I’m a WA picture book author and illustrator telling stories with a brush and a pencil.
I’ve written and illustrated seven picture books and illustrated many more for publishers including Penguin, Walker Books and Hardie Grant.
Described as “humorous”, “heartfelt” and a “visual delight”, my books have been published in fifteen countries, shortlisted in several national awards including the CBCA Picture book of the Year, read on ABC’s Play School and reviewed in the New York Times.
I work in a studio surrounded by sketches, books, brushes and unfinished coffee. I work at a long table made of Jarrah (a WA hardwood) recycled from an old Fremantle shipping warehouse.
I live with my wife and baby boy in our home we built in an old apricot orchard on a hill.
I create my art using a combination of watercolour, gouache, pencil and ink.
My stories start their journey in my well worn sketchbooks surrounded by thoughts, doodles and scribbles.
My illustrations are made on large sheets of watercolour paper where I use a range of techniques to create my art. Each book has its unique approach.
How it all started.
I grew up with three siblings on a 20 acre hobby farm surrounded by deciduous trees, farm animals and a river.
With a passion for drawing I soon discarded my aspirations to be a train driver and started focusing on becoming an artist.
I was given a watercolour set and visual diary on my twelfth birthday and started teaching myself to paint by copying illustrators from the early 20th century.
At fourteen I landed a paid job as the cartoonist of a youth newspaper that was sent around Western Australia to schools.
Aged seventeen I started approaching publishers with my art portfolio and spent the next five years submitting work before I landed my first trade publisher book deal at age twenty-two.
I spent several years illustrating before I wrote my first picture book, Ollie and Augustus. It was acquired and published by Walker Books in 2019.
SIX FACTS ABOUT ME
1) I love growing oak trees – I’ve planted over fifteen varieties on our hill.
2) My favourite books as a child was the Just William series by Richmal Crompton.
3) My studio gets messy when I’m making books. There are big sheets of half finished illustrations everywhere! I have to jump, swing and tunnel to reach my desk.
4) I love drinking coffee from a Cornishware mug. These mugs have white and blue stripes and often make an appearance in my books.
5) My favourite breed of chicken is a frizzle. Their feathers look like my hair in the morning.
6) One of my books was presented to King Charles III as a gift by a city library. I’d like to think it’s now his favourite bedtime story.
Gabriel Evans 