They Said She'd Never Make It.

Once upon a time, BRENDA NORTHEAST came up with a brilliant idea,
but very few people believed she could make it work. . . .
When Brenda Northeast came up with the concept of a storybook bear as a means of introducing young children to Vincent van Gogh, not many people stood up and clapped. But Brenda persevered, and despite doubts and fears, her first children's book, "For the Love of Vincent", captured the imagination of adults and children alike, and quickly sold out its first printing. Her book had a breathtaking simple idea - a picture book with a central character, a bear, painted into Vincent's famous paintings.
The challenge was to marry fine art with simple stories in language that children could understand. One of her greatest tasks was "getting inside the artists head, through extensive research. "Doing the paintings was the easy bit", she says. "I wanted to get the essence of what the paintings were about in brief short sentences that wouldn't alienate children", Brenda told us, "I thought it would be a wonderful way of bringing children into art at their own level." In "For the Love of Vincent", we see Vincent Bear painting the famous poplars and sunflowers,
sleeping in the legendary bedroom, climbing to pick one of the orchard blossoms, taking a nap in the haystacks, saying goodnight to the "Sower", and enjoying the starry night outside the familiar cafe. It is a delightful and witty idea, and it is not surprising that a second book followed. This month "For the Love of Auguste" has been released in time for Christmas, and it too features a cute bear added to some of Renoir's trademark scenes.
Brenda, who lives in Munno Para, in South Australia, has had her share of hard times with eight children to raise, "Having a large family brought financial strain, and this gave me the biting edge to look diligently for an answer," she says. "One day," she said, "while exploring ideas, I came across a picture of Gainsborough's Blue Boy and suddenly the idea of recreating this into a teddy was quickened. Why not Blue Bear? I was tickled and challenged by the idea , but could I do it? Did I have the experience? Was it legal to do it?"
"I found the answer to the question by ringing the Copyright Council, and after they verified that is was okay, I went ahead." "The first attempt thrilled me, I couldn't stop, and 18 Old Masters were transformed into Bears. The dilemma came when I was at a loss to know what to do with my creations." I joined the Elizabeth West Adult Campus, thinking that maybe some formal education might assist me with finding a direction. It was during this time that I thought I would try another Old Master transformation."
"I happened to have a book on the works of Vincent van Gogh (of whom i knew nothing of) and thought I could convert one of his works. I chose the picture of Vincent walking to France, and after creating it something happened. The artist's work intrigued me, and I felt moved to research his life. After reading his history, the inspiration to bring his art to children in a way that hadn't been done before, came into my mind like a flood. Warning the family, I asked if they could please help me by giving me the support I would need to devote my time and effort to this project. A picture speaks a thousand words, and I believed the simplicity of the text was the key to sharing the story.
Vincent's expressive style moves the emotions and involves them in what he sees as he looks out on the golden fields of ripened corn in the heat of the summer's day. Evening skies that twirl and glisten with the heavenly hosts as he walks home after a long day out painting, these are the things I hoped would leave children with an everlasting appreciation of the artist and his expressive world.
"By the time I had finished "Vincent", our finances were so straitened I couldn't even afford paper to paint on, but I couldn't let this stop me. I scrounged my cupboards for old sketchbooks until I found enough paper. Some had discarded drawings on them, but I knew I could paint over them. "when I finished, I sent copies to a publisher in Melbourne, and they contacted me. Within 18 months "For the Love of Vincent" was published. 6000 were released in October 1995. The hardcover edition sold out in the early part of 1996, 1000 went to New Zealand,
and a French company bought an adapted version of 5000 copies, which went on sale in Paris last year. Then it was decided to publish it in the soft cover edition in October 96. "The second book, which they asked my to produce,"For the love of Auguste", was much harder to do than the first, which I painted in a burst of inspiration. But children tell me that they like looking for the little Bearre-Auguste in the pictures. This book is available through leading bookshops.



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