3 Review(s)

A revelatory behind-the-scenes look at the work of Britain's best-loved illustrator Quentin Blake, providing an insight by the artist himself into his own practice and some of his most famous collaborations. Pens Ink & Places is a wonderful new publication from the inimitable Quentin Blake, containing a wealth of new material, ranging from touching series of vignettes for Great Ormond Street Hospital to gigantic drawings for the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings (now Hastings Contemporary); from the sombre apocalyptic landscapes of Riddley Walker to the energetic fantasy of Billy and the Minpins. This beautiful volume also includes Blake's unique illustrations made to accompany the works of John Ruskin, La Fontaine, Lucius Apuleius and Beatrix Potter. Blake's commentary - straight, as it were, from the drawing board - explores the challenges and opportunities in the creation of drawings known around the world, as well as others seen here for the first time. It is clear from every page of this informative and richly illustrated volume that there has been no slackening of brio in the scratchy pen nib of an artist who has been called the 'Godfather of Illustration'.