Humorous but meticulous. Swirling with vivid colors, rich with mellow pastel tones. Those were my impressions while viewing the works on display at the Faces of Australia exhibition, staged through Mar 7, 2013 at the KF Cultural Center Gallery. Just before the event’s opening ceremony, I met up with Ann James, the well-known Australian illustrator who contributed a number of her works to this exhibition. James, who turns 61 this year, has been working in the children’s illustration world for more than two decades. With her sparkling eyes, she seemed every bit the friendly, wise grandmother right out of a fairy tale.

and the enjoyment she gets from bringing stories and children together through pictures. Her best-known work includes the illustrations for Little Humpty, The Midnight Gang, and I’m a Dirty Dinosaur. She also recalled being asked to contribute to a project by a British writer who loved her work. Explaining that she typically works at the request of publishing company editors, James noted that she has received some inquiries from Korean companies.

On how she comes up with illustration ideas even when she doesn’t have a chance to meet the writer:
“It’s a bit tough to explain in words, but I try to stay true to the story. I believe that good illustrations are ones that convey the story clearly. I also travel around a lot to exhibitions by other artists.”

Her thoughts on Korean illustration:
“I haven’t seen much of their work, but what I have seen has been very high quality. I believe they won a number of prizes at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. One who does come to mind is Suzy Lee, who is well known in the US.”

On whether her career as an illustrator has inspired her to take up writing as well:
“I’m not completely uninterested, but artists and writers work in very different ways. I’m also extremely busy with the gallery, which organizes a traveling book fair all over Australia. To be honest, I did try writing a book five years ago, but I gave up after a few months.”

them understand.” It was as though she was sharing the secret of her art–its characteristic sparkling humor, its knack for producing a smile.