#journey comes to life
Apparently law and sausages are two things where it would be better not to see how they are made. I wonder whether the same could be said of book illustration? As you will be aware, I put out a plea ten days ago for help with illustrating #journey. The response has been far in excess of what I anticipated, and has led to the kind of conversations rich in creativity which feed the soul. Last week I had just such an encounter with illustrator Max Ellis, and yesterday I sat down with concept artist Ash Fitzgerald. Our conversation ranged to and fro from the Camino to Jewish legends in Prague and the explosive energy of creativity in word and image alike.
The image you see below is a snapshot in the creative process. On the table you can see photographs of some of Ash’s works, his rough sketch pad, a copy of the relevant chapter from my book which he has annotated, and my beloved blue folder with the manuscript to date open at a page with a gorgeous illustration by Teddington artist Rachel Morris.
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I have to say that I love the mess in the photograph above. When I write, it is a messy process. I tend to write ‘outwards’ – creating a ‘thin’ version of the entire book which then grows fatter with every revision. Those revisions are done on a printed typescript so that I can be messy and scribble as I think. To have found a kindred spirit who talks about a creative process which grows with him as he changes has been a breath of fresh air.
How do you create?
