My selected artwork top left. Photos by Nicky Johnston and Tania McCartney.
52 shortlists were made up of selected works from each week’s theme with the final artworks revealed on opening night on Monday.
The first week in the Challenge was ‘Eggs’ and that week I just happened to have bought myself some Copic Markers to experiment with and fell in love with the idea of a little family of speckled eggs tucked away in a cosy nest.
Those speckled eggs from a year ago turned out to be a finalist in the 52-Week Illustration Exhibition at Arts Brookfield in Perth last week.
Back then the Challenge had just started and no one knew what spectacular opportunities it would create for so many artists.
Tania McCartney, children’s author and illustrator, and founder of the 52-week Illustration Challenge was surprised when the challenge she had started to fire up her own creativity took off like a rocket, with members now exceeding 3000!
Tania recently handed the reins over to children’s author/ illustrator Nicky Johnston who is supported by a group of admin made up of Challenge members.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tania and Nicky at the Sydney SCBWI Conference last year, these ladies are not only hardworking and talented but also very supportive of other authors and illustrators. The Challenge attracted many opportunities for members, Jess Racklyeft was chosen by a publisher to illustrate Tania McCartney’s upcoming picture book, and I had my book mark selected to feature as part of International Book Giving Day.
The exhibition is on until the 20th of March at Arts Brookfield in Perth.For more information on the opening night: Opening Night Wrap-Up
Admire the 52 artworks on display: Exhibition Finalists
