Newest book - just published!!

The latest book I illustrated (Nina and Little Duck by Wendy Hartmann), has just been published! Here are a few double spreads. (Click on "TRADE BOOKS" above for more information).

I've added a whole lot of links... created more blogs for myself, created blogs for the SCBWI South Africa and added links of other SA writers & illustrators and interesting websites - see the list in the sidebar and go and have a peep. If you're a SA writer/illustrator and your link is not there, please let me have your link details and I will add it.

Paddy Bouma and Wendy Hartmann have just started their own blogs - go and have a look!

(The picture above is a test illustration.)

I'm playing with sketches of babies. Newborn Babies: The neck flops and drops forward; reflexes; startled and jerky arm and leg movements; when open, eyes look either sleepy or wide eyed (startled); head size exaggerated (about one third of body size), basically body grows to catch up with head size; arms and legs very short (I remember a school readiness test where the child must be able to cross its arm over its head and touch the ear on the other side - that's about age 4 or 5). More about drawing babies later - I'm really enjoying this!!!

I have not been blogging for a while, but I have a very good reason: Her name is Klara and she arrived at 10h50, weighing in at 4.1Kg (9 pounds) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. My daughter, Alexia, gave Johann and me our first grandchild. Once I get used to the wonderful feeling of being a granny, I will probably start drawing babies and babies and some more babies... After all, I now have the most beautiful model in the whole wide world.

My Newest Book

My book is out!!!! Launched at the Cape Town Book Fair.

It is Lulama's Long Way Home published by Giraffe Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan - ISBN 978-1-920162-09-2 (also available in Afrikaans and will be published in 11 other languages soon) - about a little girl that is swooped out of the river by a near sighted Fish Eagle who though she was a fish!

This is to thank the CT Book Fair Committee for giving the SCBWI South Africa a stand to promote our organisation

Cape Town Book Fair was a huge success - over 40.000 people attended and our SCBWI stand was a hive of activity - afterwards a nasty flu bug ambushed me on my way home and I have been in bed since then - But better now - although still coughing.

Nina & Little Duck... FINISHED ALL PICTURES!!! - I had fun drawing a frog in the illustrations that is not in the text - the frog appears throughout the book - see below other pictures of the Nina & Little Duck book- children love something like that!

Very busy with Cape Town Book Fair arrangements - SCBWI South Africa are going to print posters from 5 South African illustrators (1,000 of each one) that we will be selling at the Book Fair - Here are the posters and above them a close up of the poster I made

I had a whole week-end relaxing - now its getting all the arrangements sorted out for the Cape Town Book Fair that's happening on the 16-19 June - Here is another pic from the Nina & Little Duck book I completed last week.

a close up - Three posts in one day - to make up for the past postless days. My son, Markus, suggested I should let some butterflies escape from Nina's top - good idea!
AND a BIG belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend Simone Kaplan from New York - thought of you on Tuesday!

Here is a doule spread from Nina and Little duck - the book I just completed!!! Have to say that over and over to believe it!

This past week has been a very busy week - I delivered all illustrations on Tuesday and slept the whole of yesterday. I'm finished!!!!! 34 double spreads!!!! Will post a few pages for you to see - Book will be out about the end of July. Here the close up of the pic below I promised to post. - June is starting next week, the Cape Town Book Fair is on the 16-19 June and the South African chapter of the SCBWI is going to have a stand st the fair so the next two weeks are going to be EXTREMELY busy with preparation. But today I'm taking the day off! Have a jolly day

Part of the Illustration I'm working on today - will post it when it is finished. It's raining in Gordon's Bay and the small stream that runs past our house is a torren - I can clearly hear the sound of running water in my studio. It is also cold - I unpacked my small blow-heater yesterday- (just to heat one's feet) - a perfect working day!

Ducktivity continues! Have a good drawing day!

My husband, Johann, sneaked up to my studio and took some photos while I was working - thought I'll share them with you.