Jess Mason創作的插畫總是直擊心靈最柔軟的部分，它們彷彿溫暖蓬鬆的毛毯，包裹著身心。作為一名兒童繪本插畫家，Jess Mason的創作汲取了多種文學體裁的養分。她來自英國伍斯特郡，這裡也是霍比特人的故鄉。得益於成長環境的滋養和在英國伍斯特大學的藝術插畫系的歷練，描繪冒險、離奇又風趣溫馨的插畫故事成為了她的過人之處。

Jess Mason’s illustrations always touch the softest part of the heart. They are like warm and fluffy blankets that wrap the body and mind. As a children’s picture book illustrator, Jess Mason’s creations draw nourishment from a variety of literary genres. She is from Worcestershire, England, which is also the hometown of the Hobbits. Thanks to the nourishment of her growing environment and her experience in the Department of Art and Illustration at the University of Worcester, England, her illustrations depicting adventurous, bizarre, funny and warm stories have become her strengths.

她平日最喜愛創作和閱讀。她總是從她讀過的故事中汲取素材，“讀一本書時，我都會想像這本書的插圖會是什麼樣子，講故事是我所做一切的核心。”

Her favorite things to do are writing and reading. She always draws inspiration from the stories she has read. “When I read a book, I imagine what the illustrations of the book will look like. Storytelling is at the core of everything I do.”

她的創作靈感來自於民間藝術、中世紀手稿、自然、電影和日常生活，就連貓的睡姿有時也會成為她的靈感來源。她對北美洲斯堪的納維亞半島的歷史非常感興趣，也常常懷著極大的好奇心研究中世紀的手稿和地圖。她自認為是數字藝術家，用procreate來進行創作，她常常在上面嘗試許多不同的畫筆，甚至自己製作畫筆。“我結合手繪和數字處理，努力創作出有氛圍、有個性，最重要的是能講故事的插畫。”

She take most of my inspiration from Folk art, medieval manuscripts, nature, film and the everyday. She is very interested in the history of the Scandinavian Peninsula in North America, and often studies medieval manuscripts and maps with great curiosity. She considers herself a digital artist and uses Procreate to create her works. She often tries many different brushes on it and even makes her own brushes. Using a combination of hand rendered and digital processes she strive to create illustrations that are atmospheric, characterful and that most importantly, tell stories.

在伍斯特大學學習插畫的經歷使她意識到，可以將對繪畫與對故事兩者的熱愛結合起來，自此，她立志成為一名兒童書籍的插畫師。大學二年級時，她修讀了一個兒童書籍插圖的課程，並發現了其他插畫家如Jon Klassen， Carson Ellis和Julia Sarda的作品，更加激勵了她的創作道路。

In 2015 she went to study Illustration at the University of Worcester and It was during this time that she realised she could combine her love of drawing with her love of stories and so she made it my ambition to pursue a career as an Illustrator of children’s books. During her sophomore year in college, she took a children’s book illustration course and discovered the work of other illustrators such as Jon Klassen, Carson Ellis, and Julia Sarda, which further inspired her creative path.

作品中充滿童真又不失細膩的筆觸，柔和的色彩，塑造了輕鬆歡快的氛圍與復古迷人的氣質。她常常描繪自然環境，英國的鄉野在她筆下變得十分可愛。她喜歡用棕褐色的色調作為整幅創作的基底，讓人聯想到樹林和大地。畫中的人物也總是笑臉盈盈，以善意擁抱世界。

The works are full of childlike innocence and delicate brushstrokes, and soft colors, creating a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere and a retro and charming temperament. She often depicts the natural environment, and the British countryside becomes very lovely in her paintings. She likes to use brown tones as the base of the entire creation, which reminds people of the woods and the earth. The characters in the paintings are always smiling, embracing the world with kindness.

她受到了蒂姆·波頓的電影如《殭屍新娘》，還有《怪奇物語》、《聖誕夜驚魂》等影視作品的啟發。 例如她與Hazy Dell Press合作的一本書。她為這個封面添加了霓虹燈般的色彩，顯得栩栩如生。並且試圖打造一個《綠野仙蹤》般的場景，通過從暗調的灰棕色到溫暖柔和的色塊，從沉悶的背景到霓虹燈，實現了戲劇性的轉變。她為了從細節處打造神秘感，甚至花了很長時間研究墓地的大門和墓碑上的哥特式手寫字體。

She was inspired by films such as ‘The Corpse Bride’ and ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’ – or any Tim Burton film for that matter as well as season 2 of ‘Stranger Things. In the cover for a picture book she worked on with Hazy Dell Press, she added neon-like colors to the cover, making it look vivid. She also tried to create a scene like The Wizard of Oz, achieving a dramatic transition from dark gray-brown to warm and soft blocks of color, from dull backgrounds to neon lights. In order to create a sense of mystery from the details, she even spent a long time studying the Gothic handwriting on the cemetery gates and tombstones.

古老蒼茫的山脈、鬱鬱蔥蔥的峽谷和原始的湖泊，宛如神奇的仙境，激發了她的想像。2021年她的首部插畫作品《山上的大腳印》，就描繪了幾個青少年在山川之間的奇幻冒險故事。還有以蘇格蘭葛籣芬南高架橋為背景的插畫作品，讓人聯想到同樣來自英國的J.K. Rowling的作品。

The ancient and vast mountains, lush canyons and pristine lakes are like a magical wonderland, which inspires her imagination. Her first illustration work in 2021, “Big Footprints on the Mountain”, depicts the fantasy adventures of several teenagers in the mountains and rivers. There are also illustrations with the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland as the background, which reminds people of the works of J.K. Rowling, who is also from the UK.

透過Jess Mason奇幻輕快的繪畫，我們可以看到一個童話故事般的美麗鄉村。“畫你所看到的，而不是你認為你看到的”。她對生活最誠摯的描繪提醒我們，靈感就在身邊，我們要做的就是勇敢地捕捉它。

Through Jess Mason’s fantastic and light paintings, we can see a beautiful countryside like a fairy tale. ‘Draw what you see, not what you think you see’. Her most sincere depiction of life reminds us that inspiration is all around us, and all we have to do is bravely capture it.

More about Jess Mason:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessmasonillustration/

Photo courtesy of the artist Jess Manson