Lisa Stewart
Hello I'm Lisa and this is what you can see behind my studio door.
Both music and art are a great form of expression and emotional outlet for me. I think coming from a music background gives me a lot of discipline which is good for perseverance and also long hours working on ones own. It also makes me very self critical but I hope in a good way. Our daughter Claire, now 20, has a big influence on me and I ask her to look at my illustrations before handing in final pages as I feel she has a natural eye. It’s nice to think that what you're practising or creating towards - the performance, the final image, a book, a concert - it’s all about giving.
I really really hope I can bring some joy to others, be it in pictures or music. To bring a smile to someone during a difficult time in their life, or a restful moment, laughter or a tapping of the feet and a happy skip in ones heart. That's what it's all about.
In my work little animals are created using all sorts of materials. This very soft tissue paper was used to create a little koala.
I love paper so very much. I find snipping out pieces of paper relaxing and therapeutic!
These little pieces were snipped out to create the mother echidna's spikes in Mummy's Kisses written by Paula Clark (Scholastic Press). Glue stick works really well but I do find I end up with tiny pieces of paper stuck all over me and often wake up in the night to find little bits of washi paper stuck to the underside of my feet.
Over the last 7 years I have collected and been given such glorious papers from many countries.
In this Python close up from Can I Cuddle The Moon?, written by Kerry Brown (Scholastic Press), I used lots of tiny pieces snipped out of paper from Japan and India to create the python's skin.
I also love pencils and paint and clay and fabric and ink and... really anything that makes a mark! In the drawers in my studio, courtesy of my husband Stefan, are papers like this which I put in plastic sleeves to protect them.
I have just finished the illustrations for Sally Odgers Outback Lullaby (Scholastic Press).
Here's are some pictures showing my process one in watercolour and one in collage.
Most of all I feel extremely lucky and grateful that I get to illustrate and am being encouraged now to write stories too. I have been making them up since I was child.
I think having met people in my life like Ana Vivas, Ann James and Ann Haddon at Books Illustrated and now having Margaret Connolly as my agent - the love, the nurture and encouragement from all these amazing women fills me with wonderment, awe and a passion to create.
I began my life as a violinist. And I love playing. I play now with Acacia Quartet which you can listen to and watch online if you like. I'm extremely fortunate to been in Acacia Quartet. We are very dedicated and also passionate about supporting composers.
My Mother always said tell a story when you play the violin.
Lisa Stewart