Art Swoon Time: Beatrice Alemagna

Before I get into anything else, I'd just like to say that my inspiration has COME BACK! It's SO good to have my creative block out of the way. And always, when you think about things in hindsight, I appreciate that time for what it was. The balance. The ebb and flow. Because now that I have it back I am much more appreciative of the ideas that roll around in my head. The inspiration I get when I notice small every- day things. Especially the shapes of leaves, the contrast between different lines and shapes in objects, the play of light in a garden full of quirky shaped plants.

It's the happiness paradox in play and another lesson learned. Always perspective in hindsight!

Ahhh.

Nice to have you home, my muse :)

Now let's talk about Beatrice Alemagna.

I absolutely adore her artwork. She's a French artist and does the most amazing creative illustrations. I love the layers and the texture, the mixed media look of her works, and the detail.

I read her latest children's book The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty (affiliate link) to my girls of 5 & 7. They love the title. Miss 5 got me to help her say it. Took her quite a few go's! And although it doesn't show it here on the computer screen the main character has a fluorescent pink jacket on, which was Miss 7's favourite thing in the book. Miss 5 asked for the book to be read again straight after we'd finished it.

There is an actual "Marvelous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty" in the book; Miss 7 says she likes it because "it looks furry and rubbery at the same time." (See, that's Beatrice's textural illustration style speaking the language of art straight to my daughter.)

Miss 5 says of the fluffy squishy itty bitty: "That the creature's fluffy & it could be squashy inside it's tummy & it's furry & pink." How awesome!

It has all the makings of a book a kid loves. Colour, beautiful illustrations, an interesting story, a list of things the fluffy squishy itty bitty could be (are your kids obsessed with lists and repetitive things in books too!?) and there's even some funny little naively drawn bodies in the book which had us all laughing out loud when we noticed them.

This book's a keeper. 

Jules :)

Disclaimer: Affiliate links help me earn small commissions on products (at no extra cost to you), which helps support my love of blogging and sharing creative things. You can be confident that I only ever recommend or link to products that I'm genuinely into.