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Good Reading : March 2005
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Lavau, my editor, and waited for their response.They both liked this little girl with her hands on her hips. So, I had my girl, but now for the dog. Though I knew Kip well, I still used lots of quick digital shots to capture particular moments for reference. By chance I went to an exhibition of drawings by John Wolseley. I was moved and excited by the spontaneity of his large drawings in charcoal. They were actually drawn by burnt trees from the recent bushfires, as John had dragged long sheets of paper past their branches. I came home, went straight to the fireplace, grabbed some charcoal and went to work. The strength, softness and subtlety of charcoal always gets to me. Now I had my medium. From sketches to finished art The story is a sequence of moments celebrating the relationship between a girl and her dog. As I began the roughs, I realised that I saw a slightly different sequence, more ‘a day in the life of ’ that ended with bath and bed. David Bedford and Ali thought it was a fine idea, and together we made the necessary changes to accommodate this. David Francis had suggested a simple approach for the illustrations, with the entire focus on the characters and their relationship through body language and expression.This really suited me – no backgrounds other than a prop or two. I often run away to the coun- try at about this time in the proc- ess, for some dedicated time to sort out my ideas and sequenc- ing. I have an old cottage near Castlemaine in central Victoria, and do most of my work in the kitchen because it’s light and bright and breezy. My old pho- tocopier and a fax are really all I need at this stage of the project.When I came up with sketches I liked, I photo- copied them and stuck them to the walls. Soon I was surrounded by the story. I faxed these sketches through to David Francis and waited for his helpful suggestions. Along the way I also made mock-up books, or dummies.These help us see the pictures in sequence and take account of the page-turning factor. I also made a sketchy storyboard so I could see the whole layout in diagrammatic for m. When I returned to Melbourne I photocopied the best of the charcoal sketches onto watercolour paper.These became the linework for my finished art – ready and waiting for watercolour.This photocopying technique suits me well because it saves me redrawing or tracing my work. It also allows me to do any number of slightly different versions of the picture. And that’s about it for my part in the process. I always think it’s like a relay – but one where you pass your precious baby rather than a baton. My finished illustrations were scanned and formatted with the text by Louise McGeachie, the book’s designer. I greatly admire and trust her sensitivity and talent in this area and I was confident she’d come up with a good and sympathetic design. I waited with bated breath to see and check the proofs of the pages.Then finally the project was swept overseas to be printed and bound into the object we all call ‘my book’: writer, editor, art director, publisher, designer – even the printer – and me! the illustrating life
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