Featured customer- Anna Walker

Every now and again we come across a customer who opens our eyes to a wonderful talent, too special not to be acknowledged and shared with you all. Well this new feature is intended to do just that! A perfect reason to show off the talents of our customers while getting them to tell us a little about their work.

Today we have Melbourne based illustrator Anna Walker inviting us into her enchanted world of fairy tales and delightful creatures. I’m such a fan of her magical woodland trees, how I wish they were real! How very fitting that she purchased our Pixie’s fairy tale dress which inspired one of her latest paintings.

Illustration of Anna Walker wearing her Pixie's Fairy Tale dress

Hello there Anna, can you tell us a little about what you do?

A little about me . . .I paint pictures for children’s books, write stories, tap dance and knit small woolly animals.

What inspired you to become an illustrator?

I have always loved picture books and the enchanted world of fairies, trolls and dancing squirrels. I remember when I was a child sitting on a bed looking at a fairy tale thinking, this is what I am going to do when I grow up. My mum was a librarian and my dad a goldsmith, so my love of books and detail was encouraged from an early age.

What or where is your ideal creative space?

My studio is my favourite place to draw. When I am in my studio I feel like a bowerbird surrounded by my collection of special things. I have tiny wooden animals, knitted flowers, Japanese postcards and lots of other bits and pieces on my desk.

Do you have a favourite piece in your portfolio? And if so please tell us why it is so special to you?

The paintings I have created for my children’s books are the pieces that I hold closest to my heart. One of my favourite pieces is a painting I created for ‘The Miggy Tree’ by Karl Yeomans, which was a very special book. There is something about the flight of a bird, which is uplifting, and the story this image belongs to while being sad is also very inspiring.

Do your children or pets inspire or pop up in your paintings at all?

This question made me smile, as this morning I found a budgie feather in my paint palette from Madame Fifi! But apart from feathery paint being used in my paintings, my children, our bouncy black dog ‘Sunshine’ and three chickens have all featured in my paintings. Even our naughty ‘Flopsy’ rabbit made it into the Woodland tree painting inspired by the delightful Pixie Fairy tale dress.

Can you tell us a little about your thought process and how a painting is developed?

For me creating a painting a little like sewing. I collect bits of images, ribbons of thoughts, scraps of things people have said and bring them together in an idea for a painting. I start with drawing a rough on a piece of paper in pencil. When I am happy with the image I enlarge the drawing to, sometimes tweaking parts of the drawing to capture the essence of the original idea. I then translate the drawing into ink or paint.

Growing up which kind of stories did you enjoy the most?

Books with ducks in bonnets, children exploring woods and talking frogs all captured my imagination. I loved stories such as ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ by Margery Williams. Books were a way of stepping into another world that I still love to visit.

What materials do you enjoy working with the most? Is there anything you would love to try?

I enjoy playing with ink and collage at the moment, but I have always loved printmaking. I am saving up for a set of Japanese carving tools to experiment with woodblock printing and hopefully one day I will be able to use this lovely technique in a book.

Can you tell us about any new exciting characters or projects you are working on at the moment?

I am working on a book about one of my pets and she travels on an exciting adventure! The story has been established, and I am developing drawings for the character, learning how she will move, studying her expression and personality.

Do you have any advice for any aspiring illustrators reading?

It is a wonderful time to be a new illustrator because craft and hand made things are so popular.

Visit exhibitions, exhibit your work, share a studio, travel, keep your eyes open to new ideas, work hard, be kind to yourself, be brave and have fun!