What's
this illustration for?
This illustration is for my latest picture book ‘Wendy’ which came
out last September with Penguin
Do
you have to wait for a flash of inspiration - how do you start?
I wish I had
the time to wait for inspiration to happen. Do people actually do this??? Is it
always ‘flash’ like in appearance or can it come along just sort of lumpy? These
days, I just have to get on with it and hope that the ideas keep coming. I find
I work better under pressure for some reason, even though this isn’t always an
enjoyable experience.
How
did you get your start as an illustrator?
I started out
as a Cartoonist around 15 years ago but moved across to children’s books when
the cartooning market dried up somewhat after the recession. I illustrated my
first book in 1996 and realised, very quickly, that this was where I wanted to
be.
Who
or what has influenced your work?
Geez, so many
people. Illustrators like Jean-Jacques
Sempe, Sara
Fanelli, Oliver Jeffers, Eric
Carle, Arthur Rackham, Kevin Waldron, Neal Layton,
Delphine
Durand and Quentin Blake. Cartoonists George Booth, William Steig, Bill Watterson and Charles Adams. Writers like Roald Dahl, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jon Scieska & John
Yeoman. I tend to be drawn to line-work and nonsensical, humourous
folk.
What's
your favourite media for creating pictures?
Probably
watercolour but I’m always playing around with whatever’s lying about the place
– crayons, charcoal, colour pencils, acrylics, cardboard. I love collage and
spend a good deal of time collecting interesting papers and
textures.
Do
you experience illustrator's block - if so, what do you do about
it?
Yes, I do.
Coffee helps. So does moving water. If I have time I walk down to the beach or
jump in the shower. The shower is the best place to come up with ideas.
Consequently, they are normally long showers. I really ought to get a scuba
diving pad and pencil.
What's
the worst thing about being a freelancer?
Not having the
quality time to spend on your own projects whether it’s writing, drawing or
painting.
And
the best?
Getting lost
in a book or the process. The best days are when it’s all clicking and you have
no idea what time it is. Solving creative problems can be enormously satisfying
too.
What
are you working on at the moment?
I just
finished ‘My Aussie Dad’ by Yvonne Morrison, a picture book for Scholastic. Just
sent off the roughs for ‘Haggis McGregor and the Night of the Skull Moon by Jen
Storer for Penguin. Working on a book with James Roy for UQP and writing the
framework for a book series for Penguin. My next picture book is coming along
somewhere in there too! Not sure where exactly.
Where
can we see more of your work?
My website has been slowly forming over here: http://www.gusgordon.com/
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