I admire those talented author/illustrators, those high-achievers of children’s books with dual creative minds – like Shaun Tan, Gabrielle Wang, Sally Rippin, Narelle Oliver, Kerry Argent and Pamela Allen (and heaps more). I’m so jealous!
How do they split their time between both activities, especially if they’re writing novels as well as picture books? What comes first, the story idea or the first little mental image that pops into their heads? And the biggest question of all – how do they find time to do both activities, and the housework as well?!
I’m endeavouring to interview a well-known author/illustrator in a future blog so might have some questions answered soon.
I have a special interest in the way illustrator-writers/artists work, as I struggle to find a way to paint while writing full-time. I don’t illustrate my stories, except for the chapter headings, the motifs in Secrets of Eromanga. But I am an artist and printmaker – and have been for the last 18 years and 3 months to be precise.
‘Layers of Time’ – my final illustration from ‘Secrets of Eromanga’ – pen and ink
Eleven years ago, WORDS took over my head and my life, usurping the painterly life and gradually relegating my easel, paints, brushes and print rollers to the downstairs cupboard. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE WRITING more than eating, sometimes. But!
When I was new at this ‘game’ of writing children’s books, it was easy – one day writing, one day painting, one day in the Evil Day Job (that’s all I could handle). But then, with stealth and muscle, writing crept into my psyche like the first flow in a dry creek bed. Hardly noticeable at first, then the flood.
Making art became more difficult – not the skill side, it was the thinking side. Because like writing, painting requires many hours of thought as well as craft skill.
So, here we are in 2011, I have some books, articles and short stories under my publishing belt; many more on the ‘drawing board’, and the easel is still under its sheet so I can’t see the large half-finished canvas I started 6 months ago.
If anyone has any suggestions to get my writing/painting life into order, I’d love to hear from you!
Have to admit even when painting, dastardly WORDS crept into my work. Maybe they’ve always been there and I didn’t recognise the love of my life (sorry, Ross!) 🙂
Here is an example where words figure in my artwork: Fire – one of The Element Doors (an installation at The Gap High School Library, Brisbane) – painted in acrylic, oils, mixed media on real doors. Metal door handles are engraved with contour lines – an important motive in my work. All of the Element Doors have words of some sort ’embedded’ into the paint. Fire has newspaper headlines about bushfires in Australia. See the story of Fire below.
These 4 doors were real doors, used every day by hundreds of students. But a re-modelling of the library last year meant that 3 of the doors are now up on the wall and one, Fire is screwed to another wall all by itself – it was deemed too heavy to put at a higher level because it is an actual fire protection door. I had no idea it was the library’s fire door when I chose it for the Fire painting.
Painting ‘Fire’ in The Gap High School Library before it was put back in place
FIRE– A nation hostage to the gum
Laden with volatile eucalyptus oils and as recognizably Australian as the koala, the gum tree evolved to fit this land like a glove. Its many varieties have adapted to the seasonal flare-ups of bushfires – surviving and sprouting with new growth when the rains arrive. Bushfires are a natural part of the renewal across this land.
We want to live close to the natural beauty of the Australian bush, but even after many decades of bushfire tragedies, it’s ironic we ignore the gum’s ability to increase the destructive path of fire.
If we want to live in harmony with, rather than hostage to the gum we need to understand its place in our Australian landscape.
For the next three days, I will post the other three Element Doors with their particular story attached.
All images are copyrighted. If you would like to use them for educational purposes, please acknowledge them and contact me first for permission. (c) Sheryl Gwyther 2011
Do you listen to music while you work? A Mozart sonata? John Coltrane’s sax or some classic Miles Davis? A bit of the Cuban touch? Coldplay’s latest CD? Or soundtracks from your favourite movies?
It could be that, to work successfully, you need a blur of background sound to keep away the silence. Or is it deliberately chosen music that fits the mood of the piece you’re writing? Does it relate to your work in progress? Or do you prefer silence?
I’ve asked a few of my writerly friends about their preferences….
If Australian author, Gabrielle Wang wants to write a particularly emotional scene she might listen to Bach. But apart from those moments she don’t like music on while she writes as she get too carried away by it and can’t focus on the story inside her head.
New Zealand author, Brian Falkner has a very definite way of working – he finds a specific piece of music that reflects the kind of emotion in the scene he’s writing. If it’s an important or emotional scene, he sometimes spends as much time trying to find an appropriate piece of music as he does writing the scene.
I find that the right music can not only affect you emotionally while you are writing, but it can also bring imagery to mind that you can use in the scene.
Usually he uses the music choice once because then it’s become tied to that particular book and scene in his mind.
Here’re some of Brian’s choices, (if you know the music you can imagine the scene he’s writing):
1812 Overture / Barber’s Adagio for Strings / Quidam (Almost the entire album) – Cirque du Soleil / Firebird Suite – Stravinsky / Night on Bald Mountain – Mussorgsky / Ave Maria – Schubert / Oh, Fortuna – Orff / The Swan – Saint-Saëns
Adagio for Strings (watch it, I guarantee this will send a shiver up your spine – one of the most powerful, poignant compositions ever made).
Australian author, Dee White has a different way to write.
I don’t listen to music. I enjoy writing in the quiet or immersing myself in the sounds of nature outside my door. At the moment, I’m enjoying writing on the deck with the sounds of the river rushing past:)
Claire Saxby, another Aussie children’s author, finds music keeps her going if she’s writing something new, and it tunes out ambient noise. She says beat music will keep the words flying. Favourite titles include Augie March’s two albums, The Frames (Irish band), Waifs, Cat Empire, Paul Kelly. Familiar albums allow for subliminally absorbing – so much so, often she doesn’t notice them finish.
Michael Gerard Bauer, a fellow Ashgrovian, and the author of the splendid story, The Running Man (and others), confesses to needing silence when he works because he’s easily distracted.
I thought I’d give it a go so I put on a cd but I couldn’t write a thing because I kept listening to the music! Maybe I just didn’t pick the right songs?
Michael does have a point. There is music that is impossible to write by – I’ve tried it. Like Rhythms Del Mundo CUBA. It’s is a collection of musicians, from Coldplay, Sting, Arctic Monkeys, to Quincy Jones and Ibraham Ferrer (from The Buena Vista Social Club) and others playing their music with a Cuban influence – all with the intent of raising funds and awareness about climate change. Great music! But why is it impossible to write by? How can one sit at the computer churning out another story when one is too busy salsa-ing?
Nathan Bransford, U.S. author and blogger doesn’t listen to music much, but his blog has some interesting comments on the topic.
My favourite music to write by depend on what story I’m working on. If it’s an action scene or dramatic dialogue, then it’s the soundtrack from The Lord of the Rings – especially when the Orcs are storming Helm’s Deep. For background music, I’m back in my Celtic ancestry with any of five Loreena McKennitt CDs. Or Paul Kelly’s Songs from The South.
Do you have music favourites to work by? I’d love to hear your choices.
Here’s some music to get you in the groove! Coldplay‘s Clockson the album, Rhythms Del Mondo with a very Cuban beat. Even better than the original version.
P.S. My favourite Music quotes: ‘Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.’ ~Charlie Parker
‘Life can’t be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years.’ ~William F. Buckley, Jr.
Sheryl Gwyther 