Tuesday 20 December 2016

"In The Garden" Devised By Peter Usborne, Illustrated By Derek Collard and Pace Studios (published by Macdonald and Company Limited, London 1974)



Three very funny and quirky illustrations from this 70's educational book I picked up from a charity shop recently by Derek Collard. Not much information on the artist I'm afraid but here's an other interesting example of his work from this blog: http://illostribute.com/tag/derek-collard/




Saturday 10 December 2016

"The Second In Line" - From The Sketchbooks Of Mattias Adolfsson" (published by Sanatorium Publishing 2015)



 I took the liberty to scan some more pictures from Mattias Adolfsson's second book (a lot of these can be seen on the artist's own blog: http://mattiasa.blogspot.co.uk/ which has been going on for years now). They are just so irresistible to look at, inventive, witty and quite unique! So much work has gone into them and he never runs out of ideas! Some originals are also available for sale on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MattiasAdolfssonShop




Thursday 8 December 2016

"First In Line" - From The Sketchbooks Of Mattias Adolfsson" (published by Sanatorium Publishing in 2011 - New edition 2015)


Received my copy of Mattias Adolfsson's "All In Line" (a set of three books in one volume) a few days ago and I'm thrilled - the perfect Christmas present! Having been an admirer of his work for years I was, of course, familiar with a lot of his work but I wasn't prepared for the sheer volume of pictures in these books. There are hundreds of pages with high quality reproductions from his sketchbook work. Brilliant combination of surrealism, fantasy and humour. Mattias employs every object imaginable, machines, vehicles, plants, animals, architecture etc in weird and very entertaining narratives.    http://www.mattiasadolfsson.com/







Tuesday 25 October 2016

"MR BENN - GLADIATOR" By David McKee (published by Andersen Press Ltd, London 2001) Part 3



You can spend hours looking at the dozens of characters in this book and laugh at their follies and actions whether you are a kid or not! If you ever get a chance to watch a Mr Benn animation you'll be even more amazed with the range of faces, shapes, colours and costumes. David McKee (b.1935) has limitless imagination, inventiveness and humour. I treasure any book with his illustrations but Mr Benn has to be my favourite.



Monday 17 October 2016

"The Listener Magazine" - 3 December 1987, VOL.118, NO 3040 - Cover Illustration By Janet Woolley (published by BBC Enterprises Ltd, 1987)


 

It's very interesting going through the pages of these magazines. Full of reviews on cultural events, books, films as well as many great black & white illustrations. The Listener Magazine first started its publication in the UK in 1929 and was finally ceased in 1991 after losing readership. For more on its history and articles you visit this website:  http://gale.cengage.co.uk/product-highlights/history/the-listener-historical-archive.aspx

Janet Woolley is a many-time award winning illustrator (since the seventies) for editorial, publishing and advertising work both in this country and the USA. She has also had a long teaching career in illustration - she taught me in the early nineties at Central St Martins School of Art and is currently running the MA Illustration course in Camberwell College, London. Her work was much more impressive in real life as it was quite large with rich colours and amazing details.


Saturday 15 October 2016

"The Listener Magazine" - 21 May 1987, Vol.117, No. 3012, Illustration By Bill Sanderson (published by BBC Enterprises Ltd, 1987)



The beautiful work of Bill Sanderson from 1987. The artist is still working as a freelance illustrator today and his style unmistakable. You can see many examples from editorial, publishing and advertising work on his website: http://www.billsandersonart.com/

Tuesday 11 October 2016

"The Swan's Stories" By Hans Christian Andersen, Illustrated By Chris Riddell (published by Walker Books Ltd, London 1997) Part 3



Top quality illustrations by British illustrator Chris Riddell (b. 1962). Impeccable draughtsmanship and humour - it's a delight flicking through this book as there are so many pictures in almost every page. The characters, the fine details and the styling is reminiscent of books by Arthur Rackham (1867-1938) and Walter Crane (1845-1915) about a hundred years ago, when book illustration was at its best. The artist's website with many more pictures and a list of his other books is: http://www.chrisriddell.co.uk/



Wednesday 28 September 2016

"Just So Stories" By Rudyard Kipling, Illustrations By The Author (published by Macmillan And Co., Limited, London 1921 - first published in 1902) Part 2



Rudyard Kipling (British, born in Bombay, India 1865-1936) became a very successful and respected writer from a young age and his books are still being published today. He gained world fame by the time he was 30 with "The Jungle Book"(1894), "The Naulahka: A Story Of  West And East"(1892) and "The Second Jungle Book"(1895). The "Just So Stories" came out in memory of his eldest daughter, Josephine, who had died at the age of six with pneumonia in 1899. It's a collection of bed time stories he used to tell her. Amazingly, he created these lovely illustrations himself! Here is a good biography on the great author, poet and journalist:  http://www.biography.com/people/rudyard-kipling-9365581  There is also the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling