Meet the illustrator Elise Hurst

Image Source: Penguin Books

Kirkus Star review comments for Trying: Hurst’s black, gray, and white drawings are heavily shaded, imparting a mysterious and ethereal quality. There are fleeting bits of color in the form of an orange studio cat and the sculptor’s green-tinged failures.

Elise Hurst is a Melbourne-based illustrator, fine artist and author, specialising in children's books. Elise is the daughter of a painter in a family brimming with keen amateur artists. She grew up doodling and drawing characters on anything she could find, announced her intention to become an artist in early primary school, and found classroom fame via a series of unflattering caricatures of teachers she hid in secret compartments in her folders. "People get paid money for them now," she says. "Big noses, big ears, strange expressions. From a fairly early age I drew to get a reaction from people around me. I love showing stuff if I think it's worked out alright. Otherwise, I quickly cover it up and don't let people see it until I've managed to fix it." (Source Just Something Sketchy)

I spied The Night Garden on the picture book shelves in a school library today. It was short listed by the CBCA in 2008 so this book could be or should be in your local or school library. The end papers are fabulous. Sally and her cat Strange wait until the moon rises and then they tiptoe into the Night Garden. Everyday things look so different - the garden is alive with magic and adventure. (The winning picture book in 2008 was Aaron Blabey - Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley).

Blurb: "Sally and Strange watched the rain all day. Cobwebs sagged and bushes bowed and even the neat trees were tired of it." But everything is about to change as the moon rises and the garden outside is transformed into a magical place full of adventure. 

2019 CBCA Short listed

Publisher blurb: Girl on Wire is a simple yet brilliantly uplifting allegory of a young girl struggling to build her self-esteem and overcome the anxiety that many children feel as they grow – she walks the tightrope, afraid she will fall, but with the support of those she loves, her toes grip the wire and she walks forward, on her own, with a new confidence.

You can see art from this book here. 

Here are some other books with illustrations by Elise Hurst:

Kirkus Star review: Masterful artwork, streaked with breathtaking brush strokes and daubs of pigment, easily makes up for sometimes-unimaginative language. These portraits of animals struggling with human feelings startle with their emotional exactitude, empathy, and expert execution. Complex feelings articulated through heart-rending paintings that beg return visits.

Earlier books are The Flood by Nigel Gray, Tough Old Teddy by Bruce Atherton and Ali the Bold Heart by Jane Jolly.