I love learning new things about my own books, and who better to provide a different perspective than the illustrator?
In this interview on the blog Let’s Talk Picture Books, Mel Schuit talks with Salini Perera about the process of illustrating our book, All the Faces of Me (Owlkids). I was particularly interested in how Salini starts with a mood board and chooses a colour palette–and how the palette for All the Faces evolved to allow for the realistic representation of the main character as a person of colour (POC).
I was also intrigued to learn that Marc Chagall was one of the inspirations for spreads in All the Faces, along with Bea Arthur and Jean Stapleton! Not having grown up around her grandmothers, to create Nana in the book Salini borrowed from childhood memories of watching television to create Nana (and in doing so came up with a character who bears an uncanny resemblance to my own Grandma).
I feel honoured that Salini poured so much of herself into this story. I can’t wait to see her next book, because I know she will bring something fresh and surprising to it as well.
You can read the interview (complete with fascinating visuals of the art in process) here.
Laura Alary 