Analysis

What kind of style does Barbara Reid have?

She is considered a stylist but Carol Anne Wein of Canadian Children's Literature says her illustrations are "not stylized but are highly expressive, for Reid manages to keep a fluid line and to incorporate marvellous expressions of feeling." She combines a kind of realism with a repertoire of short hand shapes.

How does she do it?

Barbara works from detailed drawings or photographs to create her intricate works in plasticine. It is a laborious time consuming process which takes several days to produce each page or spread. The thought process behind the illustrations is much like a silkscreen printmaker would employ. The background must be laid down first and each subsequent layer added with the fine detail coming last. Backgrounds are often smeared in a painterly fashion.

She alters natural shapes, forms and textures in her own very unique style. Textures are added with a number of instruments including fingers and fingernails, sticks, pins, combs, wires, cloth and other items to help shape and build each part of the image. Her use of colour is vibrant and dynamic. Her knowledge of colour theory results in the use of juxtaposed high contrasts that make colours appear brighter. An unlimited number of colour variations are achieved by kneading two or more colours together. Colour striations are realized by leaving the plasticine partially mixed. Metallic colours that cannot be accomplished with plasticine are painted.

The building up and layering create a great deal of visual interest. The reader or viewer can find layers of meaning in each illustration. Barbara also uses a variety of perspectives in her work including close-ups, long shots, aerial or birds eye, and ants eye views. The voluminous images cry out to be touched. At times they cannot be constrained by the frame. The characters both human and animal are unique individuals you can relate to. Barbara's wacky sense of humour comes through in instances like the big bully mouse packing a bobby pin.


Close-up	Long Shot	Aerial/Birds Eye	Ants Eye

Bully "packing" a bobby pin	Characters		Imbued with human characteristics
			Literal depth
Breaking free of the frame	Collage with found objects	Layers of visual interest	Literal depth
Click on thumbnails for a large image

They are fashioned of clay in bas-relief. The third dimension lends itself to the creation of shadows that give a quality of depth when expertly lit and photographed by her husband professional photographer Ian Crysler.

Her recent work in The Subway Mouse incorporates collage of found objects. It is an interesting expansion of her repertoire.

Barbara has even employed sequential art. :)

This illustration comes alive in its rich detail. It completely fills the page, bleeding off in all directions.

There's Peg snug in her cabin in her bunk on the boat her family calls home. She in her cozy pyjamas complete with trap door with her sou' western on her head, a glint in her eye and a smile of anticipation on her face with the world at her finger tips. Her slicker is hanging nearby on a hook. In woolly work socks you can just picture her swinging down from her bunk, flinging her slicker on and jumping into the rubber boots that promise to sit on the floor below while grabbing her fishing rod off the rail.

On the wall behind her tacked to the wood of the hull hangs her framed baby picture, she safe in a hammock aboard the boat, a picture of her family on deck with their catch, a first ribbon signifying some accomplishment, Peg's drawing of her family hauling in a net, a picture of young Peg with her big fish and on top of the whale she "threw back". It was so enormous you couldn't get it into one picture. The black and white photos look like polaroids. Through the porthole you get a glimpse of a fish jumping in the rolling seas and a beautiful blue sky punctuated with a couple of friendly clouds.

The soft curves and strong horizontals create a secure space for Peg. The slight diagonal slope of the bunk keeps the composition from being static. You can feel the gentle lilt of the sea. The warmth of the red, orange and yellow in Peg's cozy cabin contrast with the cool blue of the ocean outside. The globe which marries more muted warm and cool colours brings a kind of cohesion. The bas-relief sculptural qualities of the illustration provide the rich detail. The blue and white pillow peeks out from a small opening in the pillowcase. The texture gives the wood of the bunk a rough hewn effect. The textural qualities and soft folds in the blanket and Peg's pyjamas make them look soft to the touch while the work socks feel heavy and scratchy. The contrast of the black and white photos with the dark wood brighten up what might have been a less balanced illustration. The page layout allows the natural space below the bunk to hold the text. With Peg facing the right, you imagine her moving forward with the boat. Leaving the past behind and going on to new adventures.

This illustration immediately draws you into Peg's world. It is an excellent opening spread to create anticipation of the adventures ahead.

Posted by Janice Biebrich

Posted February 7/05