Robert Roennfeldt Illustrator Profile

It so happened that Chicago, USA, was my birthplace because my parents were overseas. My father was studying there. When I was two years old, I travelled halfway around the world. I guess I enjoyed it - I can't remember.

I lived in Murtoa, Victoria, for the next umpteen years with my older brother David, younger brother Pete and Mum and Dad. Later my two sisters came along.

I drew a bit in school hours, but after school was too busy with other things. In 1965 I was in 6th class at Murtoa State School. That year the teacher paid me a very big compliment. He asked for, and I gave him, my best painting I did for Art.

I did a graphic design course in Geelong, completing it in 1975. Later the house I lived opposite and what went on in the street became the subject for my second book, A Day on the Avenue. After working for a Melbourne art studio for six years, I turned freelance in 1982. I sit in my studio at home working on books! Ever since Tiddalick, the Frog Who Caused a Flood was published, I've been given frogs. One little frog jumping over a snail was given as a get-well present when I was sick one time. Cute.

I keep track of the hours I spend in the studio to work out how much time I spend in total on any one project. I know I spent 7891 hours from start to finish doing the initial roughs and artwork for The Paddock, a story written by Lilith Norman.

I am married with two sons, Michael and Nathan. I wanted to finish illustrating The Paddock before Nathan was born. I didn't make it! Nothing much happened in the studio on the day he was born or the few days thereafter.

Ideas for my books come from my ideas box. I keep a random collection of newspaper articles, sketches, photographs, jottings and anything else I like the look of. Eventually, an idea develops from something out of the box. What's that Noise? Was sparked off by a poem by Walter de la mare. Research for Nana's Gift took me to the Coorong, and the Aboriginal community at Raukkan in South Australia, so I could get as true a feel as possible inthe illustrations.

Recently I have pursued a more realistic approach to illustrating. Before, I relied totally on my imagination to produce the 'little world' within the cover of the book.