“Kuscheln” – a non-fiction book on the many ways animals cuddle – is out in the world! With a cover featuring a Koala Mum and her young one and soft fur to touch, the book focuses on 9 animals shown in their natural habitat. Each is watercolored across two generous pages, followed by another spread with interesting facts about their lives and how they express love.
“In deinem Herzen wohnt das Glück” was published in 2021 by Random House /cbj, and is my first fully illustrated children’s book. It’s a very special book about our heart: It beats in our chests and makes us feel joy and sadness. Sometimes it’s calm and serene, other times it jumps with excitement. Our heart is always there like a good friend, it is where our true happiness lives. The author, Reinhard Friedl, is a heart surgeon who has operated thousands of hearts in his life. And this is a picture book that encourages young and old to follow and listen to their heart.
Below illustrations tell the tale of Ava whose brother disappeared at sea. With the help of 3 selkies and 3 magical blue shells, she releases her brother from the black kraken that has been holding him captive. The story is woven from the 2023 Folktale Week prompts and inspired by folktales from Scotland and the Orkney islands trying to explain people who had been lost at sea.
I took the “Folktale Week” instagram challenge as a chance to research ancient myths from Arctic regions and string them into a story around an Inuit girl, Seqineq, and her best friend Nanuq. The 7 prompts I followed were “Birth, Ritual, Courtship, Solstice, Death, Harvest and Dance” – big words filled with meaning, inspiring me to a create a atmospheric and magical far-away world around the two protagonists.
My focus in retelling Hans Christian Andersen’s fast-paced fairytale Thumbelina were the poetic and tender moments of the story and the atmosphere Andersen created in this turbulent fairy tale. I aimed to show unusual perspectives and deliberately used color as a medium to show the passage of time from Thumbelina’s happy surroundings from which she was kidnapped to her adventures and the dark life underneath the earth to her escape with the swallow flying South.
Book covers
Cover illustration for “Bird Girl, Wie mein Glück fliegen lernte”, the German edition of “Extraordinary Birds” by Sandy Stark-McGinnis. Published by Random House / cbj in 2021. Further examples of book covers, picture books and YR – in part commissioned
Environments and Atmosphere
I really enjoy creating atmospheric, lush watercolored landscapes, environments to lose yourself in and discover details every time you look at them. Special moments and friendships are enveloped with rich with color and mood transporting emotion to the viewer.
Characters
Creating emotionally compelling characters that help the story come to life and transport the narrative is a challenge I enjoy!
Here are some first character sketches and examples.
Manuscripts
A glimpse into stories I am developing. Tales about fears and finding the courage to face them. Funny, sad, absurd and imaginative stories that you can request to see more of by sending me a message.
