Drove to Tessa's house on Sunday and showed her the artwork almost straight away to get the moment over. She was either a) very diplomatic, hated it but thought, oh no, I have to spend a few days with Jackie and if I tell her what I really think things will be a bit frosty, or b) really liked the way things are going and is coming up with wonderful creative ways to strengthen the book and get it out into the shops.
It looked good in her kitchen. Always strange seeing the art out of the studio for the first time.
So the next thing was to take it in to the office and get it scanned while I met up with another publisher and went through the text of The Ice Bear with them.
Only when we were driving down Lyncomb Hill did we realize that we had both left the artwork in the kitchen, though I blamed Tessa. I had delivered it to her door, so now it was her responsibility!
Anyway, next day we both remembered and Barefoot rolled out the red carpet for me, at least the red one with swirling patterns.
In the office Vic scanned the art and did printouts for me so that I can keep the continuity of characters right. Already some spreads are going to be shown around to people in the book trade.
Nancy was over from the USA and after Christmas shopping for a while in Bath I came back to interrupt a meeting and head off back for home having been looked after wonderful well by Tessa.
So, tomorrow, back to the drawing board and with a fair wind I hope to finish the art by mid to end of Jan and then learn a great deal about what happens next. Usually I would just hand over art and wait for the finished book, but for the purpose of this blog I want to follow the production side of things, design, printing, not so much marketing as I don't want to give away Barefoot secrets to other publishers.
And the good news for me seems to be that Starlight is on track, Classic Poems is selling very well, and I signed books at both Mr B's and Waterstones in Bath, and with the other publisher, Frances Lincoln, sales of The Snow Leopard are building nicely. It was good to see The Snow Leopard in bookshops in Bath, and Waterstones were very apologetic about only having four copies of Classic Poems for me to sign. Seems they had sold the others.
And I have had enough of shops now and want only peace to paint.
4 comments:
Congratulations Jac! Wondered where you were! (It's funny how you start to 'miss' your virtual friends when they don't post for a while!) I'm so pleased things have worked out OK with starlight... ooh, it looks so swanky and posh at the Brearfoot Office, how exciting to be there - and shopping in Bath!! Wow! A dim and distant memory for me, and now, I live nowhere near any decent shops! (very good for my bank balance!)
Your work is truely amazing in this book, it blows me away.
Thanks lovely!
Barefoot's offices are much nicer and brighter than most publishers offices, full of colour and also very beautiful people working there, like angels all of them, including the men!
Shopping in Bath was ok, though I bought too many things for me, including The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin,to read; Urusen, One Day in June, to listen too and some stamps in a tin box, of birds from Paperchase to play with.
I was Christmas shopping so, shush, can't tell what was in the other bags.
And Barefoot gave me a copy of Arthur of Albion which is gloriously illustrated by Pavel Tatarnikov, a most beautifully produced book also with a cloth spine and map and magic. Lovely.
Tired now and house is happy with animals but so full of filth and it seems that it has rained none stop since I went away and the path is a stream.
I saw a real angel in the park in Bath. You can see it here: http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/now.htm
Looks like you had a fun time in Bath! I LOVE visiting the publisher's design studio, it reminds me it is actually real! I like looking around at everything and spotting things that I recognise.
It's funny you liken the people who work there to angels, I think of book people as 'Book Fairies' :) (cos books are actually made by magic afterall)...
hmm, I like being a book fairy.
Anyway, hope you're well! Like your latest sketches up the top there. I just moved house and am about to sit down to do my first drawing in it...
I am looking at the pic of Vic getting ready to scan those pics and feeling very envious. Tho' I am not particularly angelic looking...sigh! Still, what a great job to see all the illustrators artwork... and scan it in too... I'm not surprised she's got a smile on her face. I would have too!
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