Tomislav Torjanac - illustrator & painter

Kraj godine / A year's end

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 29 Dec 2009 17:07:00 +0000

[HR] Lijep završetak godine: slikovnica Djevojčica i div dobila je knjižnu nagradu Kiklop u kategoriji slikovnice godine, plus u siječanjskom broju hrvatskog izdanja časopisa Playboy nalazi se članak o meni na 3 stranice.
Hvala svima na podršci i zanimanju za moj rad — vidimo se u 2010!

[EN] A nice way to end a year: The Little Girl and the Giant won the Kiklop (Cyclops) literary award for picture book of the year, plus there's a 3-page feature about me in the January issue of the Croatian edition of Playboy.
Thanks everyone for your support and interest in my work — see you in 2010!

^ Kiklop 2009.

^ Playboy, January 2010, pg. 24-26

♫ NP: Tomáš Dvořák - Clockwise Operetta

Yann Martel @ Klub Quasimodo, Split

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 30 Nov 2009 12:07:00 +0000

[HR] U četvrtak, 3. prosinca u 21:00 gostovat ću u klubu Quasimodo (Gundulićeva 26, Split), a posebno mi je zadovoljstvo najaviti Yanna Martela koji će mi se pridružiti putem Skypea, tj. direktnom video vezom iz svog doma u Kanadi. Uz Yanna, društvo će mi praviti Zoran Maljković, moj urednik u Mozaiku knjiga, a nas trojica pričat ćemo o Pijevom životu i još nekim knjigama, pokazivati velik broj ilustracija, govoriti o procesu njihova nastajanja... i štošta još. Upad je besplatan — svratite.

[EN] On Thursday, 3rd of November at 9 PM, I'll be giving a presentation of my work in the Quasimodo club (Gundulićeva 26, Split, Croatia) and I'm very pleased to announce Yann Martel will be joining me via Skype, live from his home in Canada. Also, I'll be accompanied by Zoran Maljković, my editor from Mozaik knjiga, and the three of us will be discussing Life of Pi and some other books, show quite a number of illustrations, talk about the illustrating process... and whatnot. Admission is free — do drop by.

♫ NP: Alireza Mashayekhi - Shur, Op.15

Antuntun & Interliber

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:07:00 +0000

[HR] Moja nova slikovnica Kako živi Antuntun uskoro izlazi iz tiska. Osim što sam je oslikao, knjigu sam grafički oblikovao i vlastoručno upisao tekst, a riječ je o mojoj vizualnoj interpretaciji klasične pjesme za djecu Grigora Viteza (1911-1966), napisane prije više od pola stoljeća. Nakladnik je Mozaik knjiga.
Promocija slikovnice održat će se 11. studenog u 17:00 sati na Interliberu (Zagrebački velesajam, štand Mozaika knjiga u paviljonu 6, štand 3D). Ulaz je, naravno, besplatan.
Nadam se da se vidimo!

[EN] My new picture book, Kako živi Antuntun (or simply Antuntun), should be out any day now. It is illustrated, designed and hand-lettered by me, and it is my visual take on the classic children's poem written more than half a century ago by Grigor Vitez (1911-1966). The title of the book/poem is in Croatian and it refers to the main character's name, his life and his ways. The publisher of the Croatian edition is Mozaik knjiga.
The book launch will take place on November 11th, 5:00 PM, at Interliber Book Fair (Mozaik knjiga stand in pavilion 6, stand 3D) in Zagreb, Croatia. Admission is free.
Hope to see you there!

^ Kako živi Antuntun (front & back cover) | oil/digital | 65x35cm |

^ Kako živi Antuntun (pages 06-07) | oil/digital | 65x35cm |

^ Mozaik knjiga bookshop window (photo by Ivana & Denis)

^ Mozaik knjiga stand design at Interliber (pavilion 6, stand 3D)

♫ NP: The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

A jumbled post

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Apologies for long silence — I've been busy finishing my latest (and zaniest) picture book. More about that in a few days. Stay tuned.

I'm happy to report that the cover illustration for The Little Girl and the Giant won the "Lice knjige" ("The Face of a Book") award for the best book cover illustration published in Croatia in 2008-2009, whereas the illustrated edition of Life of Pi received a certificate of merit.
Here they are, displayed in the publisher's bookshop window in Zagreb, Croatia.

^ (photos by Ivana & Denis)

Speaking of Life of Pi: The Illustrated Edition, a few weeks ago there was a book presentation in Profil Megastore — the biggest Croatian bookstore — with Yann Martel (via Skype) and yours truly (via actually being there). It was great — many thanks to Saša Radmilov for making this event possible.
Btw, chances are we'll do a presentation again in a month or so, this time in the city of Split on the Croatian coast.

