I Am An Artist by Kertu Sillaste and Adam Cullen (Children's, Picture Book, 9/10E)

 

 August 2021, Graffeg, 36 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Book summary from Graffeg

What is an artist? Sometimes John finds art easy, sometimes it's hard, sometimes art is like a game, but sometimes it's a puzzle. This book takes us through the many ups and downs of John's life as an artist whilst also showing the fun that can be had with many artforms, including drawing, sculpture, painting, photography and many more.

Nayu's thoughts

Art is subjective. Art has an insane amount of being expressed. I Am An Artist delves into what being an artist means, the highs of creating novel pieces, the lows of being unable to create what is in the mind. Through illustration which includes photographs the turbulent mind of an artist gets peeled back for readers, nothing is held back. I personally am more a classical art lover, I'm very much not into modern art but my opinion on art isn't what matters. Viewing the character John's world feels like I'm getting into Kertu's head a little.

In all the picture books I've read I genuinely have not come across such a comprehensive insight itno what being an artist is like. I have an artist in my family. When I was younger and my health was better I drew and painted a lot myself. Art is so fun, anyone can do it, but for those whose live, sleep, and breathe art all the time, this book accurately depicts that. It's pretty cool that this got translated from Estonian by Adam, I wonder what influences Kertu's culture had on her work. It's not a style I personally love but it doesn't make it a bad style or a wrong style. It's a distinctive style with mostly bright colours and different illustration techniques used. I like how abstract the inside cover pages are, and how I never could guess what was coming on the next page. 

Suggested read

If you love books about art check out this colourful read Colour My Days by Ross Collins (Children's, Picture book, 9/10E)