Quentin Blake

A Brief Bio

            Born in London in the early 1930’s, Quentin Blake has drawn ever since he can remember. Besides being an illustrator, Blake has taught at the Royal College of Art for over twenty years. At 16, his first illustrations were published and so began his career. He has collaborated with several children’s book authors such as Michael Rosen, Russell Hoban and Roald Dahl, illustrated classic books and created characters of his own. His books have garnered many awards, including: the Whitbread Award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration (the highest international award for illustration of children’s books).

Annotated Bibliography 

Dahl, Roald. George’s Marvelous Medicine. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Penguin Books. 1981. 89 pages. Ages 6-9.

            George’s Marvelous Medicine tells the story of George, who is staying with his mean old witch of a grandmother. She orders him around and George gets increasingly mad. He decides to make her a marvelous pot of medicine. He runs around the house pouring this and that into his giant pot. When he’s done, he gives his grandmother a dose with surprising results. The illustrations, done by Quentin Blake, are composed of scratchy lines that reinforce the words in the text. Though black and white, the drawings bring the words to life in hilarious sketch-like vignettes.

Blake, Quentin. The Five of Us. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Tate Publishing. 2014. 40 pages. Ages 4 and up.

            Five good friends: Angie, Ollie, Simona, Mario and Eric each have their own unusual ability. Though not mentioned in the text, it is can be inferred through the illustrations that each child has their own disability as well, but that doesn’t stop them. The group goes on an adventure in the countryside, but disaster strikes. Instead of focusing on what they can’t do, the children focus on what they can do to save the day. This heartwarming story is coupled with Quentin Blake’s characteristic rough sketches brought to life with watercolors. The illustrations, a mix of full-page sketches and smaller drawings, blend perfectly with the words to remind us that if we focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, the world will be a better place. 

Check out this interview of Blake on The Five of Us on BBC. 

Steig, William. Wizzil. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Farrar Straus Giroux. 2000. 32 pages. Ages 4-8.     

   

  

         Wizzil tells the story of a bored witch who is desperately thinking of something to do with her time. Her parrot suggests that she “go make somebody suffer!” and that’s just what she sets out to do. She turns herself into a fly and bothers an old man named DeWitt. She turns herself into a glove and controls DeWitt’s arm. She makes Florence and Fred itch and causes meatballs to explode and the house tremble. All of this ends in a wonderful twist at the end. William Steig’s writing pairs perfectly with Quentin Blake’s sketches punctuated in pastel watercolors. Forcing the reader to laugh out loud, these drawings reinforce the hilarious predicaments of the characters described in the text.  

Rosen, Michael. Bananas in my Ears. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Candlewick Press. 1986.79 pages. Ages 6-9.

            Two masters of children’s literature come together to create a masterpiece that is rib tickling to the fullest extent. The book is divided into four different sections: Breakfast (Hardboiled legs), seaside (Smelly Jelly Smelly Fish), doctors (Spollyollydiddlytiddlyitis), and bedtime (under the bed) featuring poems that will make any young reader laugh out loud. Michael Rosen somehow packs imagery, quirkiness and emotion into few words: “I’M SORRY, I CAN’T HEAR YOU, I’VE GOT BANANAS IN MY EARS!” (p.11). In his signature style, Quentin Blake complements the words with simple sketches that somehow convey a hundred words. Some pages are full with a busy scene, while others have a lot of white space leaving room for your imagination to take off with the simple words and pictures.

Blake, Quentin. Zagazoo. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Red Fox. 2000. 32 pages. Ages 3 and up.

     

  

            Happy couple George and Bella receive a brightly wrapped package. Upon opening it, they find a little pick baby, called Zagazoo. Readers soon discover that Zagazoo is quite an extraordinary baby who is full of surprises. Zagazoo turns into a baby vulture, a warthog, dragon and a bat. As he grows older tables are turned for a surprising twist at the end. Quentin Blake accompanies his words with lively watercolor illustrations that compliment the quirky words. The bright colors of the whimsical sketches seek to make the last line of the story come true, “Isn’t life amazing!”

Hoban, Russel. Rosie’s Magic Horse. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Candlewick Press. 2012. 40 pages. Ages 4-8.

  

 

  

            A boy eats a Popsicle and litters a stick. Along comes Rosie who picks up the stick and adds it to her collection of Popsicle sticks. The Popsicle sticks debate about what they should become. They all dream about becoming a horse, but Rosie has a different wish. She wishes her Popsicle sticks was a chest full of treasure. Instead, her hands make the Popsicle sticks into a horse that takes her on adventure when the clock sticks midnight. In his natural rough sketchy style, Blake brings the story to life with fantastic watercolor images. Full page spreads detail their adventures with a Popsicle tower, pirates, and possibly a treasure. 

An Analysis 

            Quentin Blake too plans before he begins drawing. He then draws in quick, short bursts. He does his outlines with a pen or quill dipped in ink. This gives his art a scratchy look. As he describes in a video interview, he wants his illustrations to look spontaneous. He likes to draw things so he can actually feel the body or gesture that he’s drawing.

Check out this interview with Blake about his technique.

            Blake starts with a rough sketch to capture how people stand and how they fit on the page. He likes to begin by drawing the hardest part of the drawing first, such as the expression. For a series of drawings he asks himself the following questions as described on his website:

            “Is the method and medium of this drawing suitable to the atmosphere of the book? What goes on which page? Do the actions carry on from one picture to another? Do the characters still look the same on each page?” (How I Draw, Retrieved on March 27, 2016).

            Blake then puts his rough drawing on a light box. On top of that, he puts a sheet of Watercolor paper. He uses waterproof black ink and a scruffy looking dip pen to make a new drawing. He explicitly states that it is not tracing. In fact, he feels it is important for him to not see the drawing that well underneath. His goal is to draw the character or scene as if he is for the first time, but with increased concentration. The drawing underneath allows him to ensure all of the elements that have to appear and exactly where they have to be placed. Here he also begins with the most difficult.

Check out this visit to his studio.

            Blake also has an extremely unique style. He uses straight, thick lines and angular shapes. Some of the shapes he paints lack definition. His sharp, scratchy lines give his pictures a rough texture. He literally colors outside of the lines and there are even some holes in his illustrations. Though his art is sporadic, he knows exactly where to place things on the page to create balance. He uses variation between illustration size that creates a comic book panel effect. Blake’s style can mostly likely be described as naïve, as defined in From Cover to Cover. His art appears to be in an untrained, awkward style and lacking depth (Horning, 2010, p. 111). Blake’s sporadic, rough, sketchy lines create a feeling of whimsical spontaneity.

            As previously stated, Blake started drawing when he was very little. He was first published when he was 16. His youthful outlook and representations have been retained in his drawings. His art matured in that it didn’t mature. His drawings are rough and sketchy and meant to look spontaneous. This comes through in every children’s book he’s ever illustrated. His art has reached a fountain of youth.