Author-Illustrator Julie Morstad
Happy Monday! Julie Morstad dropped by to celebrate National Poetry Month. We chatted about When Green Becomes Tomatoes, seasons, picture books, and reading. I wrote the words in green, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Julie!
When Green Becomes Tomatoes is the first picture book
I have made with Julie Fogliano. I love her voice. When I first read the words,
they reminded me a little bit of Ruth Krauss. There's something childlike there
- one of my all-time faves! I hope we get to make another book together
someday.
I created the illustrations for When
Green Becomes Tomatoes mostly in gouache, using lots of layering of colours, and trying to introduce texture as much as
possible. I used tools I hadn't used before in the paintings, scraping away
with a palette knife, and adding fine details with brushes and pencil crayons
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Illustration Credit: Julie Morstad |
My favorite season is summer. Hands down.
While snow is beautiful, I hate to be cold!
If you visited my studio you would see many
piles of books on different subjects, little things that inspire me and art
supplies meticulously arranged by colour or in total chaos.
You might also see my
daughter splayed out on the floor drawing (she steals all my best
pencils!)
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Illustration Credit: Julie Morstad |
Picture books are a dream for me to be
illustrating as a job. Seriously! My dream job. I feel so lucky.
Reading is... Hmmm ...maybe I will
say that books are like food to me. I'd starve without them.
I adore this book, and love your illustrations, Julie! One of my favorite things is all of the different shades of green in the book (and in nature). Thanks!!
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