insideKENT Magazine Issue 93 - December 2019 | Page 29

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE:
FRANK HINKS
FRANK HINKS IS THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR OF THE POPULAR FANTASY-
ADVENTURE SERIES FOR CHILDREN, TALES OF RAMION. THE 19 BOOKS ARE SET IN
THE VILLAGE OF SHOREHAM, WHERE FRANK HIMSELF LIVES, AND ARE DELIGHTFULLY
ILLUSTRATED IN A VIBRANT RETRO STYLE THAT WILL PLEASE PARENTS AS MUCH
AS CHILDREN. DESCRIBED BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AS: ‘A FAST-PACED, PING-
PONG OF DIALOGUE AND PLENTY OF STOMACH-CHURNING ACTION', THE RAMION
BOOKS ARE SOMETHING SPECIAL FROM THE KENT LOCAL WHO IS A SUCCESSFUL
QC BY DAY AND A TALENTED AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR BY NIGHT.
The Tales of Ramion is a very specific idea
– where did the idea come from? You’re a Chancery QC – do your two careers
combine well?
The origin is a bedtime story for my three sons.
They would want a different story from me every
night, and would help to build the world and the
characters in those stories. In fact, they would give
me the first sentence and I would have to finish the
story for them before they would go to sleep. Well there aren’t enough hours in the day for me!
However, on the whole they balance each other
well. With the books I use completely different
talents, it’s a completely different side of me. I find
my writing and my art provide a release from my
days at the bar.
Together we developed all the different characters
and situations. I have a little studio, so I paint both at home and
in my office in chambers – it’s an art annexe on
the side of my room so that I really can combine
the two.
It’s based on my house, and in Shoreham and the
hills and areas around it, but also in this magical
world of Ramion.
Can you tell me more about Ramion itself?
Ramion is a magical land in which the Lord of
Ramion is the gardener and protector. He’s the
creator of dreams. Ramion and the gardener bizarrely
came to me when I was walking along Oxford Street.
I was contemplating writing the stories down and
suddenly the word ‘Ramion’ came into my head,
along with the complete world. It was fully formed.
I’ve no idea where it came from.
So the three boys who have the adventures
in your books are based on your sons?
Yes. They’re all involved. It’s a mix of fact and
fantasy. There’s a fine line between make believe
and the truth, and I try to keep to it. Children can
easily suspend their belief and live stories as though
they are real, so having the real elements in my
stories helps them suspend it for longer.
The illustrations in your books are beautiful;
do you have them already in your mind when
you are writing?
The story comes first and then I have to think of
some way of illustrating the tale. Since the text can
be pretty fantastic, I have to put a lot of thought into
how the paintings are going to look. I use a technique
called gouache which gives big plains of colour and
makes for really vibrant, exciting images. It works
well with my stories.
What I think is really important is not to write
or illustrate down to a child. I don’t believe
in mollycoddling children. If there is a scary scene
or a hard word, I think that’s good for them. And
they enjoy it.
she was a child and went to art college and
then the Royal Academy. She had a series of one
woman shows. But slowly, over time, I could see her
dream weakening. So this idea of the dream thief
came to me.
Did you always want to write for children?
There was never a question. Telling my sons bedtime
stories was a special time; one of the best times of
my life. I think the adult ought to enjoy the experience
as much as the children, otherwise it becomes a
chore, which it never should be. So although the
books are for children, they are for adults too – they
are for reading aloud at bedtime and everyone should
be able to get something out of them.
Where do you see the Tales of Ramion going,
or do you not know yet?
At the moment I’m concentrating on the prequels.
Ramion is such a multi-faceted land with so many
characters that there is actually a lot to tell about it,
and the prequels, which give an explanation as to
how the evil witch Griselda was set on the path of
darkness, is important.
Do you prefer writing or illustrating?
Out of all of your books, do you have a
favourite? You get different satisfaction from each process. In
the end, though, I spend more time on the
illustrations. The books might take a week or so to
write, but since there are 35 pages of text there needs
to be 35 full page images, so the illustrations for one
book might take as much as a year to complete.
My favourite is The Dream Thief. It tells the story
of the theft of the royal wife’s dream of being an
artist. My wife dreamt of being an artist since The Tales of Ramion are available
at www.ramion-books.com or via all
good bookshops.
29