Shaun Tan, you blow my mind.

For my illustration class we have to give a presentation about an illustrator of our choice. I picked the incredible, incredible Australian illustrator Shaun Tan.

I first became acquainted with his work when I saw an exhibition at the McMichael Gallery showcasing the original artwork from the book Dream. This book features the artwork of fifteen different illustrators and I think I can say that this exhibition is what sparked my interest in book illustration.

My admiration for Shaun Tan has pretty much just grown from then. If he was a rock star, I would be a screaming fangirl. When looking at his work, I find myself feeling so inspired and yet at the same it is just so incredibly awesome that I feel I should just give up and become an accountant or something because my work will never ever be that amazing. The way he activates all spaces in his artwork, even the seemingly "negative" space, is just so beautiful. In my opinion, he is an illustration god.