Connection, Creativity and Covid
Illustrations for 'Loving Kindness', written by New York Times best-selling author Deborah Underwood.
Deborah's words are lyrical and poignant; they celebrate connection and life. So in spring of 2020, when I found myself shut off from the outside world with limited access to friends and family, I was thankful to have such a life affirming illustration project to keep me busy.
Back in 2019 I received Deborah's original manuscript from my editor at Godwin Books, as a possible picture book project, and on first reading a line jumped out at me and hooked me in:
'You make mistakes, and it's okay to make mistakes, because that's how you learn.'
That's such a fundamental truth about life and applies to all of us at any age, but we don't often see it written down. I knew once I'd read that line that this was a picture book I wanted to be a part of.
What I didn't know was that I would be unwell for much of 2020. Recovering from Covid-19 and then suffering from long-Covid meant that most days I was unable to do more than a couple of hours of work, and some days none at all. This went on for months. It was a frustrating and worrying time for me. But Deborah's words were the perfect antidote to the situation I found myself in. Her words inspired me to create a series of illustrations that were full of life and positivity... both of which were in short supply!
As I’ve mentioned many times before, while I’m working I can quite happily listen to the same track on repeat (or the same couple of tracks). I wear headphones so as not to send anyone else in the house stir-crazy. I find the repetitiveness becomes a background rhythm that then sets a pace for me to work, too. On other days silence is all that’s needed. Throughout the making of this book I listened to two tracks repeatedly, 'Solisbury Hill’ by Peter Gabriel and ‘My Little Town’ by Simon and Garfunkel.
'Solisbury Hill’ has a marching rhythm and an airiness about it. You can almost feel the wind on your face as you climb that hill. Playing this track made me feel as if I was outdoors, striding along, full of energy as if I could take on the world. And yet, there were times I found it hard to even sit at my desk!
I played it so many times that I decided to find out more about the song. It was written by Gabriel at the time he was considering leaving Genesis and was thinking about how life would be as a solo-artist. He was preparing to go it alone. I connected with the song even more after learning that. Working as an illustrator can be a lonely business, especially if you’re not in a shared studio. I like my own space, but there are times when the isolation can be counter-productive.
‘My Little Town’ is the perfect pick-me-up! The sound is exhilarating and again the rhythm provides a strong sense of moving forward.
The lyrics are poetic. It’s another reflective song, looking back at an earlier time, and there’s a sense of innocence about it. It’s about leaving home and going out and making a new life for yourself. I hadn’t realised until writing this how similar both songs are. Both songs have a breeziness about them that lifted my spirits whenever I felt like I was flagging.
If I had to pick a favourite spread from ‘Loving Kindness’ it would be the one of the girl running in the sunshine. Again, until now I hadn’t quite appreciated what it was that I liked about it so much. But now I see it, it has that energy and breeziness that I took from listening to those two songs. It’s full of life and full of positivity. And again, it’s about moving forward and discovering the world for yourself. And once it was finished I used it to set the pace for the rest of the book.
Now ‘Loving Kindness’ is bound and printed and as I flick through the pages the vibrancy of the artwork shines out at me. It's a book that celebrates compassion, hope and positivity. Right now I think these are things we could all do with a little more in our lives.
'Loving Kindness' by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Tim Hopgood.
Published by Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Co, New York.
Available now in the US and in the UK for 2022.