Those who grew up close to riverbeds, canopies on steep slopes and wet tree bark after a rainfall will tell you the distinct imprint these images and experiences leave in your memory. And that’s why skipping stones amidst thicket trails will always feel different from throwing a rock in a park pond.

The disordered grace of nature is the backdrop of artist and children’s book illustrator Melinda Josie’s childhood. Josie now lives in and works in Toronto in her recently-reorganized and newly-painted workroom. Her desk seems to magically turn into a corridor or a window into an antique world full of forest critters and greenery, along with cozy cottage scenes and animal characters (including cats, foxes and bears). Josie uses traditional mediums and recreates her memories of nature, bringing her rural Northern Ontario childhood into her life in the city.

Folklore and childhood influence your work. If your childhood were a book, how would you describe the setting? What sorts of childhood imaginings/obsessions spill into your art?

I would say that my book would be set deep in the woods, brimming with lots of animals, plants and trees to look at. I grew up in Muskoka; north of Toronto, and our house was set back a ways in the woods. It was beautiful and quiet.

How much would you say growing up in Muskoka – being close to and having that sense of freedom to explore nature – affected your creativity?

Immensely. When I first moved away for school, I didn’t appreciate how much the north had influenced me. It took time for it to seep in. As the years go by, the more I appreciate and glean from the surroundings I had back then. It’s such a treat to go back and take photos and sketches for reference. I’ll be heading up there soon, and I look forward to bringing a sketchbook with me. I don’t get a chance to sketch nearly enough, so this is a great excuse to.

One of the first things your illustrations call to mind is The Wind and the Willows and E.H. Shephard. What were your favourite children’s books growing up? And who are your favourite children’s book illustrators and why?

I absolutely loved Richard Scarry, Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss. When I was a little older, The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss was published, and it blew my mind. It was quite a bit darker than his children’s books. I love that collection of work. I would say my current favourite is Tove Jansson. She was a Finnish illustrator and story-writer back in the 1950s and 60s, and I’ve been collecting her children’s stories for a while now.

You work with different types of traditional mediums. What is the most difficult one for you? And how do you decide which one to use for a particular work?

I would say that I have the most experience using watercolours, and only recently began using oil paints again. They’ve been incredibly difficult to get a grasp on, but I’m lucky to have friends who paint in oils give me tips on how to use them properly. I’d like to work with them more in the future, but I need practice! There is such a big difference between working with watercolours and oil paints. Watercolour is so much more delicate, and some subject matter calls for a lighter hand. Some images make more sense in oils, because they are solid and sturdy, and it’s much easier to work large in oil paints.

You use a lot of earth tones in your illustrations. How does the subject of your work influence your choice of colour palette?

Since I paint a lot of things found in nature, I like to paint them accurately with nice, natural colours. I do use a lot of earth tones, but I also try to add a lot of vibrant colour in unexpected places as well.

When you’re working on book illustrations, how do you decide on which parts of the story to show/which ones not to reveal?

That’s a great question, because I have to ask myself that same question as I’m working on them, (and I’m finishing up another children’s book right now!). I’ve been really fortunate that the author I’ve worked with in the past writes incredibly descriptive text that’s really easy to work with. It’s actually more difficult to decide what not to use from each paragraph. Sometimes certain things just make more sense visually, and that’s how I choose what to use, and what not to use on a page.

Like most artists and writers, you like to work with the spark of inspiration and get right to painting rather than doing preliminary sketches. But what kinds of things help initiate this spark?

I do look up a lot of image reference. I’ve found a few websites that have become a go-to place to reference from; including Flickr and Pinterest. There are so many great images out there to gain inspiration from! Sometimes working without a sketch keeps more of the spontaneity in an image, where doing too much preparation can take away some of the looseness of a piece of work.

Where do these ideas of animals doing craftwork come from? How are they extensions of who Melinda Josie is?

I’ve had an appreciation of the handmade and craftwork for quite a while, and I pride myself on using as much traditional media/ techniques as possible. I’ve been learning to sew, knit, embroider and use my hands to create things other than artwork, or other forms of artwork, and it seemed right for me to paint the same anthropomorphic animals I’ve been painting for a while doing the same. There’s something so sweet and nostalgic about animals in human situations, like the work of Beatrix Potter or E.H. Shephard. I’m a homebody, and can really appreciate the coziness of sitting and sewing or knitting something for someone you love, so those paintings were a way to illustrate that side of my life. At the time, it just made sense to me.

- Melinda Josie, artist and illustrator
Portrait of Melinda by Celine Kim