Thank you to Jianyu for his amazing art

"Monkey had shown his people how to dig up roots, to sift through sand with water to find seeds and how to use sticks to catch ants from their nest."

I want to announce a new collaboration. For my Daoist children's story, "The Five Animal Play" I needed a new art direction, one that was very much inspired by traditional Chinese painting, but with a little bit of a modern twist (just like my story).

I would like to introduce you to Jianyu. Jianyu is a young Chinese artist still studying at university. He very kindly agreed to take on this project as a potential assignment for his University work, as such he did the work for free. I am incredibly grateful for his generosity and support.

"Lord tiger had hunted well that day. He had found a young deer just on the outskirts of the forest, close to safety but not close enough. The perfect spot, she was young and inexperienced but also brash and bold, filled with the feisty fires of youth. Untempered by experience and fear. She was delightful and she was all his now."

Please do check out the complete story, you can find all 10 chapters, alongside the five original pieces of art, uploaded on YouTube and narrated by myself. There are also two bonus videos, a dedication to my daughter Sophie-Ling and a suggested reading list.

Jianyu, whose goes by @mooooky online and is available for commissions (for both art and poetry) here.

Thank you Jianyu, may your gong fu continue to grow strong!

 "She soared easily on the winds without any effort, the occasional long full stroke of her magnificent wings enough to guide her. Monkey looked up in awe, how wonderful he thought; to be able to fly on the winds, to take fruit from the highest of trees and to look down on Lord Tiger with disdain."