Artwork
Evolution of an Illustration Page
For our next children’s book “Bettina Creates a Garden”, we needed a creative page where some story text could go. Here’s the artistic evolution of this illustration page. Jean in art studio working on page for Bettina Creates a Garden 2022 We developed the idea of having a page with a collage of painted borders…
Read MoreFalcon & Pig Painted Box
Jean also paints wooden boxes. She first covers them with paper upon which she draws and then paints, creating three-dimensional pieces of artwork. This box is decorated with Leo the Falcon and Elliot the Pig, both characters from our children’s books. The roses and the Leo and Elliot Box painted by Jean Tori 2020 Here…
Read MoreYear of the Rat Pop-Up Card
This is how Jean created her Year of the Rat (2020) pop-up card. She started with an idea of a scholarly rat in a study surrounded by books, screen, chair and humorous rows of mice with a nearby cat. She then drew all images that she wanted to use in her design. 1. Jean’s paper…
Read MoreGouache and Tempera Paint
Jean uses gouache paint as her chosen medium, which is very similar to tempera. Often, gouache and tempera are interchanged and are even listed together on Jean’s paint tubes, however, they do differ. Work in progress wedding painting commission by Jean Tori 2019 Gouache is a watercolour consisting of a natural colour pigment, water and…
Read MoreMedieval Italian City Inspirations
The Medieval cityscapes painted by extraordinary Italian artists have always been a great inspiration to Jean’s architectural paintings. Here’s a detail of Giotto’s fresco of “St Francis Renounces His Inheritance”. Giotto Fresco of St Francis renounces inheritance Inspired by the complex Medieval cities, Jean combined her architectural designs with very different cultural subjects such as…
Read MoreYear of the Sheep/Goat
The Goat, or in some countries, the Sheep or Ram, is the eighth animal in the twelve-year Asian zodiac cycle (see dates below). Smart, kind, easy-going and reserved, those born in the Year of the Sheep/Goat have a love of harmony and prefer co-existence to confrontation. The serene and sincere Sheep or Goat will use…
Read MoreThe Year of the Horse
The Horse is the seventh animal in the twelve-year Asian Zodiac cycle (see dates below). Those born in the Year of the Horse are always in motion on an endless search. The Horse may reach the ‘ends of the universe’, but will, nonetheless, keep moving on. Matilda the Horse and Blueberries by Jean Tori Always…
Read MoreThe Art of the Chair
The chair is a familiar and artistically inspiring every-day-object, found all over the world. Here is one of Jean’s chairs covered in fabric that she hand-painted. Jean has always been inspired to paint chairs as they remind her of past homes and journeys. Here’s an old photograph of a corner of our…
Read MoreKorean Folk Art and Laughing Tigers
Living in Seoul, South Korea, during the early 70s, Jean was introduced to Korean folk art. This style of naïve artwork was very graphic in design. Compositions could be simple or intricately decorated with bright colours and patterns, often portraying humour and satire. Korean folk art was based on Shamanism, a religion that believes that…
Read MoreTeapot Designs
Jean’s many teapot designs are often inspired by her teapot collection, each one different, depending on the type of tea brewing – from Chinese jasmine to English Breakfast to Japanese green tea. Blue teapot III by Jean Tori 2019 There is an art to teapot design and, much like combining the right amount of tea…
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