Super Sunday #7 ♥

So I know the Super Sunday posts haven't always worked out properly

it's gone from being a weekly thing to a fortnightly thing

anyway this week i'm doing a post all about one of my favourite illustrators...

and yes I know that the last Super Sunday post I did was dedicated to a picture book illustrator (it was about Lauren Child and you can read it here - Super Sunday #6 ♥) 

but this weeks dedication is particularly special, well, as far as i'm concerned it is anyway!

For todays Super Sunday post i'd like to honour an illustrator whose work I have quite literally grown up with, whose illustrations actually inspired me to want to be an illustrator in the first place!

This weeks dedication goes out to the truly super duper, Nick Sharratt

now many of the girls (and some of the boys) reading this will probably recognise his illustrations, especially if you grew up in the UK

there's a pretty strong chance you'll have seen his illustrations on dozens of book covers even if you didn't realise he was the illustrator behind them

he is most famous for having illustrated every single one of Jacqueline Wilson's books for the past 20 years. He has also illustrated children's books for several other authors as well as many of his own children's picture books.

He has been illustrating Jacqueline Wilson's books since 1991 when 'the Story of Tracy Beaker' was first published. 

I was born in 1991 so I really have quite literally 'grown up' with the illustrations as well as the stories.

In fact... i first discovered his illustrations when i read my very first Jacqueline Wilson book when I was 6 years old.

i remember it because it was one of  the first 'proper' modern books i'd just been given and left to read (up until then i'd just read lots of stuff by Enid Blyton)

it was a copy of 'Double Act' that my mum had bought me to take on holiday so that i'd have something to read.

now although I adored the story and despite the fact that that book will always be my favourite Jacqueline Wilson book, I remember that it was the little illustrations that popped up throughout the story that really caught my attention

I was on holiday in Mauritius and I remember that I finished reading the book sitting on a bench outside the museum, as soon as we went back to the hotel I sat with the complimentary hotel room notepad and pencil and tried to copy the pictures from the book.

I remember finishing it and flipping back through the book to look at all the illustrations again. I loved how simple they were so I tried to copy them and see if I could draw like that as well.

Despite the fact my versions of the characters were a little wonky and a bit messy I like to think it was in some way the beginning of my journey to becoming an illustrator.

I used to spend hours trying to copy his seemingly so simple style and try and come up with new scenes that could fit into the books. My versions never quite looked right but that didn't put me off me, I was determined to draw just like him!

by the time I finished primary school my career aspiration was to be an artist for Disney... or failing that, a book illustrator just like Nick Sharratt!

Although i'm a bit too old to be reading Jacqueline Wilson books as religiously as I used to, I still absolutely love to flick through my nieces copies just to look at all of the fabulous illustrations.

I'm fortunate that both Maddie and Daisy (my nieces) adore her books so it gives me an excuse to borrow them from time to time just so I can see the illustrations!

I realised that during my childhood, it was his illustrations that began my fascination with all things arty and creative. Even though I remember being read to + reading books by Enid Blyton and Roahl Dahl, which were always filled with amazing illustrations, it's really Nick Sharratt's style of drawing that has stuck with me all this time.

I think it's even affected my own style of drawing without me realising it!

I mean look at his style, he always uses a very clear simple black line as the basis of practically all of his work, and I do exactly the same thing!!!

i always have done as well, i think that without really meaning to, i've completely based MY style of illustrating around the basics of his style!

I think I first got interested in children's book illustration because of his work, I wanted to become an illustrator so I could draw pictures like him. And I think that in many ways, I still think that now.

You see, I really do owe him a lot!

I'd love to meet him one day just so I can say thank you for all the inspiration his drawings have given me over the years

oh i should also point out, that as well known as he is for illustrating Jacqueline Wilson's books, he's just as famous nowadays for his own children's picture books combining funny unique stories with his fabulous illustrative style that cleverly brings the stories to life.

i'm sad to say that i don't actually own any of his other picture books, i've read a few of them though (there's a picture book section in the library at college... i pretty much live there during the week)

 i particularly like the 'Daisy' books, they are so fun to read!

the illustrations are just so adorable! i've never NOT liked anything that he's worked on!

not that i'm biased or anything of course! but come on, you can all see how cute the drawings are can't you!

of course you can, they're super duper sweet and absolutely bloody marvellous!

ok ok, i guess i've gushed enough about how awesome i think his work is!

but long story short... he is without a doubt MY personal favourite book illustrator (get ready for this...) EVER

that's right

and you should know that i've seen hundreds (if not thousands) of illustrated books throughout my life

i guess it's mainly because his drawings inspired me to draw in the first place

whatever the reason, he's my fave illustrator, end of!

if you'd like to see even more of his fabby illustrations, then head over to the Nick Sharratt website 

there's also a great interview on this BBC page + lots of fun tips on drawing from the man himself - BBC interview

* * *

in other news,

that's it!

