Picture Hooks III with Tiffany Leeson

In the afternoon session with Tiffany Leeson at the Picture Hooks workshop, we applied our learning to redesigning book covers. My book was Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard. This was very challenging as we had just 2 hours.

I first explored my characters by using thumb and finger prints to put down a base. It was a good, rapid way to explore character and possibilities for it's body shape and gestures. My text, I made by tracing the shadows of tiny sticks that I gathered under a rowan tree outside. 

Picture Hooks II, with Tiffany Leeson

Yesterday at the Picture Hooks workshop with Tiffany Leeson, we explored mark making to music and creating text from abstract marks.
It was an interesting and challenging process which I'm sure many of the illustrators attending will be practicing and refining with Photoshop over coming months and years.
I have used music as a starting point for work before but it has been a long time, and it was very interesting to see how you instantly translate sound into gesture and mark. The examples above were created to 'Moon River.

Picture Hooks, with Tiffany Leeson

I am attending a two day workshop looking at important aspects of design, image and typography for children’s books led by Tiffany Leeson the Creative Director of Egmont Publishing this weekend at Edinburgh's Portrait gallery.
The 'picture hooks' workshops and other ones that I am attending, always give you a wee wake-up call and spark from working as part of a big group. Yesterday I was challenged to create a cover for 'The Three Little Pigs' firstly in a picture and then in text.

Looking forward to another challenging day today, in the company of some great creative friends. 

George Douglas Workshop I

Above: my favourite, a giant woodlouse monster .

 Above: Elizabeth O.Dulemba. Below: Rebecca Edwards

These are some pictures from the Picture Hooks workshop with George Douglas that I attended last weekend. At the end of two days, of sometimes frenzied printing, we spent 3 hours making monsters, for as George rightly pointed out; "Monsters cannot be wrong and they don't have to be pretty." Freedom! The only constraint being our attachment to certain printed textures and visuals, that needed to cut and splice into their new beastly incarnation. 

The creativity, humour and ingenuity of my fellow students knew no bounds, their bestiary was wicked, funny, stylish and fabulous. Above are some examples of their wonderful work.

George Douglas I

I have been attending a weekend workshop coordinated by Picture Hooks and led by George Douglas. George graduated from ECA last year and works extensively with print and collage. The workshop concentrated on monoprinting and collage. Although I have taught and made monotypes and collage for years it is always good to see if you can pick up new techniques and approaches from the tutor or fellow students. Also after weeks working away in my studio, it's good to be working as part of a creative community.
Above are some examples of Georges risograph prints, below George demonstrating monoprinting.

Jon Bishop

Jon Bishop was mentee to Debi Gliori and it was obvious they had a great rapport and that the mentorship had benefits for both the mentee and mentor. Both illustrators share a passion for the environment and an interest in promoting environmental awareness and issues through their books.

Here are some of the beautiful works of Jon Bishop and a few pages from his sketchbook.

Debi Gliori

This is a treasure of a video by Debi Gliori and it is wonderful to watch her draw and tell the story of her life. 

Jon yesterday, spoke of his love of Debi's East Lothian studio, here are some pictures of Debi working hard in that studio.

Debi Gliori like Nick Sherratt, another Picture Hooks mentor, is a treasured illustrator. Debi has over 70 published picture books and novels and most people with children will own at least one. Lately she has been experimenting and working with charcoal and somehow, by magic or hairspray, manages to keep this unruly medium in control.

Above and Below are double page spreads from The Trouble with Dragon's.

Below a spread from 'Stormy Weather'.

Debi Gliori and Jon Bishop

Yesterday was the last 'Picture Hooks' for this session and was presented by Debi Gliori and Jon Bishop pictured here, with Linda McClelland from Scottish National Galleries who is the Playfair Education Officer and advisor for Picture Hooks.

I also got the chance to attend their children's workshop which was brilliant fun. My daughter her friend and lots of other children benefited from Debi reading from her book; 'What's The Time Mr Wolf' followed by the children making masks and performing the story.

Natalie Russell

Natalie Russell mentored Catherine Lindow for Picture Hooks. As well as a very successful illustrator she Lectures at Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee and she is a screen printer with a profound love and knowledge of colour.
At these informal talks by Picture Hooks, we have benefited from both the mentor and mentee's wisdom and portfolios. I wish I had taken photographs of Natalie's sketchbooks, but I didn't get the chance, for as with all of the illustrators whose work I have been able to see through this programme of talks the raw drawings, sketches and paintings have a beauty that surpasses any reproduction in books, there is nothing like being able to see and hold someone's work in the flesh.

Catherine Lindow I

I attended the Picture Hooks workshop of Catherine Lindow  and Natalie Russell before Christmas and couldn't share it then, as I was involved in sharing a collection of Christmas images that I had been gathering all year.
My delay does not represent the impact of this workshop. Catherine's work is phenomenally refined and complex and has an ethereal beauty that does not translate fully on the web and into photographs. It was an honour to be able to physically see and get immersed in the physical pictures.

Catherine Lindow lives in the next village to me and I was very interested to see her work and meet her.
She did not disappoint, especially as her first words to me were; "there is a squirrel in the maze". This sounds odd, but the National Gallery of Scotland is next to Princes Street Gardens which at the time was full of 'Winter Wonderland' including a Christmas tree maze. The squirrel was taking full advantage of this new forestation. What I liked about this exchange was it is usually me saying and pointing out odd things to strangers and I could see that Catherine had the same joyful eye for magic.
Below are some pictures from her sketchbooks full of lively lines and observation.

Nick Sharratt

Mentoring Maisie Shearring for the Picture Hooks project was Nick Sharratt a very established illustrator who has over 260 published books from a thirty-year career, many of which we have in our shelves at home, and have been firm favourites of my children.

Nick was a lovely warm hearted man and it was great to learn about his passions, inspiration and working practices.

It was also good to see how the 'Picture Hooks' project had had a very positive effect on both these illustrators lives and work.

Maisie Shearring V

One last post about Maisie Shearring's work for just now. Above is a detail of an illustration from 'Susan's School Day's', a book which recreates some of Maisie's mum's tales of school. I just loved the detail of these girls doing handstands against the wall. Maisie's works often include, as I have said, hula hooping, skipping and handstands and her observations of these I absolutely love.

Maisie Shearring IV

These workshops with illustrators organised by 'Picture Hooks' have been incredible.
It has been so interesting to put faces to illustrators and to learn the individual quirks and techniques. As well as peoples different life paths.
Maisie was extremely shy and lovely today but what stood out was the humour of her work and strangely, how tiny her drawings are, a tiny world inhabits her sketchbooks one that is lovely to peep into and escape.

Maisie Shearring III

Today I am going to a workshop by Maisie Shearring as part of 'Picture Hooks' at the National Galleries of Scotland and I am really looking forward to it as I have been following her closely since she graduated from ECA in 2013. I also still have to share my experiences from a workshop in December so the next few days will be a Picture Hooks bonanza.