my island home

We acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which we live – the Biripi and Worimi people.

I live on a tiny piece of the east coast of N.S.W. Australia, on an island. It’s where a mighty river splits, forming a delta that creates two entrances to the ocean. The island floats in the middle of the river and is embraced by the giant Pacific Ocean. It’s mostly flat, sometimes flooded and has one hilly area. That’s where we live, up near the top, on 10 acres.

The island has a small population of people and a large population of cows. There are a few wallabies, even more echidnas and a bunch of other native wildlife like koalas, frogs, owls, flying foxes and goannas. Our house is surrounded by forest and farmland. The structure is built from big, beautiful tallowwood poles. Its walls are made from mudbrick, stone and poured earth. The first bits of it were made by a talented local craftsman and his family and their house was on an enviromental homes tour for many years.

A decade and a bit more ago our little family bought the property and enjoyed adding our own ideas, including a few “Henry and Amy” wiggles and a bunch of squiggly “Milli” somethings. The old timber workshop was converted into a sunny studio and it’s a short walk down the hill, through an orchard, to a wonderful creative space. It’s nice to grab an orange on my way to work.

FAQs

Here is a little taste of some of the questions I am asked. Click Questioning Stephen for many more answers to many more questions.

What has been your favourite book to illustrate?

“Leaf.” Small, quiet and perfect.

What is your favourite colour?

It used to be blue, then it was all colours. Once upon a time I didn’t like red, but now I often paint a little red bird. The colours I use reflect nature: blue and green are prominent, then I splash all the other colours around in small drabs, like flowers blooming or the sun setting  . . . little sprinkles of life.

My favourite and most important colour is brown. If I don’t use shades of brown then my illustrations looks plastic. Earth colours ground my landscapes and characters, transforming them and making everything real.

What is your favourite thing to draw?

Anything, but my preference is for nature and people/animals responding or sharing their emotions with it. I love wind and billowing clouds, trees bending in the breeze, and hills that you want to climb and run down at the same time.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

Magic like the kind of magic Harry Potter has. I love learning, so finding new spells and growing my skills would appeal. I’m sure magic would include flying, teleporting and duplicating oneself  . . . it covers everything. I guess I’m greedy, I’d want more than one power.