This week I have had the pleasure of spending time with my old friend Tan Callahan. I have just finished reading Jen Storer’s manuscript for Truly Tan: Baffled! (book 7!) and it’s my favourite yet. After chuckling away and making my scribbly notes and margin doodles, I got to work. I have sent in my rough illustration for the front cover and I won’t spoil it by showing you the approved draft, but I think it might be also my favourite yet. The book is set in Winter so she’s all rugged up in layers, including her usual favoured animal motifs and accessories. Jen usually sends me a collection of photos she’s collected from around the place as sources of inspiration (above) … I imagine the panda hat will appear somewhere within book 7… and my own daughter Lily (seen here standing outside our front door) was a major kick start for this one. If you are a Tan-fan you might notice that the pink crochet headband inspired Tan’s headwear on the cover of book 4, Truly Tan: Freaked!
The who, what, where and wow of being a professional illustrator in 2017. The survey is a interesting insight to how illustrators feel about their profession as a group. It seems that we need more exercise, more money, more work and more community.
In the queue: Carrie Brownstein interviewed on NPR.