30 April, 2013

Mulga Bill's Bicycle...Part 3

I have been looking through my old sketchbooks and came across this drawing.  It's a study for one of the illustrations my sister and I completed for our picture book Mulga Bill's Bicycle.

In those days I did a lot of sketching with a nib pen and ink or ink wash. The result is a freer expression and a way to capture the essence of a situation or character without a lot of detail.

Preliminary sketch 1972 - Mulga Bill's Bicycle -Deborah Niland
Using this sketch as a base, the following illustration was finished using a fine pen and watercolour.

Published illustration 1973 - Mulga Bill's Bicycle - Kilmeny and Deborah Niland

19 April, 2013

Hu Yong Yi

Good Morning China is a lovely children's book published by Roaring Brook Press in New York.  Hu Yong Yi is the artist who has done beautiful work with the illustrations. 

Each illustration or painting shows children having fun in the park, all busy with their different activities.  It's a very gentle book and I love looking at these serene pictures.

Hu Yong Yi has a website where you can see more of her lyrical paintings.