interview with an illustrator
Grahame Baker Smith
2010 Greenaway Nominated
Illustrator, Grahame Baker
Smith open s the door to
his holistic world of art,
thoughts & drea ms
u SB What drew you to illustration? Grahame: I have always
loved the printed image. I used to endlessly copy the artwork in
American comics by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Buscema and
Gene Colan. I knew I wanted to draw for a living but not to have
things in a gallery, to be in print was the dream! u SB Do you
have any formal training? Grahame: I did the last two years of a
four year graphics course at Reading. They told me not to bother
with the first two as I’d already covered it in my bed-sit in Oxford.
u SB Where do you live and what drew you there? Grahame: I
live in Bath with my wife Linda, also an illustrator, and my three
children who are all bonkers. It feels like a very complete city,
not a mess of disparate buildings. When we first walked into the
house we live in now we knew immediately we had to live there.
u SB Can you describe your studio? Grahame: It’s on the first
floor of the house and is the room where we all gather in the
evening. Work and life have always been one thing to me, just
part of me, part of the total, so I really like the fact it’s just one of
the rooms in the house. u SB What is your biggest inspiration?
Grahame: Walking in the parks, trees, watching the seasons, my
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