DIVE INTO A STORY ABOUT THINGS WE OVERLOOK
An Interview with Tim Bird
Sue Bird was always painting : botanical art , landscapes , still lifes , and especially the sea . She took classes , kept countless sketchbooks , and filled the house with art . From their neighborhood to their family trips , all the moments of her life were memorialized in her artwork . Throughout her life , she never sold a piece -- she gave art to family and friends , and shared her work online , but never received wider recognition for her work .
This graphic novel by her son , Tim Bird , explores their family life and her creative explorations through a mix of her paintings and Tim ’ s comics , depicting their relationship and her life from teenagehood to her struggle with cancer at the height of the covid pandemic . After her death , this graphic novel at last showcases her work . Read on to hear creator Tim Bird discuss his work on ADRIFT ON A PAINTED SEA .
For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from this book ? TIM : I wanted to use some of my mum ’ s paintings of the sea , alongside my comics , to help tell her story – from how she wanted to be a marine biologist as a child , to family day trips to the Yorkshire coast .
How did this project come about ? My mum had been painting throughout her life , but had never been interested in selling or exhibiting her work . For her , the process of creating the work was what mattered , so the paintings were only really seen by her close family and friends . After she died , I wanted to create a way of showing her art to a wider audience . I thought about setting up an exhibition , but felt that it might not reach many people , and wouldn ’ t be a permanent record of her work . I also wanted to provide context for the paintings by telling the stories of why the places she depicted were important to her . I started planning a series of zines – each one would unfold to show one of her paintings on one side and have a comic about her connection to the place on the other . Eventually I realised there was too much material I wanted to include , so developed the idea into a graphic novel .
What kind of obstacles did you face while putting this title together ? I ’ ve been working on the graphic novel in my spare time over the course of a year , and during that time I ’ ve also been studying an MA in illustration . As my studies have progressed , my drawing style has changed , so it ’ s been difficult , and sometimes frustrating , to stick with the drawing style I was used to when I began the book . I did consider re-drawing the whole thing , but I worry that I ’ d never be satisfied , and the book would never get finished . diamondbookshelf . org 35