Magic For Sale is finally out! Written by Carrie Clickard Illustrated by John Shelley published by Holiday House Books ISBN: 9780823435593 32 pages of rollicking fun! The book follows the trail of young Georgie McQuist, who’s been dared to sneak into Miss Pustula Night’s Magic Shop overnight to find the spirit that’s rumoured to inhabit the basement. Needless to say he finds the ghost and a great deal more in the creepy confines of the shop, including Miss Night herself and

Number 5 in the History of my Archive in 10 Objects, is this triple set of bird studies from early 1977. I was 17,  I was about to leave school and start a foundation course at the now-gone and much lamented Bournville School of Art, I was full steam ahead for a career in illustration, the world of graphic art, experimentation and adventure awaited. But all that was in the future – in the meantime I was generating some income from selling these kinds of traditional studies in

I’ve been quiet on the blog of late, in fact all social media, largely due to work on my latest picture book, Jane Sutcliffe’s renaissance non-fiction The Stone Giant – Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be. It’s been an involving project in the pipeline for quite a while, with several interruptions (like an unforeseen house move!) but I’m happy to say the art work is now complete! Currently awaiting final approval before posting the art off, I’ll be able to share some i

…and here’s the first incomplete drawing I posted now it’s finished. I’ll upload some more spreads from the book after it’s been passed by the editor. Okey, right, onwards and upwards! #fukuinkanshoten #jackandthebeanstalk #picturebook #watercolour

another image from the vaults that fits this week’s Illustration Friday Brief “Tango”. This was for an exhibition held in Ginza a while ago….. #illustrationfriday #tango #watercolour

Old exhibition piece illustrating the saying Fairy Folks are in Old Oaks. Seems to fit this week’s “Hollow” theme. Can you spot the hidden figure in the shadows? (I didn’t know it was there until after I’d completed the artwork). #childrensillustration #fairies #watercolour #illustrationfriday #fantasy

Another children’s book illustration that fits this weeks Illustration Friday theme “cracked”. This was from Hoppy no Atarashii Uchi (Hoppy’s New House), one of my own stories published by Fukuinkan Shoten in Japan. #picturebook #animals #anthropomorphic #watercolour #illustrationfriday #hoppysnewhouse

Here’s something from the cupboard that matches this weeks Illustration Friday brief “Parade”. It’s from the picture book King Smelly Feet, written by Hiawyn Oram, released in the UK by Andersen Press a few years ago. #illustrationfriday #kingsmellyfeet #picturebook #watercolour

This image is so old I’m quite embarassed to post it, a portfolio piece right from the beginning of my career when I was fresh out of college. Nevertheless it seems to fit the occasion, and has never been seen before in public, so there’s the treat! Happy Halloween! #witches #childrensillustration #watercolour #halloween #illustrationfriday #fantasy

This was submitted to a charity exhibition for victims of the war in Iraq. #exhibition #hope #watercolour

This is one example, an exhibition piece from several years ago which I’ve always had a soft spot for. The tree was actually in my local park, I did an on-the-spot sketch and developed it into this illustration. #childrensillustration #watercolour #character #exhibition #fox

Oh well! Had things worked out differently this summer, I’d intended to print it up as postcards and send it to publishers across the continents, but family circumstances intervened. I was hardly in a seasonal celebratory mood either of course. It seems this illustration is doomed forever to be hidden to the public. Well, not if I can help it, at least I can post it here on my blog! #FrontStreet #summer #MagicBeach #watercolour #greeting #CrockettJohnson

Here’s some spreads from The Boat in the Tree. It was a great story to work on, with a gentle tone that lended itself to dream-like fantasy episodes. As the story is narrated in first person by the boy, everything had to focus on him, so I tried to make the fantasy subtle rather than dominating the spreads. The biggest challenge was to maintain the flow from the reality of the boy’s actual situation with the escapism of his imagination, without confusing the reader. #mybooks

It’s important for me as being my first picture book comissioned directly from a US publisher, as opposed to co-editions of my UK books. Order it through Amazon here #mybooks #picturebook #timwynnjones #watercolour #theboatinthetree

Here’s a couple of images from the Grimm story The Elves and the Cobbler, which recently appeared in the Japanese children’s magazine Ooki-na Pocket. The magazine is produced by one of the biggest children’s presses in Japan, Fukuinkan Shoten, with which I released two picture books in the 1990’s. The editor is a lovely guy, but seems to have pigeonholed me as solely a “traditional” illustrator of fairy tales. This is despite all my work in advertising (in a very different st

#character #childrensillustration #Janome #watercolour

I’ve not posted much in the way of artwork, so here’s something you won’t find on my website. It’s the background image for a series of stitch pattern animals I made for sewing software company Janome. The actual characters were only ever released as stitching patterns so the original artwork has never been reproduced anywhere. Admittedly very “Rackham” in flavour, one reason I’ve not put it on my website! #childrensillustration #fantasy #Janome #watercolour