The new novel by Cornelia Funke is now coming into German book stores. Called “Geisterritter” (Ghost Knight), it is intended especially for children to like things a little spooky – but not enough to really be afraid. But Funke’s new book is not just words, but also includes beautiful illustrations painted by the artist and illustrator Friedrich Hechelmann.
Hechelmann took a short break from his painting to talk with our report Martin Mölder to tell us how he works and what he thinks about the book.

When I read the manuscript, I was fascinated by the story. The story itself is exciting, incredibly exciting. I didn’t want to put the book down – I read it in one sitting. And then, when I read a book for the first time, I take notes and write down where it could get interesting and what possibilities I have. Then, later, I seek out these spots again. So I have 40 or 50 images that I pick out and then I say “Nahh, not that, but this I definitely want.” That then looks like this (shows his notes),I have scratched all of this down while reading (laughs).

Friedrich Hechelmann scratched together a lot of ideas when he read Cornelia Funke’s Ghost Knight book for the first time.
Also in the part of the book that revolves around Grandmother Zelda, the grandmother of Ella, Jon’s best friend. Grandmother Zelda lives in a small house with hundred toads and, one day, even gets a letter from a ghost. Friedrich Hechelmann instantly had an idea for a picture.

So, here is a scene which Cornelia Funke has written beautifully, about a letter which comes from the ghosts and is lying on the floor. And one of the many toads which are hopping around her house is sitting on the letter. And I have described the atmosphere from the viewpoint of this toad.

Which scenes in a book should I paint and whichnot? Friedrich Hechelmann asks himself this question all the time. In the case of Cornelia Funke’s new book, this decision was particularly difficult, because the story creates so many wonderful pictures in the mind of the reader. At one point in the book, however, it was very quickly clear that Friedrich Hechelmann would have to sit down at his painter’s table and take out his brush.

I am actually not very organised – page 90 – there: As he stood next to me, I could see the bench behind him through his coat and I remember thinking “oh no, not another ghost.” He twisted his face, sneering at me. I could see right through him, as though I were looking through tattered cloth. “Let me through” I said, pushing myself past him. But suddenly, he stood before me again. This time, his sneer was so great that his face almost looked like a cat’s. That is the scene with the cat’s face.

As Friedrich Hechelmann shows me his picture with the cat’s face, we are standing in the middle of his atelier, a small room with a very large painter’s table in the back corner.

Here on the paper are the little paint cups that I mix myself. This work is very complex and it is all done with a glaze technique, the colours are placed one on top of the other. I paint all of my pictures this way. That’s why I like watercolours so much, because I work without using opaque white. That means the light areas in the painting, they come from behind, like through a glass window.

Friedrich Hechelmann first sketches his pictures, meaning that he first draws them with a pencil. Then comes the next step, the so-called priming step, in which he puts the first watercolours on the canvas. Then be begins painting in more and more detail. The special thing about Hechelmann’s paintings is that his watercolours do not run because he applies them using relatively little water. Layer by layer, the special colours and light effects are created that make Hechelmann’s pictures so extraordinary. He has painted twenty-to for the Cornelia Funke’s Ghost Knight book. One of his favourites stretches across two pages and doesn’t even show ghosts, darkness or fog.

The picture shows Ella and Jon on a garden wall, they are talking about their lives. We are well-off, things are good for us, they say.
And they are surrounded by a beautiful light and you can see into an amazing, very beautiful garden with roses and many different kinds of flowers, in which you can really lose yourself and let your eye wander.

5. August 2011
With generous permission from Deutschlandradio Kultur / Kakadu

Isny - On Saturday, 24 September at 6:00 pm, the Artist Friedrich Hechelmann will present his original illustrations for Cornelia Funke's newest children’s novel “Geisterritter” (Ghost Knight) to the public for the first time, in the Isny Castle gallery.
At 5:00 p.m., Cornelia Funke will take her listeners on a journey to a fantastic world.

In the person of Friedrich Hechelmann, Cornelia Funke has found a painter who knows how to convey her story in pictures like no one else. Friedrich Hechelmann’s magical, mythical illustrations breathe life into the story’s characters. Restless, undying knights from long ago and their foes take foreboding shape in eerie twilight. Cornelia Funke says of the paintings: "I had always dreamed that one day, one of my books would be as wonderfully illustrated as the fairy tale books of my childhood. Now this dream has come true and that makes “Geisterritter” a truly special book for me."

To mark the opening of the Geisterritter exhibition, Cornelia Funke will read from her new book at 5 p.m. Kurhaus am Park restaurant..
With their ticket to the exhibition opening, visitors participate in a drawing for a book. Together with her audience, the author will visit the Castle Gallery in Isny to open the exhibition together with Friedrich Hechelmann and his guests. After the opening, the winners of the book drawing will be announced and Cornelia Funke will personally autograph copies of her books.

Tickets are available at the gallery in Isny Castle and from the Isny tourism office.
Ticket prices:Adults 7 EUR, children 5 EUR

Additional information about Friedrich Hechelmann
He was born in 1948 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Since 1973, he has lived as a painter, illustrator and filmmaker in Isny im Allgäu, Germany. Hechelmann illustrated his first fairy-story book in “Zwerg Nase“ in 1972. Countless book illustrations, film productions exhibitions, stage designs and publications in Germany and abroad have followed.

Here you can find more information about Friedrich Hechelmann and his life.

Additional information about Cornelia Funke
She is the most successful and well-known international author of children’s books. Today, Cornelia Funke lives in Los Angeles, California. But her career as an author and illustrator began in Hamburg, Germany. After studying pedagogy and graphic art, she began working as a freelance illustrator of children’s books. Because she didn’t always like the books she was illustrating, Funke began writing her own.
Her international successes include "Dragon Rider", "Thief Lord", and the "Ghost Hunters" series. Her “Ink Trilogy” series made bestseller charts worldwide. Her previous novel “Reckless” was published by Dressler in fall 2010.
Cornelia Funk has written over 50 books which have been translated into more than 40 languages. Numerous titles such as “Thief Lord”, “Saving Mississippi” and “Ink Heart” have been made into films. Her influence and the admiration of her readers is also reflected in her numerous prizes and awards.

More information about Cornelia Funke is available on her website www.corneliafunkefans.com

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