I'm excited to share an interview with the talented Lara Apponyi illustrator of my book Poison Apple Pie!
I would absolutely love to giveaway copies of my book but unfortunately MeeGenius is still working on that. Therefore I will be giving away TWO prizes!!!
*A gift card and two Doll Birdies handmade gifts on Estsy.com*
What you need to do to enter into the giveaway:
1) You must leave a comment for Lara (on this post) before Friday May 18th by Midnight Eastern Pacific Time.
2) Follow my blog
With Random.org I will choose the two winners and contact them on Saturday May 19th.
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| Lara Apponyi |
1. Did you always like drawing?
yes. i have always loved doing anything that takes me into a different world.
2. What mediums do you work in?
well depending on what it is i am making... oil, acyclic, gouach, pencil, pen, ink, i guess everything and anything even blobs of tea or coffee i spill by mistake.
3. Did you have to study or take classes to become an illustrator?
not at all, i studied fine art and just started doing the odd thing here and there for friends, then friends of friends etc...
4. How do you market/promote your work?
online. my blog and website and i use facebook when there is something important to show. i also send a lot of round robin emails telling people to take a look at something and pass it on.
5. What is your favorite type of assignments and why?
probably something that has a strict structure (like a book) and of course a dead-line. i tend to drift off towards other ideas when i am working... structure pulls me back to what i am doing and leaves little room for wandering off into some completely different kind of creation. although it is amazing to be told you are free to do whatever you want, it is also very satisfying when you can only move in a certain amount of directions and you have to make that work and so somehow you do.
6. In Poison Apple Pie, I loved how you depicted Winka. What is your creative process? Can you run us through a typical job?
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| Illustrated by Lara Apponyi |
thanks, she was based on the 6/7 year old me - pale skin, long dark hair and skinny with sticky out ears!
i don't have one specific process, it definitely shifts around but i tend to start with trying to find some kind of visual world in which whatever it is takes place. to find this world i look for images, google things, take pictures, make small drawings and i read a lot. this research and image hunting eventually reveals what kind of universe this 'thing', be it a story a character or whatever, belongs to. so from there, it is a little bit easier as the stage is set as it were.
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| Illustrated by lara Apponyi |
7. Do you ever have creative slumps? What do you do then?
yes i often do. i get very anxious, maybe have a good cry and maybe eat and drink too much. eventually i drag myself to something that i hope will be inspiring- a film or exhibition or try to get a change of scene somehow...
8. How did you find your style? Has it changed since you started?
i don't feel like i have one but i wish i did. i find a way of doing something to suit the project. a lot of my work is very very different although there is a strong shared atmosphere and tone that seems to bring it together.
~Wack-a-doodle Questions~
If you could speak to one type of animal, what would it be?
whale or albatross
What is your favorite snack to eat while you work?
marmite toast and tea. coffee and chocolate. or anything that looks good in the fridge
How would you describe yourself in three words?
over-emotional (if you can count that as one word) dreamy and funny
Lara studied Fine Art at Parsons in Paris then at City and Guilds of London Art School in London before moving to NYC 6 years ago. She has had all sorts of jobs on both sides of the pond -influence by the mediums of film and art have drawn her into several work fields but recently, she returned to her painterly roots and love for telling stories through pictures.Through picture books, paintings and drawing in series, Lara draws on the inspiration she finds in the fleeting moments that make up our days, she strives to see and to celebrate the peculiar in the seemingly insignificant. Whether it's the odd things that people say (or don't) or the ways we interact (or don't) with our darkest, strangest thoughts. Every day, there are instances when whimsy can take us places.
Lara is fascinated – and amused – by the disconnection between the realities of what is said or done, and the perceptions that we conjure up... concluding that much of the beauty of life lies somewhere between. There’s wonder, too, at the point of transition: the gloaming light; a shadow cast; an open road; the mood just before something unexpected happens. When the unfamiliar plays with the mundane – and, at the end of the day, how funny it all is.
Lara is currently juggling several projects- a line of t-shirt designs, the odd painting, a picture book (she always has one on the go) and she hopes some drawings for wallpaper are in her future!
Thank you for the interview Lara!