^ (photo by Saša Radmilov)

Still with Pi, but cut to the other side of the Atlantic. Washington State University Vancouver selected Life of Pi as the Campus Reading Project Book for 2009-2010. They asked to use my illustrations to create posters and handouts, and they did — to a very nice result. More here. (Thanks, Nickie!)

♫ NP: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Sorya Market

The Festival of Illustration

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:59:00 +0000

The Festival of Illustration in Fužine, Croatia.
You're invited.

♫ NP: Pēteris Vasks - Viatore

The Little Girl and the Giant

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:44:00 +0000

I just finished illustrating, hand-lettering and designing a picture book titled The Little Girl and the Giant, written by an award-winning Slovenian author Neli Kodrič Filipić. It's a harrowing and yet liberating story about pain, sorrow and fear being passed on from generation to generation until someone finds the strength to release them. The Slovenian and the Croatian edition are to be published next month by Mladinska knjiga (as Punčka in velikan) and Mozaik knjiga (as Djevojčica i div), respectfully. The English edition will, hopefully, follow soon.

^ The Little Girl and the Giant (cover) | oil/digital | 72x50cm |

^ The Little Girl and the Giant (back cover detail)

^ The Little Girl and the Giant (pages 04-05) | oil/digital | 57x40cm |

^ The Little Girl and the Giant (pages 06-07) | oil/digital | 57x40cm |

^ The Little Girl and the Giant (pages 12-13) | oil/digital | 57x40cm |

♫ NP: Holger Czukay & Rolf Dammers - Boat-Woman-Song

Utopian Tales from Weimar

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:51:00 +0000

I’m one of twenty artists involved with the Utopian Tales from Weimar, a bi-lingual illustrated collection of fairy tales and fables from German Weimar Republic (1919-1933), edited and translated by Jack Zipes. It features stories by political activists who deliberately transformed traditional German fairy tales into utopian narratives and social commentary. The publisher of Utopian Tales from Weimar is The Caseroom Press – a UK-based independent publisher with an interest in art, languages and poetry – whose books “are almost art objects” (as put by The Times). As for the release date... well, here’s hoping it’s sometime this year.

The tale I illustrated is The Little King and the Sun (Der kleine König und die Sonne), written by Edwin Hoernle in 1920.

^ The Little King and the Sun | pencil/digital | 42x30cm |

♫ NP: Ben Frost - Stomp

Predavanje / A lecture

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:31:00 +0000

[HR] U četvrtak, 16. travnja 2009. u 18:30, držat ću predavanje/ predstavljanje u sklopu Salona Matice hrvatske. Predavanje će se održati u palači Matice hrvatske, Strossmayerov trg 4, Zagreb. Tema je "Sprega riječi i slike u knjizi za odrasle: ilustrirani Pijev život". Predavanje će biti popraćeno PowerPoint prezentacijom, nakon čega publika postavlja pitanja, a zatim slijedi mali domjenak. Predavanje je otvoreno za javnost, ulaz besplatan.
Pozvani ste, nadam se da se vidimo.

[EN] On Thursday April 16, at 6:30 PM, I'm giving a lecture on "A marriage of words and pictures in literature: the illustrated Life of Pi". It is a part of the Salon Matice hrvatske event held at Palača Matice hrvatske, Strossmayerov trg 4, Zagreb, Croatia. Following the lecture (which will be in Croatian) accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, there will be a short Q&A (in Croatian and, if needed, in English) and a light buffet after that. The event is open to the public, admission is free.
You're invited, hope to see you there.

♫ NP: Jóhann Jóhannsson - The Rocket Builder (Io Pan!)

The German Edition

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:08:00 +0000

The German edition of Life of Pi: Illustrated, published by Fischer.

♫ NP: Pan Sonic - Virta 1

The Hungarian Edition

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:52:00 +0000

The Hungarian edition of Life of Pi: Illustrated, published by Európa.

♫ NP: Terry Riley - Embroidery

The Chinese edition

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:21:00 +0000

I received my advance copies of the Chinese edition of Life of Pi: Illustrated and I'm very happy with how it looks and feels. The publisher is Taiwan's Crown. (cheers Dale!)

♫ NP: Freeform Arkestra - Freeform Origin Theme

The Store is open!

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:57:00 +0000

The newly-opened Tomislav Torjanac Store is happy to notify you of the first in what we hope will be a long line of exclusive products with art by Tomislav Torjanac. So, without much further ado, we proudly present:

^ “Mother” (or “Mrs. Patel”), limited edition of 50 signed giclée prints

This is the only illustration that didn't make it into Life of Pi: The Illustrated Edition. Originally painted in oil and digital medium, it's a sister image to the painting of Orange Juice on page 109 of the book.

