Kittiwakes!

The Return of Kitty the Toon

For this post I’d like to share my current illustration project with you…

John Miles is an author and passionate conservationist. His titles for children include “Screamer the Swift”, “Belle the Barn Owl” and “Horus the Peregrine Falcon”.

He also published a book a few years ago called “Kitty the Toon”, which tells the story of one of the famous Newcastle Kittiwakes. These small, gentle gulls can be seen and heard all over the Quayside during spring and summer, and theirs is actually the first inland colony in the world. They are also under serious threat from anti bird measures such as spikes and netting, which often injure and kill Kittiwakes.

The problem is that they love to nest high up on ledges and windowsills, and their droppings make a bit of a mess. However John argues that there are some straightforward measures that the powers that be can take in order to mitigate the problem without harming the Kittiwakes. These measures will even enhance the environment and bring in more visitors to the Quayside.

So the second book continues the story of Kitty the Kittiwake as she travels across the Atlantic to Newfoundland and the Arctic and back again to settle in Newcastle and raise a family.

John asked me to illustrate the new book and I was very happy to help. Here are the illustrations so far…

Kittiwakes migrating to Canada and the Arctic. The ones with black zigzags on their wings are the young ones. It took a few attempts to get the Kittiwakes looking properly like Kittiwakes and not any other type of gull. I would characterise them as looking very gentle with large eyes, intelligent faces and wings dipped in black ink. John asked for a large rolling sea..

The Kittiwakes arrive at St. John’s Harbour in Newfoundland. A place I knew very little about, but one that’s full of brightly coloured buildings and boats. Lots of fun to paint!

Polar Bear with Little Auks, Bowhead Whales and a very anxious Harp Seal! My first ever Polar Bear - surprisingly difficult to get right, but I loved this one, with its icebergs and a sky full of cold.

Arctic sea cliffs with Little Auks, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes. The large white gulls are Glaucous Gulls which predate the smaller birds’ eggs.

Starlit migration of Kittiwakes back to the UK for the summer. I can’t resist a night time painting…

This is it so far. The next illustrations will tell the story of Kitty’s life back home on the Newcastle Quayside. The Tyne Bridge, the Baltic and the Guildhall will feature, as well as some structures which don’t even exist yet. It’s good job I enjoy a challenge!

Thanks for reading, I’ll post more as the project continues. In the meantime click below if you’d like to find out more about my commissioned work.