I’m really pleased to announce the release of my sixth colouring book: Mount Kaputar: A living volcano, a collaboration with Adam Fawcett, Shannon Greenfields and James Faris. This book was developed in partnership with Saving our Species, New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment, and in collaboration with New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. I created the illustrations, except for the mountain range on pages 3 and 4 which were drawn and labelled by James. The book was written by Adam, Shannon and James.
Download your copy now!
In 2022 I visited Mount Kaputar National Park to meet Adam, Shannon and James, and to gather information and images of the landscapes and species that were to appear in the book.
We visited a range of ecosystems and sites, and were fortunate to see many wonderful plants, animals and fungi. Maybe you can see from these photos some of the inspiration for the final illustrations that appear in the book…
Above: Shannon and James visiting a known site of the threatened Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby. Below: Illustration of the site.
Shannon and Adam discussing the finer points of the colouring book.
The Nadewar Range (including Mount Kaputar National Park) is an important landscape feature of Gamilaroi, Kamilaroi, Gomeroi, Gamilaraay Country. Above is a photo of the Deriah Aboriginal Area, situated in a beautiful woodland of the rare Ooline tree Cadellia pentastylis.
Thanks to Adam, Shannon and James for making this book happen, and for the financial support of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment which has enabled the creation and publishing of the book, including its availability as a free ebook. A limited number of print copies will be available from the Narrabri National Parks and Wildlife Office at a date to be announced….
Mount Kaputar: a living volcano Adam Fawcett, James Faris and Shannon Greenfields (Authors), Paula Peeters and James Faris (Illustrators).
Published in 2023 by Paperbark Writer, PO Box 1136, Nerang, Queensland Australia.
© 2023 Paperbark Writer; Illustrations © Paula Peeters 2023
Cataloguing in Publication details are available from the National Library of Australia www.trove.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 0 6454875 3 4 (print)
ISBN 978 0 6454875 4 1 (ebook)
Printed in Australia on recycled paper.
Awesome as always – love it!
Thanks Rhonda for your appreciation, it means a lot to me 🙂
Your book is amazing! (The slug steals the show!). I am very curious on how much time you spent at Mt Kaputar doing research. Also how much sketching was done on site vs back home/office. I’d like to share this experience with my students. Many thanks!
Hi Quentin, Thanks for your kind words about the Mt Kaputar book. I spent about 4 days in Mt Kaputar NP in early 2022, but I had been there before a couple of times, so was already a bit familiar with the landscapes and biota (e.g. the cover of my 2016 book ‘Make a Date with Nature’ is a nature journal spread created at Mt Kaputar NP). In 2022 I didn’t do much sketching, but I took a lot of photos, and learnt a lot from James and Adam who took me to some new places, including places with limited public access. When I designed the illustrations I imagined what certain plants and animals might be doing in the ecosystem – where are they found, how they behave, etc, and this comes from my own knowledge of the species and what info I can find about them. From this I do a rough design sketch of the whole page. Then I look for photos that I can use as references for the drawing that I have imagined. These are my own photos but also a lot from the Atlas of Living Australia and elsewhere. I also draw some plants – especially background trees – straight from my imagination, but keeping in mind what those sorts of trees / forests are supposed to look like. So the illustrations are a combination of drawing from photos, but also my own imagination (which is informed by a lifetime of observing and learning about wildlife). It’s great that you’re planning to share the book with your students. Where do you teach? Cheers, Paula
Paula, how fortunate we are to have someone with your skill and passion to produce such engaging books. A team effort and thanks to NSW Planning and Environment for their financial support to allow this book, and some of the other books you have produced, to be available as a free download. Rippling effects branch out- im with our Dunedoo Landcare group and we have used your ‘Wonderous Woodland’ booklet to engage students at our 2 small schools and get them exploring our 33acre Woodlands on the outskirts of town. Our Warrumbungles will have many overlaps with Mt Kaputar. So….thankyou, and if you’re ever down Dunedoo way…..let us know. Cheers
Hey Sharon, thanks! And well done, your work sounds amazing too. I would love to pop in one day. All the best, Paula