The illustration was excluded from the final product because Yann Martel, Jamie Byng (the editor) and I thought there would be too many illustrations in the last part of the book (where it was supposed to be), and we didn't want to overcrowd it. We also agreed it might reveal a bit too much of the storyline to someone who flipped through the book prior to reading it.
Still, I was sorry to leave it out – I'm really fond of it – so I have decided to "resurrect" it as a print. It will not be offered anywhere else and in any other form. (tt)

For more info and to buy, please click on the Store link on the right or click here.
Thank you for your support!

♫ NP: Hysear Don Walker - Children Of The Night

Guest-blogging

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:19:00 +0000

I'm a guest blogger on the English class blog of the Brandon Valley High School (South Dakota, USA).
Greetings to Mr. Christensen and his students.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates - more soon.

♫ NP: Elbow - On A Day Like This

Sky Arts: The Book Show

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:47:00 +0000

Mariella Frostrup talks to Yann Martel who discusses life, literature and, of course, Life of Pi: The Illustrated Edition.

♫ NP: Fennesz - Rivers of Sand

Reviews and other Pi-related stuff

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Here are some reviews of Life of Pi: The Illustrated Edition, mostly from last year (fortunately, those things don't have an expiration date). I've also thrown in an interview and a slideshow.

♠ The San Diego Union Tribune
New Life for Pi; or, The Return of Richard Parker

♠ The Miami Sun Post
Life of Pi gets visualized

♠ The Vancouver Sun
Adult art fills illustrated edition of Yann Martel's Life of Pi novel

♠ The Compulsive Reader
A review of the Illustrated Life of Pi

♠ Leap In The Dark
Book Review - Life of Pi Illustrated Edition

♠ The Association of Illustrators (AOI)
Life of Pi

♠ Amazon.com
Customer Reviews

♠ Amazon.com
Best Book Gifts of the Season

♠ Reach: Motivate
It's wise to focus on the here & now

♠ The Globe and Mail
Illustrated Life of Pi (slideshow)

♠ Toronto Star
A new slice of Pi

♫ NP: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Song For Jesse

The US tour impressions

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:05:00 +0000

^ The US tour was an amazing, whirlwind experience: we visited 14 cities in 17 days, and Yann Martel was a perfect travelling companion. It would be impossible to sum it all up in just one post, so you'll just have to take my word for it and look at some photos (which, alas, won't reveal much).
But first, a big "thank you" to all the wonderful people who attended our presentations - without you, this tour would be nothing. Also, thanks to our hosts and media escorts, plus a special "thank you" to Lee Kravetz, Harcourt's publicity manager and all-around great guy, for organizing this unforgettable tour.

^ Rather than flying, we decided to rent a Ford Mustang convertible and drive Fear-and-Loathing-in-Las-Vegas-style from L.A. to San Diego...

^ ...but only made it halfway, to Laguna Beach. We were forced to turn back because of the heavy bush fires (the strange haze on the photo is smoke - the seats of our car were covered with a layer of ashes). Our San Diego gig was canceled, so we flew straight to San Francisco.

^ Full house of some 800 people at The Crest Theatre in Sacramento! (photo by California Lectures)

^ Yann speaking at Amazon.com Fishbowl in Seattle. Amazonians were so friendly and nice. (photo by Shane Lin)

^ Seattle ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. Grey's Anatomy, anyone?

^ Lexington, Kentucky. The "Horse Capital of the world."

^ Are you lonesome tonight?

^ Greenwood, Mississippi - such an interesting little town. I really enjoyed the late-night drive as we were whisked away to this place. Thanks to Ron Shapiro, our Mississippi media escort, Santaolalla's De Usuahia a la Quiaca will never sound the same again.

^ New York City, near Harcourt offices.

^ Me speaking at Barnes & Noble bookstore in Atlanta - the final event of our tour. (photo by Emily Wilson)

♫ NP: Gustavo Santaolalla - De Usuahia a la Quiaca

Artist.Record.Teach. #18

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:01:00 +0000

16 whopping full-colour pages of my art plus the cover and an interview in the latest issue of an excellent Taiwanese magazine Artist.Record.Teach.

^ Artist.Record.Teach. #18 (Dorothy) | oil/digital | 30x40cm |

For more info and to buy, please click on the image or click here.
Thank you for your support!

♫ NP: The National - Fake Empire

Life beyond Pi

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:45:00 +0000

The story behind the Illustrated Life of Pi on The Man Booker Prize website!

