) Michael Morpurgo after I reminded him of a picture he once bought of mine at a charity auction (artwork from the 2003 book Lines in the Sand). He still has the drawing on his wall, and still loves it.
7) Bumping into the lovely author/illustrator Adam Stower again, who co-ran a picture book retreat event for SCBWI BI last year and enormously restored my jaded spirits.
8) Sketch-Duelling at the SCBWI Stand with the marvellous American picture book creator/illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky.
9) Receiving a unanimous thumbs up to my latest picturebook dummy from every book industry professional I showed it to.
10) On the very last morning having an unexpected happy surprise reunion with my UK editor from the early 2000's, who I haven't seen in over 14 years and is back in children's publishing. That really was the cream on the cake.
