Emma Stevenson Illustration

WORK IN PROGRESS.

2012-01-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the poor quality of the photographs of my paintings, but this is an early stage of the painting process.

WORK IN PROGRESS-MR BOOTS

2011-10-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

NEW REVIEW

2011-08-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a review for Mysterious Bones: The Story of the Kennewick Man, which will appear in the September edition of The Bulletin. Click on text to enlarge.

WATERCOLOUR SKETCH OF A SHELL

2011-08-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

HOLIDAY PHOTOS: TRIP TO THE SEAL SANCTUARY IN GWEEK

2011-07-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall a few weeks ago I visited the Seal Sanctuary. Here a few of my snaps.

EGGS IS NOW AVAILABLE IN SOUTH KOREA

2011-06-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

The first book I illustrated; EGGS written by the brilliant Marilyn Singer, has been published in Korean. It is rather different to the Holiday House original but I am very pleased with the finished results. Thank you to the publishers.

BIG RED BOOK COVER

2011-06-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

Now available with my book cover.

STAR REVIEW FOR MYSTERIOUS BONES IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL USA

2011-06-20T03:16:00.000-07:00

click on text to enlarge print

MODIFIED CAMOUFLAGE DRAWINGS

2011-06-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

WATER COLOUR STUDY

2011-03-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

A small water colour study of two flowers, painted from life.

A SHORT STORY ABOUT DONKEYS WRITTEN BY ME

2011-03-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

TALES FROM THE DONKEY SANCTUARY

THE CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS CONCERT

WRITTEN BY EMMA STEVENSON

High up on the rolling green hills overlooking a small sleepy seaside town, there is a very special place.

It is the Donkey Sanctuary, home to a thousand donkeys, of different colours and sizes. The Sanctuary is a place where all donkeys can go, to be cared for and looked after for the rest of their lives.

Some donkeys are old and retire there.

Some donkeys move there when their loving owners can no longer look after them.

And some donkeys have been cruelly treated and neglected and have been rescued by the Sanctuary.

At the Donkey Sanctuary NO donkey is turned away.
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Oh my, on any day, with a thousand donkeys, all with different personalities and needs to cater for, the Sanctuary is a very busy place indeed!

But today is going to be the busiest day of the whole year.

Why?

Because; as any donkey can tell you; today is the day of the Christmas Candlelight Candle Service. The donkeys invite humans to come from far and wide to join them in celebrating the Seasons festivities.

Donkeys are very sociable creatures and enjoy the company of humans. Even the donkeys who had been previously mistreated now appreciate humans after all the love and care they have received from their new staff.

The manager of the Sanctuary is a lovely lady named Susan, (although really the donkeys are in charge, they just let her believe she is the boss).
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Susan looked down at her clipboard; mince pies, mulled wine, candles, costumes, brass band, carol song sheets........She muttered to herself 'so much to do, I hope the weather will remain dry'

But before Susan and the donkeys' staff can prepare for the evenings celebrations, they need to deal with the daily runnings of the Sanctuary first.

Donkeys like routine, in fact they INSIST on it!

Donkeys are naturally early risers and they expect their staff to get up early too.

Even before their staff has arrived the donkeys will be already queuing in the main yard, eagerly awaiting their breakfasts.

Dillon always grumbles to himself 'Why can't breakfast be ready for me as soon as I get up?' and most of the donkeys agree with him.

Joey says 'It is almost important to train humans properly. but most usually try their best'

Megan butted in 'but we are lucky here, we can trust and depend on the humans here' all of the donkeys nodded in agreement with her.

Breakfast is always at 8:00 am. Buckets of food are distributed to their eager recipients. Meanwhile the blind donkeys, Dinky, Tom and Lola are led to their buckets by their friends (friendships are always close between donkeys) and they are all fed together.

It is very important to mention, if a donkey is not eating as normal, there is usually something wrong. Donkeys LOVE their food, so if they aren't eating with their usual delight, this indicates a problem. Luckily at the Sanctuary, a vet visits every single day,come rain, shine or even heavy snow. Donkeys don't mind vets but they do HATE dentists. Fortunately they only have a check up once a year. Donkeys think there is something undignified about having a human looking in their mouth!

