(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!