oliver jeffers interview

I just read the most wonderful interview with Oliver Jeffers (whose children's book I mentioned here) over at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Be sure to watch the video at the end where Oliver shows some of his process and his studio.

Doesn't he have a fabulous mustache?

european picture books - la princesse au petit poids

I'm so inspired by the illustrator of this book. Her name is Anne Herbauts, she's Belgian, and this book is called La princesse au petit poids. I fell in love with the cover when I saw it. Anne Herbauts' drawing style is so loose and unique. I love how she uses a variety of techniques, including some sort of stamping to create patterns. Really beautiful.







I have another book that she illustrated to show tomorrow.

european picture books - la mémoire envollée

This book is from France, called 'La mémoire envollée' and it was illustrated by Marie Desbons. I love her characters, her delicate style and her imaginative illustrations. These are my 2 favorite spreads:



a close up of her beautiful mark marking:


I love how she drew the scarf and the way is wraps around the spread.


The story is really nice too.

european picture books - anastazy

I got this book, Anastazy, while we were in Poland. I think the illustrator is Przemyslaw Wechterowicz. I love the format, very short and wide, which is perfect for the main character who is a dachshund. The illustrations are done with a black pen on a brown paper and use limited color. Unfortunately, my photos don't do this book justice.

european picture books - the incredible book eating boy

In addition to loving the illustrations in this book, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, I also love the story. It's written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, originally from Northern Ireland but he now lives in New York. He's one of my favorites. The illustrations are quite loosely painted and I love the use of collage, texture and hand drawn type. All the images are painted on actual book covers and pages which I think is a nice touch. I also enjoy the cut out in the shape of bite marks on the back cover of the paper back, which is the version that I picked up. If you like what you see, you should check out the images of this book on Oliver Jeffers' site.

european picture books - scritch scratch

Before packing them up, I took photos of some of the picture books I've purchased since we started our adventure. I thought picture books in different languages with really cool illustrations would make good souvenirs from the countries we visit.

I love picture books and since coming to the UK I've been so inspired by European ones. For the most part, I find the illustrations in them much more experimental than in North American picture books. I love that.

The first one I'm going to share is a UK book called Scritch Scratch about an outbreak of head lice in an elementary school. It's illustrated by a French woman, Delphine Durand. I love her characters and vibrant use of color. Here's a couple of my favorite spreads:





I love the way she did the floor.

She also illustrated another book that I'm quite enamored with: Ma maison. I've seen the english version (My House) here in Edinburgh, but I'm going to wait and see if I can find a French one when we go to France.

march update

I've been on hiatus for the last little while so here's an update:

We've been packing up our stuff, cleaning our flat, making arrangements and tying up loose ends because we're going to be moving again. We've already left our Edinburgh flat and are going to be floating around for the next little while. When we do settle down again, it will be in Paris. I have never been there and am really looking forward to it. As much as I like Edinburgh, it will be nice to experience another country and explore a new city. Both the hubby and I are very excited about this next leg of our trip.

a peek inside my travel journal - part 3

©2010 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

a peek inside my travel journal - part 2

©2010 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

a peek inside my travel journal

When we left our home in Calgary last summer, I started a travel journal/sketchbook to document our trip. I wanted to be able to write about our adventure, draw and have a place to keep ticket stubs, labels, recipes, plants and any other bits that I came across. I completed the book in January, right after our trip to Belgium, and have since started a second book. We're going to be moving again soon and since space is at a premium I'll only be bringing necessary items with me; sketchbooks that have been filled since arriving here will be sent back to Canada. I thought I'd share some of the contents of my travel journal before parting with it. Here's a peek inside:
(sorry about the fuzziness of some of the photos)















©2010 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli