Exercise 2

Suggested Personal Statement Structure

Introduction:

• Begin with an opening sentence to grab the reader’s attention.
• Introduce yourself as an illustrator, including your name, background, and the degree you have studied.

As an illustrator and children’s picture book illustrator, I’m passionate about creating artwork that sparks curiosity, nurtures imagination, and brings stories to life in meaningful ways. My work is based in gentle storytelling, expressive characters, and a deep sensitivity to the environmental world of children.

My name is Ruth Goodwin, my background is in retail and products, I have studied a BA Hons Illustration Degree. Much of my inspiration comes from the natural world – botanicals, changing seasons, quiet landscapes, and small, often overlooked details in daily life. I’m particularly drawn to stories that encourage a sense of wonder and care for the environment, and I aim to reflect these values through my visual storytelling. Environmental themes, empathy, and connection are threads that often run through my books.

Artistic Inspiration and Influences:

• Discuss the sources of inspiration that inform your creative practice. These could include other illustrators, artists, movements, experiences, or personal interests.
• Highlight specific influential figures or works and explain how they have shaped your artistic journey.

I like illustrators like, Sarah Massini, Beatrice Blue, Beatrice Alemagna, Helen Kellock, Victoria Semykina, Emily Hamilton, Luch Fleming, Clara Anganuzzi and of course Oliver Jeffers.

I love illustrating stories that explore nature, relationships, and quiet moments with subtle humour and friendly warmth. My style blends traditional and digital techniques with surface pattern design and an emphasis on hand drawn lines, soft textured, and atmospheric colour.

I aim to create illustrations that feel timeless and heartfelt – images that children can return to again, and again, discovering something new each time. I strive to enhance my narrative through thoughtful visual storytelling, always keeping the child reader at the centre. I believe picture books have the power to comfort, inspire and open up conversations, especially with environmental issues and the natural world.

Conceptual Framework:

• Explain the underlying concepts and ideas that drive your work. Describe the themes, subjects, or issues you explore.

Creating illustrations that are heartfelt and timeless, whether I’m illustrating a tender moment between characters or a leafy woodland scene, I like to create imagery that invites children in and encourage them to look closely.

Creative Process:

• Describe your creative process, focusing on how you transform your ideas into tangible visual forms. 

My creative process combines traditional painterly watercolour painting with surface pattern design and carefully chosen digital brushes and layering techniques. This approach allows me to maintain the tactile charm of handmade work while adapting it fluidly for narrative storytelling. Each illustration begins with sketchbook exploration and I’d developed with attention to detail, atmosphere, and a strong sense of place.

Visual Language and Aesthetic Choices:

• Explain your visual language and aesthetic preferences. Discuss the elements and principles of illustration and design that you utilise and how they contribute to the overall impact of your work.
• Explore the stylistic approaches, colour palettes, composition techniques, typography, or other visual elements that are integral to your artistic style.

My aesthetic choices lean towards soft pastel colour palettes, hand drawn textures, and organic forms. I use negative space, composition, and subtle visual storytelling to evoke emotion and invite children to look slowly and closely. I aim to create imagery that feels gentle yet immersive – narrative worlds that encourage observation, comfort and wonder. I believe picture books are powerful spaces for learning, reflection, and emotional growth.

Conclusion:

• End with a reflection on your artistic journey, aspirations for the future, or any final thoughts you would like to share.

Illustration has become a way for me to quietly connect with others – especially children – through storytelling that is both tender and meaningful. I believe that picture books are one of the earliest forms of art and narrative children engage with, and they have the power to shape how young readers see themselves, others, and the natural world. Creating imagery that holds space for emotion, beauty, and wonder is both a joy and a responsibility I carry with care.

Looking ahead, I aspire not only to continue illustrating children’s books but also to write and illustrate my own picture book stories. I’m excited to bring my voice more fully into the storytelling process, combining my visual language with narratives that speak to the values I hold close – empathy, environmental connection, and quiet observation.

My hope is that my work, whether as an illustrator or author- illustrator, will offer children moments of calm, recognition, and inspiration – books they will return to, grow with and remember.