While Norman was in the Shetlands researching, I was at home in Perth, doing some research for the pictures.
I made a few initial sketches of Viking things- costumes, houses, the bows of ships, rune stones, helmets… Norman has a huge collection of books on Vikings, so I wasn’t short of material. These sketches gave me lots of ideas for how the pictures and characters might look. (I haven’t shown all the sketches here, because don’t want to give away too much of the story).
The Margaret River Cow Parade is finishing up- we got this cover illustration in just in time.
The cows are being auctioned on July 10. Get down to the South West and see them while you still can.
In the back right, I’ve included a cow painted by myself and other members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, WA chapter. Check out this post for more info.
To make things different, edition 723 had two versions of the cover- an extra large wrap-around, set in daylight, and the usual cover, set at nighttime.
I’m behind quite a bit in these covers- here’s one about a Bridal Expo that happened recently.
Earlier this year, myself and other local members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) painted a fibreglass cow.
It was an art project for the Cow Parade, which came to Margaret River in March.
The cow features paintings by SCBWI illustrators Matt Ottley, Frane Lessac, Shannon Melville, Sam Hughes, Karen Blair, Briony Stewart and Wendy Binks. The cow also features cover images from books by SCBWI authors.
The finished cow was on display at McLeod Creek Wines during the Parade…
…but is now at the State Library in the children’s Mezzanine section. Stop by and say moo sometime.
Have a squiz at Frane Lessac’s blog for more pictures of our group at work.
The new Robin Hood film is out, featuring a Gladiator-like Russell Crowe.
This Quokka Robin Hood is more like the Douglas Fairbanks or Errol Flynn version…
I hope this doesn’t mean my Quokka covers have jumped the shark…
Last Thursday I was lucky enough to spend an hour running a workshop with some talented cartoonists. We covered facial expressions, bodies, movement and animals.
The expressions section resulted in some interesting photos: see below.
Thanks to both the State Library and the Wild West Comedy Festival for having me along.
Here’s a second cover supporting the Days of Change campaign, sponsored by Quokka Press.
James Foley 