Simply 7 with Margaux Meganck: SPECK

I’m literally trying to restrain the fangirl in me from fawning all over the place right now, because I’m giddy with delight to share with you this stunning picture book from author-illustrator Margaux Meganck.

Margaux Meganck spends her days dodging raindrops and drawing from her imagination in beautiful Portland, Oregon. From nannying, to early childhood art education, to children’s bookshops, Margaux has always worked with and around children’s literature. So it came as no surprise when she started illustrating and writing for children. Margaux’s author-illustrator debut, People Are Wild, received two starred reviews and was named a Kirkus best book of the year. Her illustration work has also earned multiple accolades from the Junior Library Guild (JLG) and Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Speck is the second book she both wrote and illustrated.  You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Twitter or on Instagram.

SPECK: AN ITTY-BITTY EPIC is her second author-illustrator picture book and it’s breath-taking!  Not only are the traditionally painted pictures sublimely rendered with amazing compositions, but the story itself is every bit as wonderful.  The reader follows a mysterious speck through the ocean on its journey.  What is this speck? Will it find a home?  The reveal (which really should’ve made sense to me all along) is well worth the wait.  Yet, instead of only letting the story rest in the ocean with this tiny speck, Margaux takes a broader stroke at the end that left me in awe.  Trust me when I say, this is a story you won’t want to miss!

Welcome Margaux!

Me: What was your artistic journey? When did you start creating art?  How did that bring you to writing and illustrating this book?

Margaux: I always loved making art. As a kid my favorite medium was colored pencils, and my favorite subjects were animals, and not much has changed! I still use colored pencils in nearly every piece I create (along with paint and ink), and animals are still my favorite subject matter! My parents and teachers were always very encouraging and supportive of my art so I grew up knowing it was something I wanted to be a part of my life in some way or another. And it was! I worked around art in all my jobs as a nanny, art teacher, art store clerk, art framer, children’s bookseller, and finally author/illustrator!

All those jobs helped me get to where I am today as an artist whether it was learning how to have meaningful interactions with young children through nannying and teaching art, learning about the business of making art through the art and framing stores, and finally learning all about contemporary children’s books working as a bookseller, they all contributed. By the time I was ready to go full time with illustration I knew how I liked to work and what I wanted to say. I had many book ideas in the works, and a portfolio to show for it.

By the time I got around to writing and illustrating this book I knew I was ready to try something new. So this book is different stylistically than anything I had written or painted before. It felt really good to stretch myself out of my comfort zone! 

Me: Can you talk about your art process for this book?  It’s gorgeous!  Did you use only traditional media or digital, or a blend of both?  What made you decide to use this medium for this book?

Margaux: I usually work out a piece 95% traditionally and then finish up the last 5% digitally. The materials I use vary from project to project, but for this project I knew I wanted something that would impart bright vivid colors and the flowing energy of water. So I wanted something that would act like watercolors in that it could remain transparent and luminous like watercolors, but I also wanted to be able to build up layers in areas to create very saturated colors. I found all of that in the acrylic gouache that I ended up using. Of course I also used my beloved colored pencils to brighten and darken certain areas as well as sharpening up edges, but I kept colored pencil use minimal as I didn’t want the illustrations to feel too heavy. When I use digital tools they are usually just a final measure to enhance color or brightness lost when scanning the art. I like to keep it minimal so the original art still rings true to the final illustrations you find in the book.

Me:  I adore the twists and turns of the plot in your story.  I love how the ending kept going and going and going with so many wonderful layers.  Phenomenal!  What gave you the idea for this story?

Margaux: Thank you! The twists and turns within the book reflect the twists and turns it took in the ideation process. SPECK started out as a book about moving around a lot as a child (something that my family and I did every year or two) and how unmoored that can feel. But as I refined the text and started experimenting with images it became about so much more.

I found that the message applied to greater journeys that we take in life, like the journey of finding who we are, and how we fit in the universe. It also applies to the journey of finding one’s way through a hard time, like the loss of a friend or loved one, or the loss of one’s own feelings of security or health. I actually went through a difficult time health-wise during the illustration of this book, and I was surprised to find that the book really helped me through a difficult period in my life. I think this personal nature of the book helped me keep pushing to make the illustrations say more, go further, zoom out more!

Me: I love that.  You have so many glorious perspective shots: a sneak peek into a tide pool, anchors zooming at the reader, space, etc.  This book is both incredibly cinematic AND so incredibly well written.  It’s a beautiful combination.  Please tell me this is the culmination of years of work and lots of critiquing.  What was this book’s journey to its current state?

Margaux: Yes! My relationship with my critique group is invaluable. We have been working together and building trust for about a decade now. This book had a lot of input from both my critique group, and my editor Katherine Harrison at Knopf BFYR. Like I said when I pitched the book it was less grand in concept, but Katherine saw its potential from the start. She encouraged me to go bigger with scale, experiment more with perspective, and push the visuals throughout. Finding creative partners to bounce ideas off of is the most important thing someone starting out in this field can do for their career.

Me:  You are both the author and the illustrator of this wonderful story, your second author-illustrator picture book. What was harder, the writing or the illustrating of it?  Why?

Margaux: I think the writing was harder. For this book the writing came first, and when this is the case I have to do a lot of searching for what it is I actually want to say. The way I do this is by writing a LOT. So my manuscript gets very long, rambling, and unruly. Then I cut back and back until I am left with only the most essential words to communicate my message. By the time I worked out the text the images were mostly planned out!

Me:  I love watching your painting process videos on Instagram.  I have never seen anyone paint separate pieces related to their book for giveaways.  That’s brilliant!  What gave you the idea to do that?

Margaux: I am currently very pregnant with my first child, (my due date is two weeks before SPECK’s release!) and I needed a way to connect with potential readers without being able to tour around in-person because by the time the book comes out I will be deep in “newborn world.” A personal offering like a handmade piece that someone could watch me create on social media seemed like a great way to connect with potential readers short of meeting them in person at events. I also love indie bookstores, and wanted a way to drive pre-orders from indies. So, in the lead-up to the release I reached out to any indie bookstore with whom I already had a relationship or wanted to develop a relationship to see if they would be interested in collaborating on a giveaway of tiny original art pieces related to the books! I was lucky enough to get interest from several book stores all over the country! I’m thrilled that a few lucky people will not only get to take home a copy of SPECK: An Itty Bitty Epic, but also an original piece of art based on the book!

Me: Yay!  That’s such an awesome giveaway.  Any advice for new picture book writers and/or illustrators?

Margaux: Read everything you can get your hands on, learn what you love, practice practice, practice. 

Use your influences, but don’t lean too heavily on them for too long.

Don’t shy away from the marks you make as an artist, these are your hallmarks and what make your work unique.

Find your trusted creative collaborators (critique or writer’s group). And when they say things that are hard to hear, take a beat. It will hurt less tomorrow. Know that they are trying to help you improve and succeed. Also, you don’t have to listen to every critique you hear, but when you hear the same critique over and over again from different people, there is likely a reason worth paying attention to.

And keep going! Building a creative career takes time! Your day job will help you pay the bills until you get there!

That is great advice Margaux.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Dear readers, today is this beautiful book’s birthday.  It’s a story set in the ocean following a speck with sumptuous artwork but really it’s about so much more.  It may seem simple in approach, but really, there was a lot of work that made it this deeply complex and layered.  I highly recommend it!