Illustration for Mikhail Stelmakh's book 'In the Hedgehog's Windmill' 1956

This illustration, made by Hryhorii Havrylenko for Mikhail Stelmakh's book, gives us a peek into the process of storytelling. Just look at how Havrylenko uses simple lines to create depth and texture. It's like he's sketching his way through a dream. The mark-making here is so direct. Each line feels like a tiny decision, a little push and pull that builds into a whole world. See the way the grass is rendered? It's not just grass; it's a curtain, a threshold. The surface is alive with these tiny marks, creating a sense of movement and growth. The girl with the basket is the still point, a figure entering or exiting the scene. This piece reminds me of other illustrators like Quentin Blake, who knew how to conjure entire universes with just a few strokes. Art is about this kind of ongoing conversation, a playful back-and-forth that embraces ambiguity and invites us to see things a little differently.