Monstrous Illustrations

Every year, Simpson Housing Services holds a fundraiser called Art 4 Shelter. Artists submit their work, and all proceeds go toward Simpson’s shelter and housing programs.

For my first submission, I decided to try a storybook illustration, but I couldn’t decide which story to tackle. Lush fairy tale illustrations always take me back to a time before I could read, when I would spend hours just paging through pictures and wondering to myself who these people were or what might be happening. There was something surreal and mysterious about following a story I couldn’t understand, like trying to remember a dream or watching a film in a foreign language.

So, instead of illustrating a story I already knew, I decided to try to recapture that feeling and draw an image from a story I’ve never heard. Who are these witches hovering between the sea and the moon? Do they know each other already, or are they meeting for the first time? What could they possibly have to discuss? See if you can dream up some answers!