Malgosia Król

Hi! I'm Malgosia and I write in pictures. My work is continuously shaped by my lived experiences and deeply steeped in my Polish heritage of storytellers, artists, ancestral folklore, and connection to nature and mysticism. With my storytelling I often highlight our collective human experience and aim to provoke thought in the reader, by inviting them to peel back the layers within their own life story and examining life viewed through their lens. I really believe that storytelling is integral to our shared humanity and art is a universal language that speaks to the worlds and magic within us; granting us infinite access for growth. It is important to me that my illustrations expand the narrative instead of only serving as an echo for the words. My own unique illustration style often carries elements of nostalgic simplicity, pops of bright colours, themes of daily life, humour, nature, animals, magic and fantasy. I celebrate an emphasis on imperfection and a focus on the process rather than the result. I use a combination of analogue tools and Procreate to illustrate; mainly working with ink, watercolour, charcoal, graphite and coloured pencils. Patterns and textures are important to me and I use them liberally in my illustrations; I'm always inspired by traditional Polish folk art, Wycinanki (Polish paper cutting), stamps, stencils, and tools made from objects found in nature to explore and play with new mark making.  My path to becoming an author and illustrator was not linear. I studied psychology, landscape architecture and journalism; working in each field in varying capacities, but writing and drawing are my first loves in life. Since embarking on this journey and feeling encouraged by winning industry recognition and awards for my children's books, my continued focus is on making this discipline my life’s work; as a mother my constant inspiration rests in how to communicate big subjects to a young audience; preparing them for the world we live in and not one that doesn’t exist (yet).  When I’m not getting my hands dirty making marks on paper I can be found gardening with my hands in the dirt, throwing mud on the pottery wheel, adventuring in nature with my family, or learning my fifth language - Spanish, of course!