♫ NP: Sugar Creek - Memory Tree

Spectrum 14

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:25:00 +0000

Got an illustration in this year's Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art:

^ Hop! | oil/digital | 30x40cm |

♫ NP: Rahmann - Danse Sacrée

Limited edition signed prints

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:23:00 +0000

15 numbered Life of Pi sets of six limited edition A2 giclée prints (420x594 mm or 16.5x23.4"), all signed by Yann Martel and me. For more details and to buy, as well as the process of my artwork from sketch phase to full-colour painting, click here.

♫ NP: Mordant Music - Den On VelluMM

Souvenirs from London

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:38:00 +0000

The presentation at London's Southbank Centre was a complete success - all the tickets were sold out. Thanks to everyone who attended the event!

^ Yann Martel (right) and me (left) standing in front of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre.

^ Yann and me book-signing while people are buying their copies of Life of Pi: Illustrated after the presentation at Southbank Centre.

The opening of my exhibition at Bluebird went great as well. Aside from my partner Mihaela, Yann Martel and the amazing Canongate team - Jamie Byng and family, Alexa Von Hirschberg, Dan Franklin and Polly Collingridge with her husband Peter - the opening was attended by Phil Dale, Tony White, Rupert Thomson, Emily Young, Kirsty Gunn, James Miller, Duško Šibl, Russell Celyn Jones, Kirsten Schmidt, Stewart Wheeler (Counselor, Canadian High Comission), Simon Anderson (Cultural Relations Officer, Canadian High Comission), Flora Turner (Cultural Counsellor, Croatian Embassy), Jasna Paro (Croatian TV's London Correspondent) and many more. It was my great pleasure to meet you. My deepest apologies to all whose names I don't know or haven't mention.

^ Bluebird, 350 Kings Road, London (entrance).

^ Bluebird, 350 Kings Road, London (interior).

Croatian TV crew showed up at the exhibition as well. Below are some screencaps from Vijesti iz kulture aired a week ago.

^ From left to right: Tony White, yours truly, Mihaela, Simon Anderson, Stewart Wheeler & (a bit of) Brian.

^ Yann Martel.

^ YM & TT checking if easels were aligned. They weren't, but looking good nevertheless.

^ Jamie Byng during his speech.

^ Yann Martel with close friends. Peter Collingridge in the background.

^ Jasna Paro and Flora Turner on the left. I misplaced my pen, again.

♫ NP: Strings of Consciousness - Asphodel

The Big Issue (in Scotland)

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:53:00 +0000

There's an interview with Yann and me in the latest issue of The Big Issue (in Scotland). You can read some extracts here.

♫ NP: The Veils - Jesus For The Jugular

The Times article

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:31:00 +0000

An article about Life of Pi: Illustrated in today's edition of The Times.

♫ NP: Sun Ra - There Are Other Worlds (Ra)

The Royal Festival Hall event

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:41:00 +0000

The event at the Royal Festival Hall (London, 25 September, 7:45 P.M.) will involve a presentation and a discussion between Yann Martel and me about how we collaborated on the book. It will be chaired by Erica Wagner, Literary Editor of the Times. For more info and bookings click here. Cheers!

♫ NP: Guts Pie Earshot - Exit

Touring USA

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:49:00 +0000

Yann Martel and yours truly will be touring in the US in late October and early November to promote Life of Pi: Illustrated Edition. There will be presentations, there will be Q&As, there will be book signings...
Below are the dates and locations; please check at the specific location for details. Hope to see you there!

♫ NP: Buffalo Springfield - Expecting To Fly

Changes, changes...

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:52:00 +0000

^ Life of Pi: The Illustrated Edition (UK cover)

In my previous post, I mentioned that the UK cover was supposed to feature a Victorian etching of a tiger, while my painting - based on the aforementioned etching - was going to be on the cover of the US edition. In the meantime, Canongate decided to lose the etching and use my painting on the cover as well. I feel sorry for losing the original image since what's left is (just) a copy. In that light, the credit should be as follows: "Cover painting by Tomislav Torjanac after the wonderful etching by an unknown artist. Apologies."

♫ NP: Ron Greiner - The Omega Man

Life of Pi Illustrated Edition report

noreply@blogger.com (torjanac) — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:22:00 +0000

OK, here's how things are at this stage: there will be two editions of Life of Pi: Illustrated - the UK edition published by Canongate (release date September 2007) and the US edition published by Harcourt (release date October 2007).

These two editions will sport different covers: the UK edition (designed by Pentagram) will feature a great Victorian etching of a tiger, while the US edition will feature my full-colour painting based on the aforementioned etching.

Related to that, the Deluxe Illustrated Edition of Life of Pi was featured on Amazon Bookstore's Blog a few days ago. You can read it here.

♫ NP: Henry Cow - Beautiful As The Moon, Terrible As An Army With Banners