Carine Brancowitz’s illustrations are drawn with a biro. Yes. A biro. If you have unbridled talent, a flair for composition, an obsessive eye for detail, the ability to create textures by juxtaposing line and blocks of colour then you’ll understand how difficult these drawings are to create, how much time they take, how much work goes into each composition. Why they are so wonderful.
The pen is always taken for granted. We have become inured to digital wizardry, have forgotten the majesty of a line made with ink, of a hand crossing a page, the flawed technique that creates an indelible impression on the paper. Brancowitz reminds us of our potential. She has both talent and an ability to realise, on paper, the purity and passion of adolescent anxiety. They are quite frankly beautiful drawings that demand our lingering attention.