WALL ART: Little House

THERE’S SO MUCH great new wall art out there, stand-outs are hard to come by.

But one such contender is Little House, the new graphics print project from ex-fashion graphic designer Cheryl Sykes. Cheryl used to design prints for the likes of streetwear brands Abercrombie & Fitch, Jack Wills, Bench and Hooch.

Now she is based in Billericay, Essex and is mother to two children aged four and one as well as her new graphics venture.

Aimed at children 0-12, and specifically 4-12 year olds, her quite complex, sophisticated prints (great for up close peering) are on the surface of it simple and joyful enough to appeal to even young children. Plus they are hand-screen pulled and produced in England using 100% Read the rest of this article

Posted 26 January 2011 in Art + Graphic Design

AUTHOR Q&A: Tim Hopgood

THE INTERNET IS a marvellous place sometimes. You write a little story about colour, mention a favourite author’s name, and suddenly said author has emailed you out of the blue, and you ask him to do a Q&A and he says yes, and there you are.

Or rather here you are: Children’s author / illustrator Tim Hopgood’s thoughts on colour, childhood and books especially for us.

Tim moved to North Yorkshire 10 years ago - from Kingston, Surrey in search of “more space, less people and open roads and it’s all here!” His children - aged 21 and 19 are now in London and Manchester respectively, which means “the house is a lot quieter than it ever used to be!” Tim’s new children’s title UnPOPpable is out shortly.

LittleBig: What comes first for you, line or colour? Read the rest of this article

Posted 20 January 2011 in Art + Media, Books

PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS: Karin Nussbaumer

PHOTOGRAPHER KARIN NUSSBAUMER has contributed to titles including Elle Decoration, Grazia, d-casa, Bloom, View on Color, and Marie Claire thanks to the poetric clarity of her story-telling fashion and portrait shoots. Recently moving into working with children, the 36-year-old who studied photography at the AKI art academy in the Netherlands, and now lives in Austria with her boyfriend and son, Jonah, shares a little about her life and work with LittleBig…

LB: What made you want to get into children’s photography?
KN: I experienced that working with children I had to be more flexible and less planned, a quality I liked to see back in my photography. And I like the fact that they come up with their own ideas when you tell them what the shoot is about.

LB: What or who are some of your inspirations in your work?
KN: I get lots of inspiration from drawings and paintings. I like the drawings of artist Tzenko Stoyanov a lot. And I love the paintings of Edward Hopper - especially his use of colour and the light in his works. Read the rest of this article

Posted 8 December 2010 in Art + Graphic Design

FOCUS: Anorak / Oscar Kirk Exhibition

ANORAK MAGAZINE has been a champion of sophisticated illustration for children since its launch an amazing four years ago. This month it has branched out into its first exhibition beyond the magazine page.

Anorak editor Cathy Olmedillas spotted and fell in love with a diary written by Oscar Kirk, a 14-year-old boy messenger boy who worked in the London Docklands in 1918, featured on the website of the Museum of London. (The original, full diary is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of London Docklands).

The museum has allowed her to feature extracts in Anorak and commission 11 artists from Millie Freeman (shown left) to Paul Blow and Adrian Fleet, to illustrate several diary extracts - one of which reads: “Yesterday I saw a man fall in the Dock on my 11.45 journey and I helped pull him out. When I came home from work I went to Hatfields and bought a 2d box of confection of senna for Mum. When I came back I went out and played football with Robert Fulcher and a few others. Afterwards I went round into Gough St and had a box with Jones.

I came back across the fields on my 3.15 journey. I had a pie & tart when I came home from work. Weather: No rain or snow. Very warm. Sunshine all day.” It’s a small gem.

*See the full range of beautiful illustrations here, or at the exhibition which runs until the end of November at the Museum of London Docklands. www.museumindocklands.org.uk

**www.anorak-magazine.co.uk

Posted 31 October 2010 in Art + Graphic Design

TOP FIVE: Colouring Books

THE KEY TO enjoying colouring in with your child is not just great pens (juicy, both fat and thin, and fab colours), but to love the colouring book so much you’d like to hide it under your pillow (or at least buy another copy) so you can indulge in a little late night colour therapy.

Our current favourites are here: Read the rest of this article

Posted 12 July 2010 in Books