Ian Coate is a military artist and freelance illustrator. He joined the Royal Australian Survey Corps in the late 1980’s and was trained as an illustrator and military photographer. In the mid 90’s, Ian left the army to become a home-dad and pursue a career as an artist/illustrator.  Since then, Ian has produced an endless volume and variety of illustrations for magazines and books.  In his capacity as a visual historian, his artworks are on display at museums around Australia, while his military prints are owned by collectors worldwide. 

If you wish to know more about the author and his other works, you are invited to visit his websites at: iancoate.com and freechristianillustrations.com

Why I Created MythoCreatology

As a boy, I was mesmerized with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and Greek mythology.  Due to my parents’ occupations in ornithology and genealogy, as a family we were frequently camping in some pretty remote regions of outback Australia.  There I would spend my time day-dreaming I was in another country, fighting alongside mythical heroes from one of my many books.

Later as an adult, I thought this a little sad – why, instead, couldn’t I have been imagining I was a dashing light horseman fighting the dreaded Ooroo; or maybe a reformed Bushranger saving a town from a plague of Wild-things; or a crafty Jackaroo battling wits against a wizarding Swagman – all with the backdrop of a spectacular Australian landscape?

Australia has a countless multitude of colourful characters, strange creatures and unique vocabulary to inspire a child’s imagination; yet, we feed our children a literary diet of fairies, knights, castles, princesses and wizards, all in a European setting.

So, being a proud Aussie son, I combined my love of Australia with my love of myth and fairy-tales to create a yarn that keeps on spinning. Everything has been written from a desire to create a series of fables relevant to Australia, its oddities and its way of life, and then to showcase it to the world.

MythoCreatology and Tattles Wag-Tales are true-blue Aussie concepts featuring home-grown heroes, a bit of bush magic, the old slang (revisited) and magical creatures that can only be found in Australia. This concept endeavours to introduce new generations to old Aussie customs and slang which, sadly, are slowly disappearing from the Australian stage.

I have made no attempt to be historically accurate. All my tales should be taken in the spirit of a ‘yarn around the campfire’. As with most tale-tellers, I reserve the right not to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Finally, in writing these frivolous tales, I have omitted mentioning indigenous Australians, an omission done deliberately out of respect for their unique culture and deep beliefs.

Regards from Down-Under,

If you have any queries, or would simply like to say, 'Hi', we would love to hear from you. Please email us at: ISCRE5@bigpond.com

If there has been a long delay in us replying to you, we are probably lost somewhere in the Australian bush and we'll reply soon.