The scene
From The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908), chapter 1. Mole has thrown down his spring cleaning and run off to the river, where the Water Rat takes him out in his little boat for the first time. It is the happiest day of Mole's life, and I wanted the print to feel like it: sun on the water, willows overhead, one small friend showing another the world. The animals are my own design.
The style
A Victorian colour wood engraving: clean black keyline, flat soft colour laid over it, warm cream paper. Gentle, bright and calm, made for a nursery wall.
The inspiration
The look comes from Randolph Caldecott's picture book John Gilpin (1878), colour wood engravings. I borrowed his lively line and soft colour. The river, the boat and the two friends are my own.
How it's made
I design each scene and refine it until it feels right. It's a print of a digital artwork made in the style of a wood engraving, not a hand-cut engraving or an original print. The quote is typeset by me. Each one carries my printed "Chapter & Scene" signature in the border.