Hey, everybody! Welcome back to “Through a New Wardrobe”, where we sit down and chat with some of today’s hottest writers who have been influenced by CS Lewis and the Land of Narnia. For today’s interview we sit down with author and illustrator Katie Wray Schon to discuss her brand new children’s book Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien that celebrates the life and work of the beloved children’s book illustrator, Pauline Baines.
NARNIAFANS: Tell us a bit about yourself, for our readers that might not know much about you.
My name is Katie, and I live with my lovely family in the Houston area of Texas. I’ve got three kids (currently 7, 9, and 11) and a wonderful husband – we are all avid readers and have a house full of books. I went to an art school for college, but I actually studied Industrial Design and only began working on writing and illustration later. Painting Wonder is my first traditionally published book.
NF: Can you give us a quick teaser for Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien that will give us an idea of what we’re in for?
Painting Wonder is a picture book biography about Pauline Baynes, who illustrated for C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (among others). The story takes readers from her childhood in India, through some challenging years of boarding school and then WWII, and finally to her world-famous illustrations for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
NF: What were your inspirations for the book?
There are so many beautiful and brilliant picture book biographies out there right now! I borrowed stacks and stacks from the library when I started working on this book.
There were so many that inspired me, but I remember especially loving Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell, because of how sparse but effective the text was; Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, because it was just so much fun to read and look at; and Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by John Rocco, because they did such a beautiful job of capturing her work and her personality.
NF: In what ways did C.S. Lewis and Pauline Baynes inspire you as an author and illustrator?
I have always loved The Chronicles of Narnia – as a child for the magical escape the books provided, and as an adult for C. S. Lewis’s beautiful understanding of humans and the nature of love (and of course I still love the magical escape!). Pauline’
s illustrations were, and still are, an integral part of the stories for me.
Once I started really learning about her and researching her work, I was struck by how well she captured tiny details, and how she wove decorative patterns into the artwork in ways that added to the story as well as adding visual interest.
NF: When and why did you begin writing?
I always loved reading, so I was fascinated with the idea of writing, but I was also always intimidated by it. I can remember slaving over a poem in second grade and then only getting a “B” on it. I decided thereafter that I was just no good at writing.
After graduating from art school, I worked at a design consultancy and ironically ended up doing a lot of writing through my work responsibilities. I still didn’t think of myself as a “writer,” though.
Later, after having a kid or two, I had some ideas floating around for picture books. I decided that I would give it a try, both writing and illustrating. That’s when I really began working on writing picture books, and it took me about eight years of learning and working and revising before my first book was published.
NF: When and why did you begin illustrating?
Similarly to writing, I always loved art and loved to draw, but was intimidated by the idea of “drawing from my head” or making up invented scenes. It wasn’t until my toddlers started ordering me to draw something (“Draw my cat stuffed animal going down a slide at a playground!”) that I realized maybe I could pull it off.
NF: Which would you say is more challenging? Writing or Illustrating?
That is hard to answer – they both have their moments!
The challenges in writing feel more existential: whenever I begin a new book, I feel overwhelmed by the many different directions it could go – there are so many wonderful words to use and so many different ways to tell a story! Paring down and figuring out the right direction for any particular story is a process with lots of ups and downs, at least for me.
The challenges in illustrating tend to be more practical and immediate: getting the angle right for a complicated point of view, making sure my characters look like the same person/animal throughout the book, making sure I have a good mix of spreads and vignettes. But there are moments when something is “wrong” with an illustration that I can’t put my finger on, and that can make me grouchy for days.
NF: I’ll admit, like a lot of Friends of Narnia, while Pauline Baynes illustrations are firmly nestled in my imagination, I knew nothing about her. What inspired you to tell her story?
I’ll admit that I was in the same position! I could close my eyes and picture most of those illustrations, but I had no idea who had made them. Until one day when I decided to try my hand at making my own Narnia illustrations, in order to fill out my illustration portfolio.
It was a miserable failure! I couldn’t get the original pictures out of my head. It finally made me wonder: who had created these, anyways? Once I started reading about Pauline, I knew I had to share her story.
NF: Your illustrations were absolutely lovely! Did you have a favorite?
That is so sweet, thank you! There are a couple of images that felt like breakthroughs for me as I was initially sketching out the book, including the images of storybooks coming to life, and of Pauline painting maps for the navy.
NF: Which illustration would you say was the most challenging?
The page that shows Pauline drawing the Narnia books for the first time required a few revisions. Throughout the story, I wanted to capture some of the excitement of the Narnia stories and Pauline’s artwork, without ever feeling like I was reproducing what she created. We had some great conversations about what that meant on this page, and in the end I’m so happy with how it turned out. I hope that it inspires readers to go pick up a Narnia book and look closely at Pauline’s drawings!
NF: I loved the swirling throughline you wove through the book. Was it inspired by any of Pauline’s illustrations?
Absolutely! She was talented at so many things, but one of them is the way she used decorative borders and elements to add to the storytelling. You see this in the Narnia books and in her work for Tolkien, but in a lot of her other work as well. I had the privilege of visiting the Williams College special collections library, where they have many of Pauline’s original sketches and artworks. I took lots of pictures! Whenever I was feeling a little stuck in the illustration process, I would go through my photos and get inspired by her original work.
NF: What was the most surprising thing that you learned about her?
Oh, so many good stories! I thought it was funny that she never read The Lord of the Rings, and when she was asked to do a cover for it, had to ask her sister (who had read the books) for help.
NF: Tells us a little bit about your publisher! I admit I’ve never heard of them before now, and only found out about them through a Facebook Recommendation?
They are wonderful! Waxwing Books is the publishing imprint started by Sarah Mackenzie, who for many years has run a thriving podcast and homeschool resource community called Read-Aloud Revival. Sarah, and everyone at Waxwing, truly love and know books! They are committed to making high quality books that you’ll want to read and reread with your kids, and I’m so happy we found each other!
NF: What are your current projects?
I have a Little Golden Book coming out in January called God’s Gift of Guardian Angels. I’m so honored to be part of the Little Golden Books imprint!
Besides that, I am working on drafting a new picture book biography that I am very, very excited about…but not ready to share anymore about yet!
NF: Do you have any advice for other writers or illustrators?
Especially when you are pre-published, it can be very difficult to balance trusting your own instincts with receiving (and acting on) feedback. Do a little bit of both, but keep moving!
In the end, you might need a little bit of luck to get your book into the right hands – but in order for it to succeed when that luck comes along, you have to work really hard along the way. Keep at it and trust the process!
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