How I discovered my passion for writing and illustrating children’s picture books

It all started with a simple idea: a poem about dogs. As my son's first birthday approached, he was fascinated with our pet dog, Summer. So, I decided to write a short poem about dogs and use some of the rainbow watercolour dog portraits I had been working on to create a picture book as a special birthday present.

The book was a hit with my son, and it inspired me to create another book for his second birthday. This time, I chose to make an alphabet book featuring dogs, as he was enjoying singing the alphabet song at that time. With more watercolour pet portraits under my belt, I felt more confident in my abilities and was excited to see where this new project would take me.

But it wasn't until my partner gifted me Julia Donaldson's masterclass on writing picture books that I truly found my calling. I was inspired by her wisdom and experience, and I wanted to push myself to create something even more complex than before.

For my son's third birthday, I decided to write a story in rhyme about him and our dog going on an adventure and meeting various birds along the way. It was a challenge to complete the book in just a month before his birthday, but I could see the improvement from my previous attempts.

I had a short deadline to create this book, as I started only a month before my son’s birthday. To help with the illustrations, I used my Australian Bird Paintings collection as characters in the book. It saved time, but also limited the storyline I was able to create. This was also the first time that I had included my son as a character in his birthday book. It was fun but also difficult to make the digital paintings of him and my dog blend with my acrylic bird paintings.

After creating three books for my son's birthdays, I began to wonder what I could accomplish if I had more time to devote to my writing and illustration. So, I started working on manuscripts and illustrations during my maternity leave after having my second son. I plan to polish my work until I am proud to share it.

It wasn't long before I realised that writing and illustrating children's books was my true passion. I began to explore new themes and ideas, experimenting with different art styles and storytelling techniques.

But no matter what project I'm working on, one thing remains constant: my dedication to creating funny, heartwarming stories that empower children to solve their own problems.

Looking back on my journey, I realise that those early picture books I created for my son were a jumping-off point that led me to discover my passion for writing and illustrating children's books.

Now I aim to work to hone my craft till I have created a manuscript and illustration portfolio that I would be proud to pitch to publishers or a book agent.