Dear Readers! I’m excited to announce that the US edition of my kids book, The Story of Art Without Men: An Illustrated Guide to Amazing Women Artists, will be published on October 6, 2026! Pre-order your copy now.
This Autumn, I’ll be embarking on a US book tour, including family-focused museum and bookstore events. More on that soon.
Ever since The Story of Art Without Men came out, I've been asked if there would ever be a version for younger readers. I'm so happy there finally is.
Aimed at ages 7–14, this book is a sprawling adventure through art history – with bold ideas, brilliant inventions, and trailblazing artists who changed the way people see the world.
Through vibrant illustrations by NYC-based artist Ping Zhu, as well as artwork reproductions and creative exercises – that I call “Art Tasks” – woven throughout, this book turns art history from something that can feel intimidating into something full of wonder, that younger readers can get involved with.
“Every page is packed with artwork, from Renaissance painters to today’s creator of giant paintings... I could have read a whole book on every chapter of this engrossing title, which celebrates the women whose work has been overlooked. It will galvanise young artists, whatever their gender.” — The Bookseller
“This distilled version of Hessel’s 2022 bestseller, with Ping Zhu’s absorbing, enticing illustrations welcoming the reader on to every page, is a superb introduction to art history and image analysis, offering a thrilling perspective shift to focus on unfairly neglected female trailblazers. Perfect for visual art fans of 9+" — The Guardian
"A picture of art history drawn by women... The book is aimed at readers as young as 8 and strikes a suitably accessible tone." — The Telegraph (Children’s Book of the Week)
For press requests, please email: heidi@hijinxarts.com
To celebrate the US announcement, I’m bringing you a Q&A with the brilliant Ping Zhu, whose vivid, expressive drawings have brought the stories of artists and art movements to life so beautifully.
I wanted to know more about the world of illustration, as well as her process, inspirations, and everything in between. So I sat down with her to find out more.
Scroll on to read our conversation, and pre-order a copy here:
Hi Ping!
Hi Katy.
Thanks so much for talking to me today. Let’s start at the beginning. What inspired you to become an illustrator?
The short answer is that I was better at drawing than any school subjects, so my career options were limited. Growing up in Los Angeles, my dad would take me to the Norton Simon and LACMA, which left an impact just being able to see art of all kinds in person. I also had encouraging teachers and professors who helped me follow through with pursuing art once I was in high school, and we had a New Yorker subscription that exposed me to many incredible contemporary illustrators, so it seemed like a real job. All that combined with a general interest in creativity and problem-solving, and, being a bit chaos-curious, it all sounded like a fun challenge.
How did you get into it?
I applied to a few art schools and got into ArtCenter to study illustration, which taught me much more about the career itself. Many of us go into the arts hoping it’s just drawing all day, but it’s also about running a business and being your own boss. NYC has a great community of illustrators, and I continue to learn about our industry just by being in proximity to them.
Where do you go for inspiration? Or, which artists do you look at?
NYC has no shortage of inspiration, but it’s usually when I’m not paying attention that something catches my eye. I really like noticing strange combinations of things, whether it is colour or signage or strangers.
There are some artists whose work I do enjoy spending time with: Henni Alftan and Magali Cazo are two that come to mind. They paint in a way that feels quiet but evokes strong emotions, and are eerily familiar – like a blurry memory.
What is your process: how does an illustration go from a sketch to a book?
Illustration requires context, so most of the time there will be a brief or layout where the art will exist. Personally I like coming up with ideas that are less literal so there’s some room for interpretation, but it depends on what the assignment is. It’s a pretty collaborative type of work, where there is feedback and other design elements to consider.
I paint most of my finals with gouache on paper, such as in The Story of Art Without Men, but I do sketches digitally. There are certain jobs that require the finals to be in digital formats, and I do what I can to maintain a similar energy as my painted work. The nice thing is that neither have to be the other, and variety is what keeps the work interesting for me.
Once sketches are approved by the art director, I sometimes will do a quick digital colour study to prepare for the painting. Trying to come up with colours on the fly is not easy or recommended unless you like repainting pieces! I paint on printmaking paper that has a little bit of tooth for texture, and it’s also scanner friendly for when it’s time to deliver the finals. After the scan, there may be a little colour adjustment or cleanup in Photoshop, and then it’s emailed to the client for print.
Tell us about making the illustrations for The Story of Art without Men! Where did you start?
The process involved having a solid team of Andrea the Art Director, Sophie the Designer and of course Katy the author. Andrea reached out to me about the project, and before we confirmed anything I had to paint a sample spread. Luckily Katy and the team were happy with the direction and the illustrations officially began.
Because there were so many chapters and individual illustrations of various sizes, Sophie did an amazing job of sending me the layouts with space for the artwork. From there I was able to make sketches in the right dimensions, and once approved by Andrea and the team, move onto the finals. The chapters came in chunks so it wasn’t the entire book all at once, which was helpful because the latter would have been overwhelming! We also had to make sure nothing was too similar to the actual artworks or copied from photo references.
It was a coordinated effort on all our parts so I feel very lucky to have worked with such a great team.
Were any illustrations especially challenging? Did you have any favourites?
Some of the larger chapter headers were challenging mainly in the level of detail compared to the smaller ones. It was also a challenge to keep everything looking consistent stylistically since it was a project that lasted many months. It was also tricky to figure out how to create illustrations that would exist alongside actual mentioned artworks and photographs, but Sophie did such a great job balancing out the design that I’m happy to have entrusted her with my illustrations!
My favourites were the Surrealism spread since launched this whole project into motion, and the Yoko Ono image for the Experimentation chapter. I want to be that peaceful...
What’s it like making illustrations of artworks and artists?
It was a first for me, so my approach was trying my best to honour the artists themselves and capture some of the spirit. The Baroque and Impressionism openers are good examples of trying to mimic the style itself, but when it came to the portraits I had some more freedom to play with my own interpretation.
I wanted the illustrations to feel relatable and accessible to future young readers, especially if they are new to the artists and artworks mentioned. It can be intimidating to look at great art sometimes, and hopefully my work will feel like a friend helping to understand the newness.
Were you inspired by any of the artists?
There were so many artists and eras I learned about in the process, so it’s hard to pick just a few! The First Nations artwork was very beautiful, and I enjoyed how much nature was a basis for their works.
I loved reading about Abstract Expressionism and the strong personalities who were major pillars of the movement. Unapologetic women taking up space and making art of all sorts will always be inspirational. Especially if it upsets some people.
What are you up to next?
I have some other book projects on the horizon that will allow me to work in some new formats, which I’m looking forward to exploring. Aside from that, the ongoing personal projects will hopefully get some more attention than they have been (it’s been very little lately). Exciting times ahead!
Excellent! Congratulations…