The doyenne of Australian picture books talks about her creative process, the ‘wild and woolly’ place that inspired Magic Beach – and how a favourite idea was sketched on an aeroplane sick bag
For an author fascinated by nature, and whose beloved picture books feature innumerable animals and landscapes, Alison Lester’s studio is exactly as idyllic as you would imagine. Her drafting table – covered by paint palettes, brushes and sketches – overlooks the greenery of her garden and steps that lead up to a paddock where her four ponies, Lily, Honey, Tom and Sailor, graze. Nearby, two guinea fowl have the run of the place.
It is here, in her art-filled home at Nar Nar Goon, a town an hour south-east of Melbourne, that the doyenne of Australian children’s literature does most of her illustrating. “I hardly ever draw when I’m outside,” she says. “I tend to just be out there [in nature] and then remember it … and then I do my version of it.”