Jeannie Baker Illustrator Profile

Jeannie was born in England and moved to Australia in 1975.

Jeannie Baker studied art and design and then worked for a time as a freelance illustrator, exhibiting some of her work in art galleries. Jeannie has always been interested in texture and remembers, from her student days, collecting odd things such as old plaster from walls, to use in her abstract designs. In her last years of college her work became more realistic.

Jeannie's work is three- dimenensional, with panoramas built up painstakingly and meticulously (books take two to three years to complete), giving them a very life-like appearance. A love of nature is the inspiration for much of Jeannie's work and is reflected in her choice of materials. Whenever possible, natural materials such as foliage, hair and feathers are used and these have to be carefully treated to preserve them. She also uses items such as modelling clay, resin and fabrics in her works.

For Where the Forest Meets the Sea Jeannie spent weeks in the rainforest observing the foliage and collecting leaves, grass, sand, pebbles and dried materials for her collage constructs.

The focus of a number of Jeannie's books is on the preservation of our natural environments. The books are all her own ideas, words, design and artwork and come from her astute observation of people and places.

Medium: Collage Construction.