Illustrators and May in Paris (7) - On French Food

I'm Not Good at Drawing Straight Lines

This was drawn in Japan after returning from Hawaii, so it's post-Hawaii. This is Finland. And this is Paris.

Did you draw this after seeing a circus?

There's a circus nearby called Cirque d'Hiver, and I drew this after going to see it. It's wonderful, very classic. Very circus-like. On a round red stage.

So it really is a stage like this. Were there animals like these too?

Yes, there were. Tigers and bears, I think.

And the woman in black near the audience seats?

There's a woman like that there. I think she's still in her 20s, but she plays the role of an old woman in the circus. She was incredibly captivating. She'd wander around, appearing from here and there, sometimes perching near the audience. Even though she was supposed to be an old woman, she'd sometimes act as the announcer or perform on the trapeze.

Wow. I should go while I'm in Paris. For this painting here, do you have a model?



This is in Japan. No, not really. I started drawing it like a doodle.

For paintings like the circus one, do you take notes on the spot?

It depends. Sometimes I just recall a fleeting scene later. For the circus, I took some photos. For things like the buildings, it's difficult to rely solely on memory, so I use photos as a reference.

This is of a man playing the piano in a cafe in Finland.



That's Santa Claus.

I create a direct mail for a hair salon in Japan every year. That's why I'm cutting hair. This is post-Finland. This became the cover of a free paper. And this is an illustration for educational materials. I drew this, vaguely recalling Finland.



This is also for a hair salon's direct mail.

Is this an advertisement for juice or something?

In Finland, there was a rotating advertising tower, and they covered it with plastic juice bottle-shaped things to advertise juice. I drew that as it was. Not for any particular purpose. The place where these stakes are driven is a frozen sea. This is also Finland.

This is Paris, isn't it?

I'm going to start selling bags with illustrations on an online shop. This is for that. I think this one will probably be rejected.

Like a tote bag?

Recently, there's been a movement in Japanese supermarkets to charge for plastic bags, and simple shopping bags are apparently becoming popular. This is for those kinds of bags.



This is nice. Where is this from?

This is for an event held every year in Ebisu, where about 100 illustrators gather to exhibit postcard-sized art, and the proceeds are donated.

Ah, a textbook for moral education. I remember seeing things like this.

Haha. There are people who draw things like this. But Japan has a lot of demand for illustrations, which is good. I feel like there's really very little in France. Even looking at advertisements and books, the amount of illustrations used is very small. There's a lot of photography.

Next, she showed me the cover for NHK's Spanish conversation program. Kanako was in charge of the cover art for the 2006 edition. Incidentally, this year, NHK has stopped using illustrations for the covers of its language learning textbooks.


For these kinds of illustrations, do you have reference materials?

For example, for this one (Enjoying German), I didn't get any specific requests. They just said, 'Draw something German-like.' So I looked at guidebooks to find something that felt German. For this, I only used a photo of a train station and drew the people myself. Other requests included things like, 'Please draw a picture with many children engaged in learning activities.'

When you draw for the Spanish course, do you go to Spain?

I went to Spain when I was drawing the May issue. But I also have jobs like creating textbooks for Swahili, so it's not always feasible. I can't possibly visit every location. This was drawn for an Italian textbook. It includes explanations for things like noses and hands. Pages on food, pages on occupations... Please don't rely too much on the details. I'm not good at drawing straight lines. I prefer drawing people.

This one is nice.

Thank you. But I wonder why the umbrella is bigger than the house...

No, no, even Courbet painted dogs larger than cows.

Is that so? I didn't know that. I'm not very good with colors, and I enjoy drawing in black and white more.

But I thought the color ones were good too.

There have been times when they told me, 'Just send us the finished product without any input,' and if I do a draft, show it to them, and get their approval, the final drawing becomes stiff. I think it's more fun and the results are better when I can draw it all at once.

I like that the lines aren't too sharp here.

I tend to draw things too precisely and meticulously, and I think that's not always good. Lately, when it's not for work, I try not to decide everything from the start. For the circus painting too, I didn't do much of a sketch; I just started drawing from the trapeze girl.

I see. Thank you. Looking at your work, I suddenly feel like buying some illustrations.

Oh, I'm happy to hear that! Please do buy some. Here, please take a postcard as a souvenir.

With that, I received a postcard from Kanako and left the cafe. As usual, a group of men were gathered at the counter. A short walk from this cafe is Kanako's apartment and studio. I had a brief look inside; it's a charming old French building with a balcony, and from there, Sacré-Cœur Basilica is visible. It certainly would be a shame to leave such a place and move away.
Kanako says she intends to continue her work as an illustrator. Hearing her determined words, I was reminded of my own main occupation, being a student, on my way home. Come to think of it, the 19th-century French poet Baudelaire, in his later years, sent quite passionate writings to a certain illustrator...

Kanako Kono's Website
http://www.geocities.com/kanakoinhawaii/

Illustrators and May in Paris - Special Edition: "Is Something New Always Good?" (1)