Windows into illustration: Laura Carlin


Laura Carlin moves with ease, yet with great care between different moods, demonstrating both sensitivity and a sense of humour… the pages are paced to perfection’, said the judges of the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), when she won the Grand Prix in 2015. Here she talks about the influences on her work and the approach she took in her book The Promise.


T


his was one of the most important pages in The Promise. It’s a turning point – where the main character, a little girl who has previously got by stealing, understands the promise she has made to plant a bag of acorns. ‘I held a forest in my arms and my heart was changed.’ I think of this spread as quite a magical one. And, for this reason, it’s the one I made most versions of!


Despite the promise and the hope, we are still in the mean and hard city, so I used a dirty grey ink wash for the background, including the city pavement with its litter. I then covered the paint using different shades of coloured pencils to give a gritty atmosphere.


8 Books for Keeps No.222 January 2017


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