“Trees of Home” by Axel Scheffler.

• Pencil, watercolours, coloured pencils, pen and ink
• Dimension: 23.6 cm x 17.1 cm

Bid for this exceptional artwork created by Axel Scheffler, probably the best known children’s illustrator in the UK!

The artwork was created by sketching an outline in pencil and then applying a wash of the main colours in the picture with liquid watercolours. Once dried, the artist used coloured pencils to apply detail and variation to achieve his signature look, using pen and ink on certain fine lines.

The artwork is inspired by the collaborative poem “Trees of Home”, created by the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants art and writing class.

Artist Jane Ray and writer Sita Brahmachari worked with refugees and people seeking asylum to make pictures and collect words and stories exploring a theme, such as trees, maps or rivers. The poem is a culmination of their work. 

Axel Scheffler is a German illustrator best known for his work on The Gruffalo. He has illustrated over 100 books and his collaborations with Julia Donaldson have achieved sales of more than 48 million copies worldwide. 

Scheffler, the first recipient of the "Illustrator of the Year Award", was chosen for this project because of his work on picture books and because he has always been active in showing support for refugees.