Despite creating tens of thousands of drawings in a career spanning nearly 70 years, British illustrator Quentin Blake is still surprised at his success ahead of his latest exhibition.
Known primarily for his work with children's author Roald Dahl, Blake has illustrated more than 250 books by different authors and also turned his attention to large-scale works. At the age of 85, he has slowed his schedule, but has definitely not put down his pencil.
“I draw every day, yes, if I possibly can,” he says at the sidelines of an auction of literary classics with illustrated covers.
Dressed in white trainers and with bushy eyebrows and a mischievous look, Blake resembles one of his famous characters. Matilda, the BFG and the Twits are just some of Dahl’s creations brought to life by the illustrator.
Ahead of a new exhibition at London's House of Illustration, he says he still cannot pinpoint the secret of his success. "It is hard for me to say. It always comes (as) a little bit of a surprise to me," says Blake.
‘Carefully planned’ drawings
Born in Sidcup, south-east of London, he first began drawing around the age of 6. After a childhood interrupted by the Second World War, his family evacuated to the English countryside, but returned home in 1943. He soon had his drawings published in the school magazine and the budding young artist earned his first fee at the age of 16, when his cartoon was published by Punch magazine, and he continued to draw while studying literature at Cambridge.
During the following decades, Blake taught at London’s Royal College of Art, curated exhibitions at institutions including the National Gallery, while continuing to inspire children with his drawings.
“They seem to like them,” he says modestly while noting that people are often unaware of the level of preparation that goes into creating his works.
"In fact they are very carefully planned, the whole book is organised, but they appear to be spontaneous and so in a sense they have very sort of direct reactions," he explains.
Blake, who has visited schools across England and France, advises children to "start drawing and draw a lot". "Inspiration is a funny thing... You find your imagination working, but you can't turn it on, you just have to start drawing," he advises.
‘Loved by generations’
Blake’s vast collection of original illustrations – 35,000 works in total – are kept at the House of Illustration; which he founded in 2014. His drawings are filled with a sense of humanity, humour and enthusiasm for life, according to the centre’s director Colin McKenzie: “I think he is a wonderful illustrator, there is a fluidity to his work that is just unique.”
The upcoming exhibition of Blake's work will feature pencil drawings of women and cupid's arrow and will open tomorrow, on Valentine's Day.
Blake describes illustration as an art form that is often overlooked, despite there being a “great tradition” in his home country and across the Channel.
His enthusiasm for French culture has seen the illustrator included in the South Ken Kids Festival, organised by the French Institute in London. “He has a love of French culture. He’s a true Francophile,” says festival director Lucie Campos. “He’s a person loved by generations of readers.”
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Read more:
Author A A Milne’s life is made into a film, but how accurate will it be?
Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces full line-up
Film review: Steven Spielberg’s The BFG is a tremendously silly but loveable teatime tale
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
More on Quran memorisation:
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Jawan
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)