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Piet Grobler Draws Children to Read More
One of South Africa’s leading children’s books illustrators, Piet Grobler, recently joined forces with Marita van der Vyfer, who translated some of the best-loved Grimm fairytales into Afrikaans for her latest book, Die Mooiste Sprokies van Grimm (Human & Rousseau, R275).
“There’s lots to work with,” says this veteran in the field, who also teaches illustration in the UK. He has been suffering from a frozen shoulder for a while, not the ideal affliction for an illustrator, but these stories gave him a chance to set his mind free with some imaginative drawings.
A sense of humour is one of the most important elements when sketching embellishment to such iconic stories. It’s about using and playing with the caricatures and, for Piet, it is about a particular style. “I have developed specific tools like birds that are used to bring a message of many different kinds.” And these Grimm tales were an easy task. Because of the nature of the stories selected by Marita, the aim was to entertain the kids and not add more layers and dimensions to already well established stories.
That’s something he enjoys, though – the different demands on an illustrator. Sometimes it is simply as an illustration, but, at other times, his drawings play a much larger part in the telling of the tale.
He has teamed up with his brother, fine artist Diek Grobler, who among other things creates and produces animated movies. They use some of Piet’s illustrations, like the letters of the alphabet illustrated by the artist, to tell a particular story for kids who are taught the alphabet in a fun manner.
But when joined to the hip with someone in the sense of illustrating a book, Piet believes it is important that they have a similar vision and that one doesn’t try to outshine the other. They should be on the same page about the way the illustrations will be used. With these Grimm tales, the drawings were simply an extension of the stories.
But when you study a Piet Grobler illustration, it’s seldom that simple. His style is so unique and distinctive that when his work is used with a particular story, he can’t help slipping in a thought or two.
Through the years he has developed a very distinct style. Once you are familiar with his work, it is easy to distinguish his particular illustrations.
He has been a festival artist at the Klein Karoo Arts Festival.
Book details
- Little Birds’ ABC by Piet Grobler
EAN: 9781932425529
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- Little Birds’ ABC by Piet Grobler
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