Happy Sunday

enjoy the rest of your day

oh and watch out for another post tomorrow

I know, I know... 3 posts in a row! Insane right!!!

farewell dudes and dudettes

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ★

mulţumesc şi la revedere

(that's thank you and goodbye in Romanian on behalf of Romania, i've never been to Romania but it sounds like a gorgeous country, mulţumesc foarte mulţ x)

Super Sunday #6 ♥

i know, i know... i've failed on the whole 'Super Sunday' thing over the past few weeks!

it's tricky though... i can always think of LOADS of people that deserve dedications but deciding who warrants an extra special 'Super Sunday' post is another matter entirely!

inspired by my shopping binge at the start of the week, i've decided to do a post on an artist, illustrator and writer whose work i adore!

so this weeks dedication goes out to a woman who i've been a MASSIVE fan of for the better part of the past six or seven years...

this week's Super Sunday post is all about the work of the fabulous, the super duper, the truly genius... Lauren Child

It is my personal belief that Lauren Child's books are some of the best, cleverest and most witty children's picture books I think i've ever read!

now for those of you unfamiliar with her work, in short... basically she is the creative genius behind the Charlie and Lola books

and if you haven't heard of Charlie and Lola, well basically... there's a little boy called Charlie and he has a little sister called Lola. 

they get into lots of adventures together and along with their best friends, Marv, Lotta, Sizzles the dog and Soren Lorenson (Lola's imaginary friend) 

they always manage to have heaps of fun together despite their age differences + the fact that Soren Lorenson is in fact... invisible and can only be seen by Lola!

When you read one of her stories you can practically hear Lola adamantly telling her brother Charlie that she is 'too absolutely small to go to school'. The way Lauren Child writes is the way a child of Lola's age would really speak, with tangled words and the most incredible imagination constantly working, trying to make sense of the world around her. 

her beautiful and clever style of illustration is also faultless, the characters are drawn in a way that instantly appeals to young children.

 i was introduced to these wonderful characters by my little god-daughter Bonnie

when Bonnie was tiny she used to love watching the Charlie and Lola animated series and as she got older she loved being read the stories as well. 

now Bonnie is old enough to read them herself and i just find it fascinating how a collection of picture books can capture a child's imagination so much that she still loves the characters even if her teachers seem to think she's a little too old for Charlie and Lola now!

Bonnie may be too old now but i've seen her, if it comes on the TV or if she's helping her little sister Hanna put stickers in the Charlie and Lola annual... she's right back to loving it all over again!

and i can't blame her! i'm nineteen and i LOVE the books! all of them, not just the Charlie and Lola stories, all of Lauren Child's books are amazing!

Lauren Child's characters, stories and illustrations are so perfect for the here and now and yet there's this undeniably timeless quality about them

the way she writes specifically for children and manages to make the illustrations fit so perfectly with the text, it may sound straightforward but it's a difficult thing to accomplish and a real rarity to get the balance so perfect in the world of children's picture books

most of the time a book has spot on illustrations but it's story is a little too hard to understand, or it's a book that can only be read to the child, the child couldn't necessarily do the reading by themselves. 

then the story might be fun for the child but the adult reading it might not understand properly, 

it's a fine balance yet Lauren's books manage to cater for everyone.

the child adores the pictures, the adult finds the story as amusing as the child... and everyone's happy!

as an illustrator myself i love the way the characters never quite look the same in every scene, their heads and eyes are often wonky, with simplified features since she colours the characters using wax crayons and coloured pencils mixed in with collage. 

this often gives the images a scratchy, messy child like quality... yet this is exactly what makes them so charming to look at.

the wonderful thing about Lauren's books is that whether the child can read it or not, they will sit totally entranced by one of her stories. yes they're looking at the pictures but they look at the words as well, even if they can't read them! 

the text flies and loops across the page imitating the movements of the characters or the sounds of the words, it spirals and curls around the illustrations and kids just love it!

the only problem is for the grown-up reading the story, sometimes you have to turn the book upside down to read the text but children tend to find this hilarious!

her books haven't only caught the hearts and imaginations of a generation of British kids, they've also been translated into several different languages.

although Charlie and Lola are, to me, a typically English pair of siblings, i can see how their stories and adventures could easily be played out by children of other cultures and nationalities across the globe.

but Charlie and Lola aren't the only characters Lauren Child has brought to life with her clever illustrations and stories

there's also...

Clarice Bean

then there's...

that Pesky Rat

and...

Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent

not forgetting her truly gorgeous take on 'the Princess and the Pea'

and so sooooo many others...

* * *

and do you know what... i think that's it!

suffice to say... Lauren Child IS one of my idols

yes i know i told you that i don't have many (it's true) and i have LOTS of favourite illustrators but she is definitely an idol!

i aspire to achieve pretty much everything she has accomplished with her stories and illustrations!

i mean, there's a reason i gave a talk about her books at college + had a go at drawing in her style for my FMP research...

I think when a child looks through a Charlie and Lola book they are struck by just how much the pictures look like their own scribbled drawings.  

and yet if you really sit down and try to imitate her style, it's incredibly difficult!

so big BIG thanks to her for creating such super duper stuff!

for more info on Lauren Child, there's a wonderful interview article here - a life in books

and to see the official Lauren Child website, follow this link - Milk Monitor

oh and for the record... yes i may be nearly twenty-years-old but i happen to own precisely 13 picture books by Lauren Child and i imagine that collection will grow as she continues to bring out new books

after all... you're never really too old for a good picture book!!!

* * *

in other news... there isn't really any!

i've spent the past few days watching FAR too many Disney movies and singing along to FAR too many Disney songs...

i really will NEVER grow up!!!

so until next time, 

that's all folks...

 ◕‿◕ ★ xX

ありがとうさようなら

(that's thank you and goodbye in Japanese on behalf of Japan, i would absolutely love, love, LOVE to visit Japan and hopefully one day i'll get a chance to, thank you all ♥)