Drawing for change ANGELA’S ANIMAL INSTINCT
The Kiwi illustrator is saving creatures through her art
Angela Keoghan spent her childhood surrounded by animals in the rural pastures of the Waikato, milking cows on her family’s farm and drinking the fresh produce.
The talented Hamilton illustrator often pulled on muddy gumboots to visit sheep, horses and cows grazing in the paddocks or to cuddle rabbits bred by her parents.
The animals she so greatly loved are now the inspiration behind her vibrant illustrations filling a new conservation book, written by renowned British zoologist, TV presenter and vet Jess French. How to Help a Hedge hog
and Protect a Polar Bear
has been released in the UK and New Zealand, and is crammed with information and striking visuals about endangered species and their habitats.
“I love animals and always wanted to illustrate children’s books,” says Angela, 38, from the 4.8-hectare farm block where she lives with her husband Jayden, 39, and their dog Mr Woods.
“The book’s writer Jess is amazingly qualified. She gave me feedback on some of the illustrations and if there was a lizard that needed to be a little greener, she’d tell me it needed tweaking, which was great.”
From elephants and rhinos to turtles and dolphins, Angela’s texture-rich illustrations fill 62 pages and include 13 unique habitats, all heavily researched and some brought to life by her early memories.
Owner of illustration studio The Picture Garden, Angela sat for hours as a child quietly drawing objects around the house and animals from the farm, including her numberone model, the family’s silver tabby Grey Boy.
“I often had to draw from photographs because he was quite timid and wouldn’t sit still,” she recalls. “More often than not, he’d sit on my drawing while I was working!
“I remember trying to draw my dogs or the different birds I saw in the garden and I loved to travel to the beach, so seabirds were also on my list.”
Watching the family horses taught Angela to really test her drawing skills as she patiently tried to master the art of the animals’ elegant form and characteristics.
“I spent hours trying to get the right shape of their feet and I still find horse feet very vexing!”
Natural talent
Most relaxed around nature, where her creative spark is at its peak, the award-winning illustrator thanks her mother, an avid gardener, for instilling in her a love of the outdoors.
“I still use Mum’s garden to do studies of plants, wildlife and insects or tree forms, which I incorporate into my work,” tells Angela, who co-released two books in the
UK last year, Vet Academy and Inspector Brunswick: The Case of the Missing Eyebrow.
The home Angela and her musician hubby built together is actually on the back paddock of her parents’ land, where Mr Woods runs between sections as a shared family dog, sniffing out the wild barn cat and snoozing beside colourful flower beds.
Sometimes he keeps Angela company while she sketches her whimsical works, including the hundreds of characters that made their way into her latest collaboration.
“This is the kind of book
that I would have loved as a child,” tells Angela, who took six months to complete the dynamic project.
“I remember hearing about endangered animals as a kid, and feeling really urgent and worried about trying to save them. This book is empowering for children, as well as adults.”
Now she’s in her happy place on the farm, where she can look out at a horizon and use it as creative fuel.
“Somewhere where there are lots of trees, birds and animals – that’s my heaven,” she smiles.