© JENNIFER ENNION
CREATORS OF THE COAST
WORDS JENNIFER ENNION
Embracing the mess A local author-illustrator’s journey to success Drawing dinosaurs is dangerous territory when it comes to children, says Central Coast author-illustrator Sara Acton. The Avoca Beach artist recalls her young son correcting her as she worked on her children’s picture book Dinosaur Day Out. ‘He came into my studio and he looked at the picture and he goes ‘Mum, you do realise velociraptors don’t look like the ones in Jurassic Park?’ ‘But then, also, dinosaurs don’t eat ice-creams, which they do in my book,’ Sara laughs. The mum-of-two is inspired by her family when creating a book. Feeding ducks in New Zealand led to Ben and Duck with her son, Ben, as the main character. In her books, you may also notice a few local motifs, such as the Avoca Public School uniform.
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