One of the joys of writing for children is sending my work to painters and asking them if they want to illustrate the books. To ask another mind to read the story and do their thing, with no preconditions or preconceptions – and see what they create. It isn’t just another layer or some pretty colours, it is a whole different concept of the story.
Nothing can beat seeing their first drawings or finished first painting, to see their art bring to life a part or whole of a story. It isn’t just about doing things I cannot do because in my head I do have images, it is about seeing their imaginings of the text. I have a vision of how it must have been when the great artworks of the world were created and architects worked with painters and sculptors, and realise why artists who demand something exactly of others and try to control what they create, cause so much friction.
Just as society has been created with one idea here and one idea there and modifications to laws down the ages with no direct plan from the centre, so when artists work together to allow each their own freedom and creative space, to trust their creative force, truly makes something that speaks in many different voices.