ORIGINAL Watercolour Illustration. A boy with his mud house( Charlie Mogotsi in the book Charlie's House, written by Reviva Schermbrucker and illustrated by Niki Daly). Signed and Inscribed by Niki Daly to Reviva Schermbrucker.
About this Item
Excellent condition original colour watercolour book illustration of a small black boy with his mud creation, a mud house with corrugated iron roof and door. This boy is the boy named Charlie as featured in the book Charlie's House ( text by Reviva Schermbrucker, illustrations by Niki Daly, first published in 1989 ). Signed, inscribed and dated 1990 by the artist Niki Daly at the base. Watercolour is 21 cm x 28 cm. in a basic wooden frame which is 32 cm x 42 cm. A talented musician, artist, illustrator, writer, teacher, and publisher, it is as a creator of children s books that Niki Daly is known and loved, and to which he now devotes himself full-time, illustrating both his own stories and those of others. His work is recognized worldwide, and he has received some of the world s most prestigious prizes for children s literature. Not So Fast Songololo won the Katrine Harries Award for Children s Book Illustrations in South Africa and a Parents Choice Award in the United States. In 1995, The New York Times selected Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky as one of the ten best illustrated books published in the USA. Also in 1995, Niki received an IBBY Honours Award for the illustrations in All the Magic in the World. Other acclaimed picture books include Jamela s Dress, an ALA Notable Children s Book, and Happy Birthday, Jamela!, a USBBY-CBC Outstanding International Book. In 2004, Niki was selected by IBBY as a Hans Christian Andersen Award nominee. One of Niki s favorite themes is the solitary child who discovers self-worth with the help of an adult. As a solitary child myself, I suppose I have always counted on there being a powerful figure to open doors for me and to help me fulfill my dreams in other words, a fairy godmother! He says that he develops his ideas for a book through drawing characters and living with them for as long as it takes until they become real enough and believable. Niki believes that his working-class background has a specific influence on his work in that it makes him want to champion the causes of the have-nots. I hope that my books have soul which suggests that I adhere to values that are not purely material. Of his work as an illustrator Niki says: It s an act of revealing, done by throwing light on a story. The illustrator s light comes through understanding, empathizing, and becoming part of the story. I try to observe with respect and care when I illustrate a story that is outside my own life s experience. I look for meeting points between my life and the fiction . . . It s an emotional involvement with fiction and my personal history. He adds, Besides talent, the publishing of children s books requires stamina and a realistic belief in oneself. All these qualities are constantly being challenged and drawn upon. So, I can t help smiling when someone says to me Oh, it must be lovely to make children s picture books. I just don t have the heart to weigh down this rosy notion with the realities, as I know them. Sure, it can be great fun, and it s deeply satisfying to see one of my books in the hands of a child. It s exactly the sight of a child engrossed in a book that makes me tremble with the thought, so succinctly expressed, by Walter de la Mare when he wrote: Only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.
