I now have a website, so you can view all my old blog posts and new art work at: www.jessicamcgarvey.com .

This year we spent Christmas back in Hokitika with extended family - so thanks to my sister-in-law Simone for all the photos.

When we arrived on Christmas Eve at lunch time, we could see that the house had been well decorated and the living room was full of lights. However, as it was the middle of the day, none of them were actually turned on. And because Christmas is in summer here in New Zealand, it didn't get dark until about 9pm - but it was certainly worth the wait!

My eldest niece, Amelia, is obsessed with dragons and one of her gifts was a beautiful sparkly dragon mask and tail. It was a very popular present.

Here we are reading 'A Lion in the Meadow' by Margaret Mahy - a book that she loves because it has a DRAGON!

This photo was taken on one of the milder days on a walk along the beach. I don't know what my brother and I were discussing, but it looks engrossing.

The West Coast is notorious for wild, rainy weather. Fortunately, the days we spent in Hokitika were warm and sunny - except for the day we left.

I woke to grey skies and light drizzle, which didn't seem terribly dreadful.

However, the rain keep increasing in volume until, when we were ready to leave in the early afternoon, it was pelting down. In fact, the rain was so torrential that just seeing out of the windscreen was a mission.

I have to admit - even though I have spent the majority of my life on the Coast, I still hate the rain and was relieved to find the sun again in Christchurch.

Last month I made the most of a beautiful late spring morning and drove out to the Ashley River with the family dog Emily. It hadn't rained for a while, so some of the side streams had dried up, leaving dusty tracks between the overgrown banks. This tiny flower caught my attention because of its dramatic colour difference to the surrounding area.

Not all of the tributaries had completely dried up - but I avoided walking through those ones because of their pungent mud-mixed-with-warming-water smell. It looks much nicer in a photo.

At the edge of the main river, there were thousands of tiny fish - cockabullies. This monster (all of 3 inches long) was the biggest one I discovered, having over-turned a large silt covered rock to expose his home. 

I've been toying with the idea of writing a new story set on a riverbank and somehow incorporating all different types of  NZ wildlife. So far though, it remains only a minuscule  idea tucked away in the far reaches of my mind. 

And lastly, here is our dog Emily. In our previous home on the West Coast we lived close to the Hokitika River, so she was often taken for walks along river side tracks. Now that we are in the city, she doesn't have as much opportunity to run and explore like she used to.  

So Emily was thrilled to be back near the water again!

Over the last few months, I've been painting on canvas for the first time. As I haven't worked with this medium before, I'm just using cheap canvases and test pot paints until I figure out what I'm doing. Then I will move on to stronger canvases that don't warp and become impossible to hang on a wall. Anyway, here are my first two efforts.

I've had a review of my book 'All by Myself' posted on Bob's Books website.

Bob Docherty reviews children's and young adults books, with a particular interest in NZ books. During his 20 year career with the National Library he selected fiction and picture books for the Schools Collection from 1993 - 2003 and from 2005 - 2008 he was Judge and Convenor of Judges for the LIANA Book Awards.

Check out Bob's awesome website here.

Now that my second book has been published, I've been looking for some different artistic outlets to give my brain a new challenge.

My bedroom was redecorated earlier this year and in late summer I became bored with staring at a blank white wall. I had planned to buy a large bright artwork to break things up and provide something more interesting to look at.

Then I thought, why don't I just give it a go myself?

I've always been impressed by trompe l'oeil paintings - images that literally 'trick the eye' - but never contemplated attempting one myself.

However, that blank wall in my room was a tempting canvas.

My niece decided to add her own details to the painting. 

Fortunately, there wasn't any paint on the brush.

The view from my bedroom is now much improved and makes me feel as if it's summer all the time.

The first box of copies of 'All by Myself' arrived late last month and I'm expecting the next lot of books to arrive any day now. I'm working out my plans for marketing and selling and have had positive responses from various online bookstores keen to carry 'All by Myself' on their list.

Here's a screen shot from Real NZ Books. Their first page on the bookshop contains both my titles!

The official date for when 'All by Myself' will be available is Monday 1 February, to coincide with the beginning of Term One of the school year.

I'm now in the final stretch before printing my next book. As displayed in the following photo, I've decided to entitle the book 'All by Myself'. 

These are early proof versions and the design has changed a bit since then, but it gives a rough idea of the end product. I'm hoping to have the book printed before the end of this year, and then be ready for marketing and selling in late January 2016.

With my books so far, each one has taken years to complete mainly because I take so long on the illustrations. I don't seem to be able to draw from memory or imagination plus my realistic style of drawing means that I often rework parts of a piece numerous times before I'm happy with it.

I'll be thrilled when I've seen this project through to completion and can hold the finished book in my hands.

Then someone asks what my next book is going to be ... and I just stare at them with a vacant glazed expression silently thinking, 'No, no no more books.'

Until I have another new idea.

This book by BJ Novak is brilliant! Go to your nearest bookstore or library and get a copy.

