Matthew Taylor Wilson on Community and Creativity
Illustrator and designer, Matthew Taylor Wilson, explains why finding a community is such a crucial part of creative development for artists.
Arena Welcomes New Illustrator: Matthew Land
We are thrilled to welcome amazing new illustrative talent Matthew Land to the Arena family.
Time to Snuggle Up with Kristyna Litten
The latest DFS TV ad features some wonderful new character designs by Kristyna Litten, the ninth advert in the Aardman-designed campaign for the sofa manufacturer. Time to Snuggle Up welcomes in “the Cosy Season” with DFS’s Autumn & Winter collection starring Pumpkin, the little cat and connoisseur of comfort. As burnt orange leaves fall and swirl about her, she peeks through the windows of a terraced street watching people curl up with their family on DFS sofas. This spurs her on to get out of the cold and back into her home to curl up on her very own comfy spot on the sofa.
Kristyna created nine new characters for Time to Snuggle Up but there were many more variations created before the final line-up was decided upon.
Kristyna Litten is represented by Arena Illustration.
Behind the Book: Monty & Sylvester by Carly Gledhill
Carly Gledhill’s artwork style is immediately recognisable for her quirky characters and playful layouts, full of humour and heart. This spring her debut author-illustrated picture book ‘Monty & Sylvester A Tale of Everyday Super Heroes’ published with Orchard Books.
We spoke to Carly on creating her first picture book, and delve deeper into what inspired this imaginative, witty tale, and the loveable duo behind the story, best friends — and unlikely heroes — Monty and Sylvester.
Miguel Ordonez’s latest book Going to the Volcano
Just published this long awaited wonderful picture book created by the very talented illustrator Miguel Ordonez (having previously worked on the Jimmy Fallon best selling titles - Dada and Mama) and written by the fabulous and award winning author Andy Stanton (Mr Gum and many other wonderful books ) the book entitled: Going to The Volcano is published by Hodder Children's Books. This very talented duo have produced a fabulously funny, colourful and quirky picture book.
For more of Miguel's imaginative characters and creative work please go to the website : https://www.artistpartners.com/portfolios/miguel-ordonez/
Laura Hughes wins Oscar’s Book Prize 2018
Laura Hughes wins the highly esteemed children’s book award with author John Dougherty for their laugh-out-loud picture book ‘There’s A Pig Up My Nose!’.
We are delighted and immensely proud that Bright artist Laura Hughes has won the Oscar’s Book Prize 2018 alongside author John Dougherty with their original and witty picture book ‘There’s A Pig Up My Nose!’, published by Egmont.
John’s loveable tale of a little girl, Natalie, and a nose-dwelling pig, Ernest, is full of hilarity and surprise, beautifully married with Laura’s playful artwork. It’s a joy to read as you follow Natalie’s increasingly absurd attempts to get a pig out of her nose — even hanging upside down whilst being walloped with a blow-up rhino doesn’t seem to do the trick. It’s silly, utterly heart-warming, and with plenty of laughs — and OINKS — along the way.
The Oscar’s Book Prize is an annual award celebrating the best books for under-fives from the year. Previous winners have included Bright artist Benji Davies who won in 2014 with ‘The Storm Whale’. You can read more on the award here.
HRH Princess Eugenie awarded the Oscar’s Book Prize at St James’s Palace on Monday 14th May. From left to right: Vicki Willden-Lebrecht (MD, The Bright Agency), author John Dougherty, artist Laura Hughes, Emma Dods (Senior Commissioning Editor, Egmont), Laura Hughes, Rebecca Essilifie (Art Director, Egmont).
Laura Hughes:
“I am absolutely honoured that ‘Theres’ a Pig Up My Nose’ has won the Oscar’s Book Prize! The award was set up in memory of 3-year -old Oscar Ashton who died of an undetected heart condition, and as well as being a wonderful and touching way to pay tribute to a young reader, the prize also aims to highlight the importance of reading together with young children. Low literacy levels among children starting school is an increasing problem, and the organisers of the award are doing great work in bringing awareness to this issue. It’s a privilege to have been involved in this very special award.
“The first time I read John’s story I absolutely loved it and knew right away that I had to illustrate it! ‘There’s a Pig Up My Nose’ is a warm and quirky tale about a girl who gets a pig stuck up her nose, so I knew that I had to keep the illustrations bright and light-hearted. I used a slightly different process in creating the artwork than I usually do, with some parts coloured directly from my roughs (something I generally avoid) to keep the illustrations loose and energetic.
“For the characters in the book I took inspiration from the diversity of the people I see every day in London, so for example, the doctor is based very loosely on one of my own GP’s. I live in Walthamstow and will often sit and draw in local cafés. I think it’s really important to get out of the studio and draw from life whenever possible to keep your work fresh and relevant.”
You can also watch Laura’s interview with the Evening Standard here.
“I am absolutely thrilled that Laura has won the Oscar’s Book Prize and it’s wonderful to see her grow from Kingston University graduate and Bright intern to an award-winning illustrator. Laura brings such exuberance and flair to her artwork — she is a true talent and I’m so proud of all that she has achieved.” Vicki Willden-Lebrecht
Laura Hughes’ past titles include ‘The Birthday Invitation’ (Bloomsbury Children’s Books), ‘The Chocolate Monster’ (Faber & Faber), and ‘We’re Going on an Egg Hunt’ (Bloomsbury Children’s Books). Her next picture book, ‘Quick, Barney, RUN!’ (Faber & Faber) is publishing this summer on the 5th July. You can see more of Laura’s artwork here.
Rachael Saunders’ wonderful new Illustrated book ‘Go Wild on the River’ is out now!
Rachael Saunders' wonderful new book ‘Go Wild on the River’ published by the lovely team at Nosy Crow is out now. ‘Go Wild on the River’ is the second in the series of adventure handbooks for young explorers.
Laura Barrett’s enchanting new backdrop Illustrations for The Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh
Last year, Laura Barrett had the pleasure of working with the lovely design team at Studioarc on the refurbishment of Edinburgh’s Museum of Childhood.
Garry Parsons – Molly’s Magic Wardrobe
Garry Parsons worked with authors Adam and Charlotte Guillain on the fabulous Molly’s Magic Wardrobe.
Simon Bartram’s New Picture Book: RUFUS!
Simon Bartram, creator of the award-winning best-selling Bob, Man on the Moon has a brand new picture book out - RUFUS, published by Templar. Rufus is a very keen and very green but not a very mean monster who really wants to find a real deal peopley person of his very own to scare!