I have to give a shout out to CLOVER ROBIN! For my latest book, Science in My Pocket, which is an informational fiction, I needed a way to create lively, colorful fact pages to go side by side with my fictional story, which is done in gouache paints. I happened to run across her book Cut Paper Pictures.
I fell in love with her painted paper, cut out art collages. The vibrant, textured papers added a depth of color and texture that is perfect for illustrating the natural world of acorns, leaves, birds, animals, trees and more. It is a fun, joyful medium that allows for all kinds of experimentation.
Since then, she has added her special style to several children's books: Bug Hotel, Bird House, and A Walk Through Nature.
I am having great fun painting paper and adding cut out art to my fact pages!
As Georgia O'Keefe once said, "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-things I had no words for."