Below is a short video of the author reading to a group of attentive school kids (but the video stops before he finishes the story, so you'll have to get it yourself to see how it ends.)

Books became an addiction very early on in life. I'm trying to read to my younger brother, but he seems a little distracted. 

Later though, he caught the reading bug too. Jono and I listen intently to Grandma as she reads us our story. I wish we still had that book - the illustrations were awesome.

Then this little one came along, my niece Amelia, and quickly discovered that books could be used for something other than chewing. 

I'm just making sure that her interest levels in books remains high. She seems to tolerate me quite well.

And addition number two, Beatrice, is now in training too. I see that Jono and his girls are enjoying the work of one of NZ's finest author/illustrators - Lynley Dodd. Now I just need to ensure that they are as familiar with my books!

At this point in the creation process for my second book, it's time to make some decisions about cover designs. As I'm self-publishing again, I make the final decision on the image that will appear on the front. That can be both a good and bad thing - good because I can create the design I want and bad because if it doesn't work, then it's my fault!

I don't have a background in graphic design, so I'll be relying on help from the printing company to give advice and add finishing touches. The previous book 'Custard and Carriages' that The Copy Press produced for me was brilliant, so I'm sure that they will make a great job of this project too.

This is the latest version - any ideas or comments?

 

While I was looking at images to use for the cover, I came across an old photo from Grandma's and Grandad's farm. I'm in the middle sitting on the hay bales and my young brother Jonathan is in Grandma's arms. It must have been summer, probably quite close to Christmas. 

The next photo down was taken 24 years later, also in summer, at my grandparents house. They no longer own the farm - that was sold a long time ago - but they still live in Hawkes Bay, NZ and I love visiting that area of the country.

They can't wait until the book comes out!

In between illustrations for my second picture book, I've created some one-off drawings to illustrate several poems. They are not my own poems, just ones that I found in books and enjoyed reading. The idea was to practice illustrating texts that I haven't written and try to bring my own style to the words.

Finally, I'm almost finished putting my second book together. The manuscript has been changed at least twelve times, going from a picture book, to a wordless book, and then back to a picture/word combination.

 This is one of the earlier versions - without words and over forty drawings.

Although I love wordless picture books and admire how talented artists can tell the story through the medium of illustrations alone, I eventually decided that method was not going to work for my book.

Throughout the process, I found that dummy books were a valuable way of figuring out what works and what doesn't. When the images were combined with the words on pages that turn, it was much easier to see how the finished book will look, instead of relying on the computer.

After returning to the original concept, I settled on the final text and have now completed all of the twenty-two illustrations. The next stage is to send the manuscript and drawings off to the printers - very exciting!

Summer holidays with family are awesome!!

(Thanks Tessa, Olivia and Aunty Lynn for the photos.)

Last week I finally began work on some of the final images for my second picture book. As this time I'm planning a wordless picture book, there will be more than three times the amount of images in the finished book than there was in 'Custard and Carriages'. That's a lot of extra work!

Before leaving on holiday, I received my latest dummy book back from the assessor with her report on my changes to the storyboard. Her response was very encouraging and I think the story is coming together at last. The ending always seems to be the hardest part for me to structure, but I hope I've got it sorted now. Soon it will be time to start approaching publishers!

Also, since arriving home, I've been reading this book 'Show Me A Story: Why Picture Books Matter'. The book consists of twenty-one interviews with some of the leading illustrators of children's books. Compiled by Leonard S. Marcus, the selection of interviews are full of insights into the illustrators themselves and into their techniques and inspirations. 

Since the publication of this book Maurice Sendak has passed away, which makes reading his contribution even more absorbing. Finding out how some of his ideas were first conceived and why he wrote the type of stories he did was illuminating. 

Although I've never been a great fan of his style of illustration, Sendak's contribution to the field of children's literature was immense.

There are only three interviews that I haven't yet read and I can't wait to finish this wonderful book.

The first post for 2013!

While away on our week-long family holiday last month, we were able to drive out to my grandparents old farm in Hastings. They sold the farm 20 years ago and I hadn't been out there since I was about 6.

The picture book that I'm currently working on is set at this farm, so I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to get some photos to use as references for my drawings.

There had been some changes to the farm - hedges extended, swimming pool gone, house repainted - but there was still much that remained from when my grandparents owned the property.

Although we didn't actually go onto the section or into the house, the current owner met us as he was turning up the driveway and stopped to chat for a while.

He mentioned that the ancient blue tractor (which will appear in my illustrations) is still parked in the hay shed. That old machine was very exciting to play on!

Armed with a camera, I walked up and down the road, stopping to admire the view and take photos - I took over 40 pictures in the short time that I was there. The storyline for my second picture book is close to being finalised now, but the photographs will be a huge help as I draw the illustrations that will appear in the book.

       View of the farm house from the road.

The field directly next to the farm.

The driveway - by the yellow letter-box.

Standing outside this same driveway more than 20yrs earlier. I'm wearing the red hat.