I was first introduced to Quentin Blake while reading "The BFG" by Roald Dahl. Being it that Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors and Blake always illustrated his books I got to see a lot of Blake's works while growing up and quickly fell in love with each of his unique illustrations.
Here are some of my favorite works by Blake:
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| Matilda by Quentin Blake |
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| An In-Bike Music System by Quentin Blake |
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| The Fairy at the Well by Quentin Blake |
Quentin Blake was born in London in 1932. He studied English at Downing College in Cambridge, a postgraduate teaching diploma at the University of London and then took classes at the Chelsea Art School. He has taught at the Royal College of Art for over twenty years and was head of the illustration department. Blake has done illustrations for a large number of publications both in magazines and books. His works can be seen in the UK and France mostly in hospitals as he has been creating large-scale works for different wards. This illustrator and author has won many awards for his illustrations and does a lot of work to raise money for different charities. He has a very particular style and creates artwork for some really great causes.
What does he do?
Blake creates child-friendly illustrations in his own unique style. On his website he states "I do a freewheeling sort of drawing that looks as though it is done on the spur of the moment. However even a single drawing needs a certain amount of preparation and planning. Most of the time I need to do a rough in which I find out how people stand, what sort of expressions they have and how they fit on the page." It is this free style that makes Blake so unique and gives him a particular style. This artist creates most of his works on watercolor paper and uses black ink with dip pens to create scratchy and flexible lines. He then uses water colors to loosely fill in his lines. Blake uses a very particular process to create illustrations and this is why he has become such a popular illustrator.
Why he inspires me?
This artist inspires me because he was one of the first artists I was exposed to as a child and his works have such a unique style. He is also an inspiration because he uses his art to help others. Whether he is creating works for hospitals or selling works to help charity he creates art that makes an impact on society in a positive way and I can only hope someday I can do the same with my own.
More awesome works from this artist can be found at Blake's website: http://www.quentinblake.com/index.php
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| Joining in the Duck Song by Quentin Blake |
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| The BFG and Sophie by Quentin Blake |
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| O is for Ostrich by Quentin Blake |
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