Zosienka
Two paintings hung on the walls of Zosienka’s childhood bedroom: Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau and Empire of Light by René Magritte. She could spend hours with Rousseau's tiger and other days sit quietly beneath Magritte's lantern. Now, towering blue skies and jungle plants feature in her illustrations along with inquisitive animals, strange fruits and surrealist undertones. As a picture book artist, she is focused on creating playful characters who have a meaningful story. She uses inks and gouache paints to fill the illustrations with texture and detail.
Zosienka was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to Polish and English parents. She studied graphic design at Central Saint Martins and went on to a career in stop-motion animation, inspired by traditional animators Yuri Norstein and Se-Ma-For studios.
On a scenic route, through puppet-making, pottery, painting, confectionary, interior and print design, Zosienka made the journey into picture books. Her first illustrated book Baby Bird was published in 2018 by Frances Lincoln, followed by The Moon Keeper (Harper Collins 2020), translated in 9 languages.
All Books by Zosienka:
