It's World Book Day!

So it's World Book day 2015 and I wanted to share with you one of my most precious and treasured books...If there was a fire, this is one of the things I would try to save!



'The Red Tree' by Shaun Tan

 

As an Ex-Librarian, I'm sure you can imagine how much books mean to me, but picture books are my 'thing' and I collect them like they are going out of fashion...which I hope they never do!
Thank goodness I have children, they provide me with the perfect excuse to buy beautifully illustrated books by some truly amazing artists, the only problem is that I want to keep them all for myself!

This particular book is one that sits close by me in my studio and has a very special place in my heart...it is a story, very simply told, about feeling small and overwhelmed by the world and finding light and beauty in even the darkest of shadows. So not only is the artwork inspiring but the message is too.




"...terrible fates are inevitable..."

 

Shaun Tan is an Australian author and illustrator, he has a wonderful style that is composed of

hand-drawn and found imagery. His work is also very textural and layered, it has real depth which is often complimented by Shaun's use of a limited colour palette.

 

"...without sense or reason..."

 "...just as you imagined it would be..."

 

Shaun Tan's books aren't just to be read, they are to be felt in the heart too, they truly do connect with their reader on a very personal level and if you haven't come across any of his work before I highly recommend visiting your local library and checking out 'The Red Tree' and some of his other titles.

Check out his website here...www.shauntan.net/ 

You can read a bit more about 'The Red Tree' here...http://www.shauntan.net/books/red-tree.html

 

Tonight is my fortnightly get together with some of my other creative friends and I thought I might have a go at making a pattern or two inspired by the imagery in this book.

Lets see where it takes me....