As always the first group of donkeys to be seen are the 'oldies'. That's what the cheeky younger donkeys call them, they think it's funny. The 'oldies' are aged between 30 and 50 and are now living out their retirement. Many can tell you a sad story, such as Joey, who was chased by some children and had stones thrown at him. But now they are happy, being kept warm and fed during the winter, and grazing and sunbathing away their days during the summer.

By 12:00, everything should be done. Susan walks around the Sanctuary checking to see the donkey's water troughs are clean and full, and that their yards are tidy. Donkeys need a constant supply of fresh, clean water, they don't like dirty water and they will refuse to drink it!

Susan turned around, Charlie and Oscar poked their heads over the door of their stable, 'Phew, this morning went smoothly didn't it? said Susan, Charlie and Oscar nodded.

Susan continued 'We will have to get a move on, so much to do before your guests start to arrive at 5.00! And we need to get you two into your costumes'

'Hee-haw, hee-haw' replied the two donkeys as Susan rushed off to the main yard to get everything ready.
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It was approaching 5:00pm. the sun had gone down and had been replaced by a starry night sky. The donkeys can barely contain their excitement waiting for their guests to arrive. The donkeys agreed Susan and their staff had done such a good job at decorating their home. Gary, the oldest donkey at the Sanctuary thought to himself....'In the 50 years I have been here, I haven't seen this place look so beautiful' And Gary was right.

The 20,000 lit candles lit up the sky, making the Sanctuary look magical. The donkeys and their staff made the Sanctuary a wonderful and cosy place for their guests to come.

The warmly wrapped up gusts made their way through the candlelit pathways and displays, some in lines and others in Christmas shapes; stars, trees, angles......The candles led them around and past the stables where the shy donkeys quietly rested, although they raise their heads to say a friendly 'hell'.

Eventually, the candles led them to the main yard. In the yard the humans found stalls serving warming Christmas goodies such as mince pie, mulled wine and hot chocolate. Donkeys certainly know how to look after their guests.

Megan and Dillon are dressed in Santa costumes, with baskets attached to them filled with sweets. They walk through the crowd handing them out to the children.

Mean while the real Father Christmas is in his grotto, Charlie and Oscar are his little helpers. The children love seeing Charlie and Oscar dressed as elves just as much as meeting Father Christmas and receiving a gift.

Once all the guests have arrived they are asked to make their way to the big barn. This is where the carol service is being held. Inside ready to start was a brass band; they had cornets, horns, trombones, tubas and a drum. Donkeys believe that the carol service adds an exciting and special Christmas feel to the night.
Also donkeys enjoy singing and they like their human friends to join in with them. Together they sang many carols into the night; Once in Royal David's City, Silent Night, Away in a Manger.........................but
naturally there was only one carol the night could end with, have you guessed? That's right 'Little Donkey'.

That night, once their guests had gone home the donkeys lay awake in their stables unable to sleep because of the days excitements, thinking to themselves 'I don't know who enjoyed it the most us or the humans? But there was one thing they were sure of they were lucky to be safe and warm in the Sanctuary.

THE END

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION

2011-01-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am taking part in an exhibition, which is an exclusive review of work produced by former students of the BA (Hons) Illustration course at University College Falmouth.

The Exhibition dates are 3rd-12th February 2011.

It is held at:
The Illustration Cupboard
22 Bury Street
London
SW1Y 6AC

It isn't far from the Royal Academy of Arts and Fortnum & Mason.

BIG RED

2011-01-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

WORK IN PROGRESS-BIG RED BOOK COVER

2011-01-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

I am currently painting the cover for a classic children's book called BIG RED, written by Jim Kjelgaard. Big Red is about the adventures of a red setter and a young boy in Quebec.

NEXT BOOK OUT 25TH APRIL 2011

2010-11-23T04:46:00.000-08:00

Mysterious Bones is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

EXPERIMENTING-OIL PAINTING

2010-11-22T07:16:00.000-08:00

Here is an oil painting of Joey and his cousin Luka. I can't remember the last time I painted with oils, as I usually work with gouache.

