Illustration by Francesco Gallé
Whimsical, floating-figure illustration in ink and watercolour — for children's books, greeting cards, gift, and home. One signature style, many surfaces.
For Licensors & Publishers
My work is built around one recurring idea: figures set loose from gravity, floating and flying through color-block skies, rendered in loose pen line and washes of watercolour. It's the same visual language whether the subject is a boy riding a flying tomato, two lovers on a bicycle, or a giraffe with a rider dangling from its neck — a single, recognizable style across very different subjects.
That consistency is deliberate. It means the work moves easily between categories — a children's book spread today, a greeting card tomorrow, a bedsheet or a ceramic plate next — without ever looking like it came from a different hand.
01
The heart of the style — floating figures, invented logic, magic worn lightly. The strongest fit for children's-book and art-licensing agencies alike.
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
02
Character-driven scenes built for sequential storytelling — the natural feeder for children's-book and greeting-card licensing.
Full storybooks, page by page, are further down in Books.
From "Carmelo and the Flying Tomato"
From "Carmelo and the Flying Tomato"
From "Julia and Her New Bike"
From "Julia and Her New Bike"
From "Julia and Her New Bike"
03
A capsule of the same floating-figure language, tuned for the greeting-card and gift categories that absorb romance and seasonal themes.
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
04
Close, tender wildlife studies — the surest fit for wildlife-specialist licensing agencies.
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
From "Julia and Her New Bike"
Ink & watercolour
05
A recurring, joyful motif across the body of work — best suited to direct brand partnerships and print sales alongside licensing.
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
Ink & watercolour, greeting card
06
European churches and historic buildings, filtered through the same stylized hand — a natural fit for print sales and hospitality art placement.
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
07
Commercial illustration for food and drink brands — real client credit history that carries weight with licensing agencies in this category.
Advertising illustration
Fattoria La Loggia, wine label
Bata Shoe Museum commission
Bata Shoe Museum commission
Bata Shoe Museum commission
Ink & watercolour
Ink & watercolour
Random House Publishing, Christmas card
Random House Publishing, Christmas card
Ink & watercolour, food study
Ink & watercolour, food study
Book cover, Salvatore Difalco
Book cover, Daniela Sanzone
Fattoria La Loggia, wine label
Ink & watercolour
Logo, restaurant branding
Logo, bakery branding
08
Hand-painted ceramic plates from the Carmelo story, and the Bike and Love series posters.
09
Two complete children's-book manuscripts, illustrated in the same signature style — currently in development, available for publisher review.
A boy wanders the hills of Calabria and gets lost — and finds his way home only by slowing down enough to listen: to a gardener, a ferryman, a band of traveling musicians, and finally a poppy he almost gives up on climbing. Twelve fully illustrated spreads, cover through end, with both English and Italian text.
Manuscript currently in revision — English narrative being developed further, bilingual edition planned. Flip through the full book below, cover to final page.
Julia sets out into the countryside on a new bike and meets a cast of characters along the way — an elephant, a monk, snail twins, even Romeo and Juliet — each illustrated in full colour.
Full illustration set complete; manuscript layout in development.
Biography
Francesco Gallé is a Canadian-Italian illustrator working in ink and watercolour, known for a bold, floating-figure style that turns everyday scenes — a bike ride, a cup of coffee, a walk to the market — into something a little magical.
Born in Serra San Bruno, in the mountains of Calabria, and raised in Toronto from childhood, his work moves comfortably between children's-book illustration, greeting cards and gift, and commercial commissions. Client work includes the Bata Shoe Museum, Tetley Tea, Random House, Fattoria La Loggia (Chianti Classico), and a number of Toronto restaurants.
He is the author-illustrator of two children's books currently in development, Carmelo and the Flying Tomato and Julia and Her New Bike, both illustrated in full and written in English and Italian.
Licensing & Publishing Inquiries
Available for art licensing, greeting card and gift programs, commercial commissions, and children's-book publishing. High-resolution files and full portfolios available on request.