The Society of Children's Books & Illustration lovers Volume 4 Nov 2013 | Page 7

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The Society of Children’s Books & Illustration Lovers – Newsletter #4 – November 2013

Your illustration style is so fresh and lively, it almost looks
effortless. You often leave white spaces around your characters
and use swathes of yellow that bring in the light. Reviewers of your
books also talk about your timeless style, with traces of Edward
Ardizonne and Ludwig Bemelman. Do you use any favourite tools
or processes? Do you use a computer at any stage to refine or
tweak your images? I understand you completely changed your
illustration style a while ago. What led to this and what was your
style like before?
I am so pleased to hear my work looks effortless. It is only after a
HUGE amount of effort that the drawings eventually become
effortless! It’s all in the preparation. I draw as much as possible
from life, then do so many rough drawings, that by the time I start
the book I know my subjects inside out. The final artwork happens
very quickly, I might do it a few times and choose the best one.
I stand up to draw, that helps keep the drawing fluid. I use a dip
pen and a bottle of ink because it gives me less control, I like that.
I changed my method of working a few years ago. I used to work
in flat brightly coloured acrylic paint. It was great for baby/toddler
books, and they sold really well, but it gave me no scope for
drawing depth and emotion for older children. I eventually felt
trapped by ‘a style’. So I stopped taking on new commissions and
took a year out. I went back to my sketchbooks and developed a
new way of working.
Now I don’t feel I have a style, I don’t even like that word really. I
try to look at each book as an opportunity to learn something
new. Having a style can stifle that creativity I think.

Influences

Which illustrators and writers have inspired your style and way of
working? Do any contemporary illustrators and writers inspire your
work now?
I have a varied taste in children’s books; I like everything from
Ardizonne to Charles M. Schulz. I like lots of the illustrators from
the 1950’s including Roger Duvoisin and Jean-Jacques Sempé. I
love Ludwig Bemelmans, I just read his biography and it was good
hear that he too did thousands of rewrites and rough drawings,

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