{"id":4154,"date":"2016-09-20T00:01:06","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T06:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4154"},"modified":"2016-09-20T09:43:31","modified_gmt":"2016-09-20T15:43:31","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-bethan-woollvin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4154","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Bethan Woollvin"},"content":{"rendered":"


 
Earlier this Spring, Peachtree brought readers the debut picture book from Bethan Woollvin<\/a><\/strong>, pictured here, who is a recent graduate of the Cambridge School of Art in England. I wrote about this book, Little Red<\/em>, here<\/a><\/strong> over at Kirkus<\/em>, because it’s a well-crafted debut. (Back in 2014, it up and won the Macmillan Children’s Book Competition<\/a><\/strong> over in the UK.) <\/p>\n

And then I was curious to see more art from Bethan and learn more, so I invited her over for a 7-Imp cyber-breakfast. “If I could have any breakfast,” she tells me, “I\u2019d go all American on you guys and have the full waffle-bacon-syrup deal, but since I\u2019m not in New York, I\u2019ll stick to porridge with strawberries.”<\/p>\n

YUM. This is good with me. I’ll throw in some coffee. Also good with me is seeing more art from Bethan and getting a peek into her Little Red<\/em> sketchbook. So, let’s get right to it. <\/p>\n

And I thank her for visiting. <\/p>\n


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* * * * * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: Author\/Illustrator.
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: Just one, my debut — Little Red<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. More to come, I promise!
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium?<\/font><\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: I mainly use gouache paint for my artwork — often Caran D\u2019ache for the amazing pigments.
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Bethan’s gouache palette<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Where are your stompin’ grounds?<\/font><\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: I currently live in Brighton, UK. Supposedly a lot of children’s book illustrators live here, too — like Emily Gravett<\/a><\/strong>!
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you briefly tell me about your road to publication?<\/font> <\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: My road to publication, briefly, was through winning the Macmillan Children’s Book Competition. I was in the second year of my Illustration (BA) degree, and I submitted Little Red<\/em> to Macmillan and won first prize! Little Red was published on 24th March 2016.
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(Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you please point readers to your web site and\/or blog?<\/font> <\/p>\n

Bethan<\/font><\/strong>: www.bethanwoollvin.com<\/a><\/strong>; http:\/\/bethanwoollvin.tumblr.com<\/a><\/strong>.
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“And he made a plan.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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“Which was unlucky for Grandma.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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“‘Hello, Grandma,’ Little Red said, though she wasn’t fooled for a minute. …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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\n\"Mmm.Okay, we’ve got our coffee, and it’s time to get a bit more detailed with six<\/em> questions over breakfast. I thank Bethan again for visiting 7-Imp.<\/font> <\/p>\n

1.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What exactly is your process when you are illustrating a book? You can start wherever you\u2019d like when answering: getting initial ideas, starting to illustrate, or even what it\u2019s like under deadline, etc. Do you outline a great deal of the book before you illustrate or just let your muse lead you on and see where you end up?<\/font> <\/p>\n

Bethan<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: When I start working on a new project or book, I always start with ideas. I think this is the most important part, and it\u2019s where you can have the most fun. A nifty little trick to help with idea-creation is to write as many topics\/themes you\u2019re interested in down in under three minutes. I have some strange ideas come out of processes like this; plus, it\u2019s a lot of fun too.
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Little Red sketchbook<\/em>
(Click each to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nOnce I have my idea, I spend time in a sketchbook, playing with it. This is often the stage where my story and its characters are quite crude. Soon after, I then start to develop recognisable characters, and I work them into compositions for the story. This is by far my favourite part, seeing what is possible with a spread of artwork. By this point, I might move out of my sketchbook onto large paper where I can experiment with colours and materials. This is often the messiest stage! After that, I have to start refining all my experimental artwork and compositions into final artwork, although I admit that I actually generate the final artwork quite quickly, as the looseness and bold line are key in my illustrations. I just add the final touches in Photoshop, where I clean up a few little mistakes here and there.
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Little Red sketchbook<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Little Red before and after<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n2.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Describe your studio or usual work space.<\/font> <\/p>\n

Bethan<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: My usual work space starts off fairly clean, but I\u2019m really clumsy and messy, so that doesn\u2019t last long. I have a long white desk that is often covered in paint, paper, and sketchbooks. Aside from my desk, I have a lot of books (mainly picture books) and also a lot of \u2018crap,\u2019 as my parents call it, that I\u2019ve collected over the years.
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(Click each to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\n3.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: As a book-lover, it interests me: What books or authors and\/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?<\/font><\/p>\n

Bethan<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: Lane Smith<\/a><\/strong> and Jon Scieszka<\/a><\/strong> really inspired me with The Stinky Cheese Man<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, which is still so hilarious to me. I thought the way they adapted the fairy tales was brilliant — and was a strong influence for Little Red<\/em>.
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\nAs for books I enjoyed when I was little, here\u2019s a list of my favourites:<\/p>\n