Output details

Lob

The illustration for this novel (for children of 7 years to adult) was an exploration of figures in nature – both in natural environments and gardens/parks/allotments etc. Invented characters needed to inhabit convincing invented spaces, so primary research was undertaken in a variety of gardens and allotments, so that factual information could be transformed into believable imagined spaces.

Although the aim was to produce images that were in the tradition of Charles Keeping, Ardizzone, and Stobbs the use of Photoshop meant that sketchbooks could be used at every stage of this project and that work could be scanned out, resulting in a fusion between primary research, development work and finished artwork, so that all featured in the final publication – the research became the final illustration. This enabled a seamless fusion in publication between the imagined/invented spaces and places and those observed from life.

Lob has been long listed for the Carnegie Medal, The Guardian Prize and UKLA Children’s Book award. It has been featured in the Guardian, The Scotsman, The Irish Times, The Observer and The Sunday Telegraph. It is published in the UK, Italy, Australia and the US (under the name of Lucy and the Green Man). ISBN 9780385610810