Books are my business: Illustrator Shannon Bergin

I was always interested in art, I never stopped drawing when I was a child and I would make little books with folded A4 sheets of paper. 

I had a great art teacher in secondary school and I went on to study animation and motion design at Limerick School of Art and Design. I finished college and at the time, I was pretty sick, so I wasn’t going to be able to work in a studio or anything, and working from home suited me. 

I was always interested in illustration so I decided to start trying to gear my portfolio more towards children’s books. I was offered an exhibition when I finished college and I made a book for that, with all the original art on show. After that, I was offered my first book with Little Island, Evie’s Christmas Wishes [by Siobhan Parkinson].

What does being an illustrator involve?

There’s obviously a lot of drawing involved but other things as well like emails, calls and bookkeeping, and I also do workshops in schools and exhibitions. I do a lot of stuff with watercolour and I create a lot of textures with traditional media. Then I scan them, do some digital work and put it all together.

What was it like working on 'Over the Red-Brick Chimney'?

I was given the manuscript, and read through it. I did a lot of research on barnacle geese, gathered images, made mood boards and then started doing sketches to try and figure out what it would all look like. Once I had some sketches of pages, I sent them on to O’Brien Press. 

They wanted some things done a little bit differently so I revised it, sent it back, and then started painting. It is a collaborative process so there is a little bit of back and forth. I enjoy working with authors, as doing illustration by yourself, you can be in a bubble on your own, so it is good to have other people to bounce ideas off. It can make a project a lot better because people think of things that you won’t.

What do you like most about what you do?

Probably the painting. I love colour and experimenting with colour. The making of the art is meditative at times and also a challenge at other times. With Over the Red-Brick Chimney, there were a lot of cool wintery scenes and I tend to go more towards warm colours, so it was hard to do that and still make it look like a happy, inviting scene. 

I also like doing workshops with children, which is something I would have loved to have done as a kid, to meet someone who does this job. To hear their feedback is great, and funny. 

What do you like least about it?

Probably the book-keeping side of things. No one warned me that maths would be involved in being an artist and illustrator.

Three desert island books 

It might be cheating because there are 13 books, but I would bring A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. They are my favourite books from when I was small to now. They are quite dark which I think appeals to kids. 

My next one would be The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters by Janet and Allen Ahlberg, which was my favourite picture book as a child. I loved the tactile nature of all the letters in the book, I still have my copy. 

I just finished Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I am really into gardening and sustainability, and it has definitely made it onto my favourites list.

The An Post Irish Book Awards 2024 winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Convention Centre, Dublin on Wednesday, November 27. You can vote at irishbookawards.ie