We are delighted to welcome illustrator Diane Ewen to the blog during Libraries Week.  Diane was born in Walsall in the West Midlands and has a life-long love of art.  Diane graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a B.A. Honours degree in illustration.  Diane creates illustrations that are hand-drawn in pencil before painting with watercolour and acrylics.  These are then embellished using Photoshop.  Dinae also enjoys creating designs digitally and constantly develops her style as she progresses. 

Diane loves the fact that illustrations are the first elements of a book to entice the reader to engage.  She is inspired by the use of vibrant colour.  The first book Diane illustrated was Pretty Poodle Parlour by Angela McAllister.  Diane has also illustrated Rashmi Sirdeshpande's Never Show a T-Rex a Book!  a brilliant celebration of libraries, books and reading!  Diane has also created the illustrations for a picturebook version of Floella Benjamin's Coming to England.

We are tremendously grateful to Diane for creating and allowing us to share some special library illustrations which she has created!  Thank you to Diane Ewen, to Penguin Random House for the support and to Rashmi Sirdeshpande for her brilliant book!