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World famous illustrator of the Roald Dahl stories and many other children's classics, Quentin Blake takes his sketch pad everywhere. This gorgeous volume, with Blake's own inimitable commentary, starts with quirky sketches of exhibits from the Science Museum in Kensington, including Stephenson's Rocket exploding with steam and artistic energy. Blake is fascinated by the Victorian children's book The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin, and he tries his hand at depicting the precipitous and rather sinister mountain scenery that Ruskin had in mind when he wrote the story for 12-year old Effie Gray, to whom he was later briefly married. Michael Morpurgo is a regular collaborator, and Blake's sketches for "Didn't we have a lovely time?" bring to life the touching story of a Vietnamese boy who talks to a horse. Blake has illustrated numerous books for the Folio Society, including Apuleius's Golden Ass, a classic novel from the ancient world. His edition features a wonderfully romantic depiction of the fable of Cupid and Psyche, with Psyche holding up her lamp to look at the beautiful boy. Blake's sketches for Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker are darker in colour and mood, with Blake's superb watercolour technique effectively employed to create threatening skies. For an "Artists on the Beach" exhibition in Hastings, Blake imagined portraits of well-known artists on easels set up on the beach, including Maggi Hambling, Edward Burra, Dod Procter, and Alfred Wallis. Finally his paintings for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital include lovable dragons, donkeys, rabbits and fabulous invented creatures. 224pp, softback, illustrated in colour throughout.
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