Pieter Gaudesaboos (2) 19:49

Today we continue our presentation of the wonderful illustration work of Belgian artist Pieter Gaudesaboos. In “Pistache” (again awarded with a boekenpluim) and “Sprookje voor een prins…” (Fairytale for a prince…) he further explores his more illustrative approach.

Gaudesaboos often works together with other people, usually a writer and sometimes even musicians, but for “Linus” he embarks on a very special collaboration which results in perhaps one of his best books. Writer Mieke Versyp is a dramatist at “De Kopergietery” a theatre company for children and Sabien Clement is also an illustrator of children’s books. One with a style who is miles apart from Gaudesaboos. But the results are beautiful. “Linus” wins a boekenpluim, a boekenwelp and the prestigious Gouden Uil

The most recent books of Gaudesaboos seem to be more lighthearted as his previous work. They are printed on cardboard and have rounded corners, clearly aimed at young children. But the illustrations remain intricately detailed and pleasantly retro.

 

 

 

If you can’t get enough of this, you should visit Pieter Gaudesaboos's site where you can leaf through all of his books and find even more artwork and illustrations. The links-section there contains all the publishers he has worked with.

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Technorati Tags: Pieter Gaudesaboos,children's books,illustrations

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Pieter Gaudesaboos (1) 21:28

 

 

We have some very interesting children’s books illustrators in Belgium. Today I want to show you the work of a young but prolific author with a name unpronounceable in English. (Pieter is easy enough, sounds just like Peter, but that “G” at the beginning of his surname, you just don’t have that sound in the English language, as far as I know… And since I don’t know how to write that weird phonetic-writing-stuff… Tell you what: try this… “COW-the-SUB-BOWS”. Mmmmm….not quite. But close enough.) 

Mr. Cowthesubbows not only illustrates, he often writes his own books and even designs them himself. When you see his books you understand why that is necessary, since not only his illustrations (or photography) but also the typography and overall design are an integral part of the storytelling. His debut book “Roodlapje” (2003) is a good example of this. It immediately won him the Boekenpluim-award.

(The title '”Roodlapje” comes from “Roodkapje” which is what we call Little Red Riding Hood. It could be translated as “Little Red Riding Cloth”, but that would make no sense, so never mind…)

“Roodlapje” is a tough read. It does not really tell the story of little red riding hood, at least not in a conventional way. Gaudesaboos’s next book “Negen schijfjes banaan op zoek naar een plekje om te slapen” (Nine parts of banana looking for a place to sleep) is much simpler, based on the traditional countdown structure where each time one banana part stays behind…

After two more books which rely heavily on photography (“Hoe oma plots verdween” (How grandma all of a sudden disappeared) and “123 Piano” (See? You’re getting the hang of it…Dutch isn’t all that hard…), Pieter Gaudesaboos begins to use a more illustrative style. The first result of this is a big book called “De stad” (The city), published in 2006 and awarded with a Boekenpluim.

And eventually, these two approaches merge together in the lovely retro-tinged “Briek” (2008) where Gaudesaboos teams up with journalist Annick Lesage and musician Lieven Gouwy.

 

 

Tomorrow I have even more work from Pieter Gaudesaboos for you, such as the result of a strange collaboration between a writer and two illustrators who seem to be miles apart…

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Technorati Tags: Pieter Gaudesaboos,illustration,children's books

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An Eye for Annai 00:00

A cartoon.

Yes.

I’m in the mood for a nice, little cartoon.

Something cute.

Like this:

 

Made by Jon Klassen and Dan Rodrigues in their third year at Sheridan College’s animation program. Hand drawn and animated, digitally colored, recorder played by Klassen himself, jazz by Louis Armstrong.

More Jon Klassen? Here.

Technorati Tags: Jon Klassen,Dan Rodrigues,An Eye for Annai,animation,Louis Armstrong

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Showcase: Cosas Visuales 15:01

I’ve added a new link to the graphic design section of my blogroll. I’m not sure where I saw it first, but ever since I discovered "Cosas Visuales" it has been a constant source of fine design, ranging from graphics and typography to packaging, web design and advertising. The site is from Spain (I seem to be in a Hispanophilic mood these days) but is bilingual Spanish/English. The author, Fernando Suárez Carballo is a graphic designer and a professor at the university of Salamanca.

As far as I can tell, the site exists from November 2008 but has a rather impressive archive of entries already. Most of them point to yet other design sites, so you can spend an endless amount of time pretending to be working, if you are so inclined. Have fun.

 

Technorati Tags: blog,graphic design,Cosas Visuales

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