In the fall of 2006 I finished the illustrations for my 4th picture book. It’s not out yet so I’ll keep the specifics quiet until then. But in the meantime, I’ll post some sneak peek details of the process and the bits and bobs that went into developing the illustrations.

The underwater reference photo is part of a series I took with a cheap disposable underwater camera. Although shot specifically as reference for the book, I like the look of them so much that I have further plans for the photographs. The trickle of watery paint is part of my palette for the underwater scene. I brightened the colours a bit since this book is more about clear light and less about murk

Water, whether it makes up a ditch, a pond, a lake, an ocean or even a puddle, hides wonderful collections of life. I’ve always been fascinated by bodies of water and as a kid spent endless hours searching out crayfish, frogs and sticklebacks in the drainage ditches that surrounded our farm.

When I had a good look at this series of photographs I noticed a few contained sticklebacks, almost invisible in the cloudy water.

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