French-Australian artist, Helene Magisson!
I'm beyond excited to tell you that Helene has agreed to illustrate JACARANDA SNOW, my first picture book.
Helene's work is so beautiful! Before I knew who my publisher had commissioned, I had already imagined Helene as the illustrator of my dreams...and you'll see why.
from Beauty and the Beast (New Frontier, 2017)
Helene understands beauty. She sees it everywhere, and so do I. She's the perfect artist to bring JACARANDA SNOW to life.
Her training is fascinating; Helene studied history of art at the Louvre combined with a bachelor of painting restoration, including medieval illumination. Please, if you have time, read this incredible article (in Helene's own words) about her love of art!
The Gardener...available on Helene's website
“I use only traditional techniques: hundreds of different brushes, extra-large papers with strange smells, and thousands of different water colours... so my art studio is always incredibly messy! I never use pure water colour. I mix 2 colours (sometimes 3), always ‘playing’ with the amount of pigments so that the layers are never completely plain and flat. I like when it vibrates. I work on a few layers first with a rough brush and add 2 or 3 layers with soft brushes to polish the final aspect.”
Helene has several picture books available now. Her first book was a new interpretation of the classic story, The Velveteen Rabbit. Her latest book is Slowly, Slowly with T.M. Clark.
Visit Helene's shop
See her portfolio of work
Read more about JACARANDA SNOW
I keep daydreaming about all the kids who will get the chance to enjoy Helene's gorgeous art, wrapped up in my beautiful story.
Enjoy your beautiful weekend, everyone. If you're in Sydney, it'll be filled with JACARANDA SNOW. And if you've taken any JACARANDA SNOW photos, I'd love to see them: catherine@catherinegreer.com.au
Catherine x
P.S. Here's sweet Miss A, the daughter of my gorgeous writer-friend Tara, and their jacaranda snow! Tara's an emerging novelist and her fabulous blog is here...enjoy!
<Photo credit: Tara Ray>