My Dearest Dido: The Holodomor Story

Tkachenko, Olha: - "Ukrainian-born Olha Tkachenko is the artist behind the inside and cover art of My Dearest Dido. She was also the illustrator for two previous books by Marion Mutala: More Babas, Please! and My Buddy, Dido! Since 2008, Olha has worked as a freelance children's illustrator and has created many children's books in the USA, Canada, and Russia. In 2014, Olha and her family moved to Canada, where she worked at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatchewan and led a private art school. Her work has been exhibited in Ukraine, France, and Canada. Olha works with various media such as oil, soft pastel, watercolors, and batiks. Her hot batik works combine traditional Ukrainian technique of Pysankas (painted Easter Eggs) and modern concepts. Reviewers have stated that Tkachenko adds a fantastical element to the stories she illustrates with her watercolour inspired illustrations. SaskBook reviewers claim her simplicity and splashes of colour are both childlike and detailed, an absolute necessity if you want to hold your reader's attention. Olha says, I love tales where a line between reality and imagination is almost erased, like in childhood. If we ask children about miracles, they might deny this idea, but even the desire to look smart and adult would not stop a child from peering into the grass near the path to see a gnome or a fairy. Likewise, I love peering into reality looking for a mystery. This is why I'd call my style realistic fantasy. My favourite medium - coloured pencils - expresses my feelings in the best way. My drawings are full of colours and air. They breathe and the white light leaks out through the net of small pencil strokes just as grace is tangible through the ordinary things in our habitual, material world. Find out more about her work at: https: //www.olyaillustrations.com or www.olya-t.art"