March 12, 2024

If no one saw it, would I still make it?

If the answer to this question is yes, I know I’m on to something.

Other observations

February 25, 2025

Something that sounds like music

Do fundamental skills really need to come first? Or, instead of learning those, can we focus on why we’re doing in the first place?

February 18, 2025

Which idea is the right one?

With so many potential paintings, drawings, and ideas to make, how does anyone prioritise their precious time on Earth?

February 11, 2025

Do you want fries with that?

How does a culture of add-ons and upgrades effect how we make art?

February 4, 2025

Did Chopin want to be the nocturne guy?

Is it possible to trap ourselves into a ‘style’ or ‘type of work’ because it’s easier for the world to understand simplicity?

January 28, 2025

Escaping the whirlpool of doubt and uncertainty

Is it possible that making marks on paper – either letters or lines – can help us navigate otherwise overwhelming decisions?

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My deep gratitude to our traditional custodians

I have lived and worked my whole life in Gadigal and Boon Wurrung Country in what we now call Australia. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I do my work and I pay my respects to elders past and present. I acknowledge the sorrow of the stolen generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I also recognise the resilience, strength and pride of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and through my work, aim to help as much as I can to empower and help them thrive.

About the author

Matt Shanks is an internationally-published and critically-acclaimed author/illustrator of over twenty picture books. Eric the Postie (2018) and Queen Celine (2019) were both awarded Notables by the CBCA for Picture Book of The Year. Rosie the Rhinoceros, written by Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes, and Herman Crab, written by one of Australia’s favourite comedians, Peter Helliar, is available now. Matt is a two-time fellow of the May Gibbs’ Children’s Literature Trust, an Australian Literary and Numeracy Foundation ambassador, co-editor of Words Like This, and works primarily in watercolour. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria, with his partner and cat.

Learn more at www.mattshanks.com.au