Here’s a photo reference for an upcoming Quokka cover- the painting ‘Down on His Luck’, by Frederick McCubbin (1889). It’s owned by the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
I’ve added in the original caption, found amongst Fred’s journals.
Here’s the first rough sketch I did for the cover. We binned it after I realised it didn’t make any sense without the first image. Still, it made me laugh.
Every Australia Day, Perth has a huge fireworks display.
Some fisherpeople and boat-docking enthusiasts might recognise this as the Coode St Jetty in South Perth.
Here’s the reference photo I used-
It’s great to see a marsupial working in a job normally reserved for humans. They’ve been discriminated in the workforce for far too long. Quokkas are people too.
Local members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) are part way through painting a cow.
Why, I hear you ask? Before you call the RSPCC, it’s not a real cow… it’s an art project for the Cow Parade, coming to Margaret River in March.
Have a squiz at Frane Lessac’s blog for more pictures of our group at work.
Here’s the first cover for 2010- which will be on the 700th issue of Quokka.
This has to be the cleanest skate park ever- not a hint of graffiti to be found. Truth be told, I ran out of time with this one and would have liked it to be more authentic. Still, it was fun shading all the different levels and slopes in the park.
Another big one this week.
The lighting in this one was a lot of fun. I’m not sure how quokkas would go being shepherds, seeing as how they’re a little bit smaller than sheep…
Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for reading the Quokka this year… thanks for all your comments. Have a safe holiday break.
James 🙂
It’s a big cover this week, for the bumper Christmas edition.
The outdoor movie season has started again in Perth. I love it, it’s a brilliant part of Perth’s summer culture. One of the cinemas is called Movies By Burswood– it’s entirely volunteer-run and has raised over a million dollars for children’s charities over the years.
I’m really looking forward to the film Where the Wild Things Are. Coincidentally, the film also comes out today. So I decided to put it on the screen- or at least an homage to the original picture book that the movie is based on.