JOEY

2010-09-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Another little painting of Joey, this time modelling an Aston Villa scarf.

THE SWAMP, ONLY THE DESERT TO GO

2010-07-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

MORE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD DESIGNS.

2010-07-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

Slowly getting there, only a swamp and the desert to go.

CAMOUFLAGE SKETCH-THE SAVANNA

2010-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

A sketch for a double page spread from my latest book (book number 4)

This will be my début as an author.

HAIR EXTENDED

2010-02-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

FACE RECONSTRUCTION PAINTING DEVELOPMENT

2010-02-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

FACE RECONSTRUCTIONS

2010-01-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have been busy doing face reconstructions and writing my first book.

I will be even busier when I have to do 32 pages of illustrations.

Really excited about my up-coming work!

I am off now to do some painting.

THE BULLETIN REVIEW

2009-11-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

A review from The Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books, one of the USA's leading children's book review journals for school and public librarians. This will feature in the December edition.

JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD MONTHLY MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2009

2009-11-10T07:56:00.001-08:00

Killer Ants is the nonfiction elementary book of the month for December.

IS THIS WHAT A 9000 YEAR OLD MANS TOOL KIT LOOKS LIKE?

2009-11-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

My latest painting, it is difficult painting stone. Stone isn't the most beautiful thing.

PAINTING OF ANCIENT SANDALS

2009-10-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

IS THIS WHAT THE KENNEWICK MANS FOOTWEAR LOOKED LIKE?

2009-10-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

A rough sketch of some early sandals. It might feature in the book. The finished piece will be a painting.

The Kennwick Man Had a Mussel Shell in His Tool Kit

2009-09-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

A quick and simple watercolour of a mussel shell that was found on St Ives beach, Cornwall.

A Very Rough Sketch of What a Prehistoric Mans Tool Kit Might Look Like

2009-09-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Some More Paintings of Equines

2009-09-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Some Horse & Dogs Sketches

2009-09-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Just a Simple Black & White Study

2009-09-09T02:08:00.000-07:00

For a bit of a change, a small simple tonal study.

Donkey Christmas Wrapping Paper

2009-09-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

The donkey on this paper is called Oscar and he lives with his friends in Sutton Park in Birmingham.
It is part of The Donkey Sanctuary, based in Sidmouth in Devon. The Donkey Sanctuary is one of the greatest places on Earth!
I painted the picture Oscar quite a while ago. It is available to buy at the Donkey Sanctuary or through their website. Pleas buy some as the money goes to the Charity.
The paper was produced by Otter House Ltd., Exeter.

My Book Covers

2009-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have at last taken pictures of the covers of my books; EGGS by Marilyn Singer & KILLER ANTS by Nicholas Nirgiotis.
KILLER ANTS is a Juniour Library Guild selection for the Fall.

EGGS was a 2009 Finalist in the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.
It was also:
Book of the Week for Embracing the Child
Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best List 2009
NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12, 2009

Something different! Architecture instead of Animals

2009-08-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few sketches I did when I was out and about in Liverpool & my home town Birmingham

My photos of amazing ducks

2009-08-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my photos I have taken of ducks. Some are amazing.

My latest project THE KENNEWICK MAN

2009-08-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some paintings I have done for a book about the Kennewick Man.
He is a 9000 year old skeleton found in Washington State, USA, in the 1990s.
It is being published by Holiday House and should be out next year.

Some pet portraits

2009-08-10T06:13:00.001-07:00

Here is Joey the dog and Anna & Tigger.

Here are some of my atempts a wildlife photography

2009-08-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Donkeys are lovely!

2009-08-10T04:51:00.001-07:00

Dont forget EGGS by Marilyn Singer & Emma Stevenson

2009-08-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some more Killer Ants!

2009-08-10T04:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few examples of my illustrations

Killer Ants on the march!

2009-08-10T04:25:00.001-07:00

My second book KILLER ANTS is out this coming Saturday, the 15th August.
It has been selected by the Junior Library Guild as one of the best childrens books for the Fall.