Jane Chapman Artist Study

As a homeschooling parent, I often find that my own learning runs quietly alongside my children’s. This year, that learning has taken a very tangible form: a long-term Children’s Book Art Project in which I am gradually illustrating my own children’s book set in Mesopotamia to accompany our homeschool unit study. This week, I’ll be completing a Jane Chapman Artist Study, which is the final artist study before I begin developing the illustrations for my book.

Why I Chose a Jane Chapman Artist Study

Jane Chapman’s picture book illustrations immediately drew me in because of their depth and quiet storytelling. Books such as The Very Busy Day, The Very Snowy Christmas, and The Very Noisy Night create entire worlds from overlooked, discarded objects. Her illustrations reward careful looking, the longer you look, the more you see.

That quality felt especially relevant as I planned a children’s book set in Mesopotamia.

Ancient history can feel distant or abstract to children. I want my illustrations to invite them in gently, encouraging curiosity and discovery rather than overwhelming them with information. Chapman’s work showed me how illustration can hold multiple layers of meaning without feeling crowded or busy.

Laying the Groundwork Before Illustration

Before beginning any finished artwork for my book, I knew I needed to strengthen my observational skills and visual thinking. Rather than jumping straight into illustration, I worked through several foundational art exercises as part of this Jane Chapman Artist Study.

Negative Space Painting

Negative space painting became one of my favourite exercises during this project. By focusing on the shapes around objects rather than the objects themselves, I found myself seeing compositions more clearly and with greater balance.

This way of seeing has been invaluable as I begin planning illustrated spreads for a children’s book, where composition quietly guides the reader’s eye.

Continuous Line Drawing

Continuous line drawing, where the pen never leaves the paper, forced me to slow down and truly look. There is no erasing, no correcting, and no perfection.

As a homeschooling parent, I see how powerful this lesson is. It builds confidence and encourages acceptance of imperfection, both of which are essential for creative work.

Zentangle Drawing

I also experimented with structured, mindful pattern drawing. While this wasn’t the most transformative exercise for me personally, it offered a calm, reflective contrast to the more observational work and reminded me that not every technique serves every artist in the same way.

That, too, is a valuable homeschool lesson.

Moving Toward Collage: Building a Visual Library

My last two drawings were of two bedroom scenes, one of which I planned to collage. These were simple sketches to familiarise myself with the layout and proportions of the bedroom.

My second sketch, which I planned to collage is below:

All of these studies fed into the main artwork for this stage of my Children’s Book Art Project: a detailed paper collage.

Collage is new territory for me, and that unfamiliarity has been surprisingly freeing. Working with mark-making papers, textured surfaces, and layered shapes has helped me think differently about illustration, especially for a children’s book, where texture and depth can add warmth and approachability.

Much of my time has been spent creating mark-making papers using inks, paints, household objects, and tools. These papers are the building blocks of my illustrations, and I am learning just how important variety and experimentation are at this stage.

This process has already influenced how I imagine illustrating scenes from Mesopotamia: stone, fabric, tools, and landscapes all lend themselves beautifully to collage.

Jane Chapman Artist Study Timelapse

I filmed myself throughout this study and uploaded it to my YouTube account:

I hope you enjoyed this Jane Chapman Artist Study. Next month, my goal is to put together a colour palette which I will use to create continuity throughout the book I am creating as well as throughout a book series if it ever goes that far (!). Have a great week, and I’ll see you soon!

For More Posts in this series, please click on the images below: