Narrative Illustration Artist research. Nancy Ekholm Burkert

The illustrations of Quentin Blake may be the most recognisable for "James and the Giant Peach" but the originals were by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. She had a very different distinctive style for the story as her illustrations come across as darker. She has distorted the characters which makes them seem a bit unsettling, I find this most with James. The illustrations appear to have been created using pencils with a limited use of colour. I find these illustrations to be more captivating than the those by Blake, I think the depth of detail and interesting character designs help.

The first image to the right is one which I am very interested in. the illustration shows the moment when James first meets the bugs. I love the colours used in this piece as they are very earthy which complements the bug characters. The texture also helps with this as it helps the piece to appear organic along with the colours. The perspective of the room is a bit off but I think this is intentional, the scued perspective helps with the overall look. 

The second illustration shows James lewering in a Seagull using Earth Worm as bate. This is the image where we get a clear look of James’s face for the first time. I think that James comes across as a bit creepy in this illustration, it’s not that I don’t like it I just find it a bit strange. I think the distorted style works for the world of James and the Giant Peach but not for the character James.

The third illustration is the peach in flight. I think this is meant to be something to do with the Cloud Men but in not too sure. Still I think it’s a great illustration with some good texture work in the clouds. I think it makes an impact because the peach is the only use of colour.  I think the light placement in this piece works well to create a dramatic atmosphere.