CRAIG IVOR

(Craig Ivor)

Craig Ivor has produced some memorable illustrations for Marguerite Poland’s new book Taken Captive by Birds.

In an interview with the artist, he stated the following:

“When I moved to Cape Town from Johannesburg in November 2010 I chose to focus on my passion of art and nature.

I created a calendar showcasing six graphite drawings of birds. The calendar was endorsed by BirdLife South Africa and the original drawings were exhibited at the Botanical gardens in Kirstenbosch, the Cape Gallery and Haas in Bokaap.

The original drawings were seen at Haas by Les Aupiais the editor of the Private Edition magazine. Suzannah Garland the creative director of the magazine knew that author Marguerite Poland had written her memoir entitled Taken Captive by Birds. Before long a collaboration was formed through Penguin Books South Africa.

Meeting Marguerite Poland and working with her has been an incredible experience that I will always cherish. Marguerite gave me a list of the birds featured in her memoir and I immediately started researching reference material.

Once we had decided on the photos I would use as inspiration, the illustrations began. I always start with the eyes first so that the drawing can "come alive" before I complete the work.

Working in graphite allows me to transform a subject often seen in colour into a drawing made up of multiple shades of grey with the end result similar to that of a black and white photograph. Sharpening pencils to get that very fine point to create the feathers is what drives me to create the art I love.”

Taken Captive by Birds is published by Penguin Books. Watch this space for the review!