Arrowtown artist Jenny Mehrtens has added a string to her bow.
Or should that be a pen to her brush?
Mehrtens has written and illustrated a book originally meant only as a present for her grandson William’s third birthday last month.
However, when she posted some of its watercolour illustrations on her Instagram page, the feedback was so positive she decided to “go the whole hog” and get it published, she says.
Titled William and Rosa Go For a Walk, it’s about her grandson and his best friend, Rosa, going for a walk and looking for a fantail.
Each page features things he’s liked — such as a hot air balloon, a digger and the river — during his summer visits to Arrowtown.
“I certainly don’t call myself a writer, but it was coming from the heart about what a 3-year-old might love.”
Mehrtens, who has a studio and gallery in the Dudley’s Cottage Precinct, says William lives in Copenhagen and she doesn’t get to see him often, so she decided to write the book just for him.
She found the whole process of self-publishing, including learning how to paint with watercolours, a “lot of fun”.
The final product has a fabric cover, while its inside covers are adorned with the medium she’s renowned for — gold leaf and multi-layered acrylic paint on oak board.
It’s the kind of book she would’ve liked as a child, she says. “I grew up loving the feel of beautiful books — books that had fabric covers and gold leaf.”
Fortunately, it was a “hit” with her grandson during her recent stay in the Danish capital, when she often read the story to him.
“By the time I left he was almost saying it verbatim.”Â
To order a copy ($49), visit Mehrtens’ studio or email: jennymehrtensartist@gmail. com