Saturday 11 May 2013

Illustrator... Shirley Hughes... 'My naughty little sister'

Illustration is a real passion of mine and I am often found doodling people while sat in a cafe or making up children's story books. I started a illustration degree when I left sixth form and completed the first year before realising that maybe I should go in the textiles direction... but the illustration styles and passion will always be a part of me.

One of my favourite illustrators is Shirley Hughes, she has a lovely changed sketchy style of drawing and you can really imagine the characters behind her stories. I love the way all the characters look so real... there clothes are always a bit out of place there hair is never perfect... the houses or streets in which the stories are set are very 'everyday' lived in.

A few years ago I meet Shirley Hughes in Oxford and she signed a book...she is definitely a illustrator I admire.

One of Shirley Hughes many books she has illustrated is 'My naughty little sister' by Dorothy Edwards.  It has to be one of my favourite childhood books and one that I have read over and over again since, it was one of those books with a few rare black and white illustrations dotted throughout the story... just enough to let the characters be put in to your head but for the mind to imagine everything else! In time these are definitely illustrations I would love to frame and have up in a future house... they are just so cheeky and naive.

I love the fact that the library was selling it off and it became one of my favourite stories.
No coloured illustrations but the story was lovely and you can imagine this naughty little girl on all her adventures...

Beautiful warn and loved pages...

                                     
My favourite chapter...


Meeting the guard... who will look after my naughty little sister on her trip... on the train all on her own... this shows how long ago the story was written. I remember when I was little thinking how exciting this would be, imagine putting a four year old on a train on there own these days!

Stunning pen drawings... this makes me want to sit in a cafe all day people watch and draw!

 The beautiful back cover... Don't you just love her little outfit and the suitcase 
(If I remember right this is my naughty little sister after 
she returns from a sleepover with the lady next door!)


I am going to try and post each week about one illustrator as many great children's book illustrators are forgotten about!

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