Inside Stories

After Dante today I went to the Quentin Blake exhibition 'Inside Stories' at the Laing Art Gallery. I have been a fan of his work for a long time and have a large, and much-loved, collection of his books. So I was fascinated to see the actual drawings/paintings behind some very familiar pages. Even more interesting were the sketches that were carried out, obviously very quickly, before work began on the illustrations. What a hugely gifted artist he is. You can see the movement, character, expression he captures in just a few quick lines. I also liked the story boards, which he sketches out when planning a book. (The illicitly-taken photo in extras gives an idea of one of these for a family favourite - 'Clown'.)

I was particularly taken with the illustrations he did for Michael Rosen's book 'Sad' - a book I bought after hearing him talk in Keswick earlier this year - https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2287315369049718855

The book was signed and is waiting for my youngest grandchild's birthday later in the year. Blake describes how he started with the picture of Rosen - 'This is me trying to look cheerful.' He had to get 'the right balance between feigned cheerfulness and real despair' - he did many versions and it was fascinating to see some of these.


In the afternoon we headed down the coast and are now in Bridlington. A walk along the promenade in the sunshine . . . after Yorkshire fish and chips.