This led to some paying work, which grew with each successful commission. Shirley Hughes started her life in illustration by trying to come up with sketches that would look good in her portfolio and then making a list of publishers, telephoning around to requesting an appointment with the art editor. She captures expressions very well and there is great attention to detail – especially in the clothes, which isn’t so surprising when you find out that Shirley trained in costume design, before going on to the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford. It presented my world, the world of London - of playing out in the street, of cats watching from their perch on garden walls, of the importance of imagination. What can I say about this talented lady? That she was kind enough to reply to me when I wrote to her during my Illustration degree, that the world she sculpts from her pencil leaps off the page, that she never talks down to children but presents the world from their angle, and that all her books simply smile at you from the shelf.Īs seen here, one of her early books, Moving Molly (first published 1978), was one of my favourites. Shirley Hughes is a gifted children’s illustrator and writer, creating many original characters over the years that have stood the test of time, from Alfie and little sister Annie-Rose, to Lucy and Tom.
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