The Society of Children's Books & Illustration lovers Volume 4 Nov 2013 | Page 4

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The Society of Children’s Books & Illustration Lovers – Newsletter #4 – November 2013

Author of the month

Helen Stephens
As I said, Helen Stephens is one of my favourite authors/illustrators
nominated for this year’s Stockport School’s Books Awards. Below is just
an extract from an interview she gave this summer to the on-line
magazine Words & Pictures. It is a very interesting insight into her work.
You can read the rest of the interview here:
http://www.wordsandpics.org/2013/06/interview-helen-stephens.html

Helen Stephens has worked as an author and illustrator for about
15 years and lectures at the MA course in Children's Illustration at
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. She has written and
illustrated many books, including Fleabag, The Night Iceberg, The
Big Adventure of the Smallsand How to Hide a Lion. She has also
illustrated books for Roger McGough, Sophie Hannah and Michael
Morpurgo. JoJo and the Melon Donkey (written by Michael
Morpurgo) will be published this August.
Sketching
My best drawing happens when I am uncomfortable

Your picture books always start with a drawing from life. Could
you talk a little about your sketching processes? For example, are
your characters and settings always (at least initially) drawn from
real life? How do you translate your sketches into your final
picture-book spreads? What sketching kit do you take with you
when you go sketching on location and how do you deal with
unwelcome attention?
Drawing from life is an integral part of my work; it’s where all of
my ideas start.
I usually take a sketchbook, a small one if I want to draw
unobserved, or a big one if I know I'll have room to spread out and

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