Castletown artist 'really excited' to be doing artwork for new children's book

A freelance artist from Caithness is "really excited" to be doing the artwork for a new children's book. Catherine Redgate, who comes from Castletown but lives and works in Aberdeen, became involved in the project after a chance meeting with the author, Nesta Nicholson, who had written a story about three furry friends – two dogs and a cat – based on her son's pets, Ollie, Molly and Mylo.

At that time, she had no one to do the illustrations although the problem was solved when the pair met in Perth when Catherine spent a weekend at Nesta’s Air BnB while trading at a maker's market. They decided to work jointly on the book.

Catherine said: "We decided to club together and set up a crowdfunding campaign to fund the book and it has raised over £5000 thanks to the support of 102 backers. I am really excited to be part of a collaborative project like this, giving me a great opportunity to learn how to work directly with an author to bring her vision of the book’s illustrations to life. I hope to finish the artwork by the end of the year."

Working from real photographs and using her talent and experience in whimsical characterisation, Catherine has brought to life the details conjured in Nesta’s imagination. She has been busy working with Nesta's notes to complete a storyboard for initial layouts.

The 35-year-old artist, who has been involved in a number of art projects including her own Waters Edge game, hopes to help Nesta to bring the book to life and share OllieMollyMylo adventures with readers of all ages across the world.

The three furry friends always stick together and often land in trouble. In this escapade, they accidentally set sail on the lake and wash up on an unknown island. The story is told in rhyme by the pets’ own ‘Granny’ Nesta who has spent holidays dog-and-cat-sitting her son and partner's pets in New Zealand.

OllieMollyMylo will feature 32 pages of full-colour illustrations plus an illustrated cover and will be Catherine's biggest book project so far.

Catherine, whose parents Neil and Jennifer and sister Leonie, still stay in Castletown, was at the Harrogate trade fair in Yorkshire this week. Her brother, Jamie, lives in Ayrshire.

The book is due to be published next spring.

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