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| Draft illustration for "My Brother" by Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley |
This is one of my latest illustrations for a new short story, "My Brother". It takes us into the life of a girl and her brother, who can turn into an otter, and it will be a fully illustrated picture book. I have had interest from Bungeisha, a Japanese publisher, principally engineered by my good friend (and translator) Miyuki. At the moment I am unsure where it will lead, but it is all very interesting none the less, and it has spurred me on to producing these illustrations. This one is a mixture of pen and ink, pastel and digital manipulation, but I am very tempted to try a series out as linocuts.
The story is rather sad, as it is really about how we cannot stop people following their true nature, however fond we are of them. However, it also has magic, and mystery, as the brother is something altogether different, and I aim to capture the sweeping expanse of the natural world in the illustrations.
