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| Ralph Steadman |
This work is by Ralph Steadman... Pop's showed his work to me a couple of months ago, and i instantly recognised his drawings. I had a fantastic book when i was a child called 'Quasimodo Mouse' by Bernard Stone, which Steadman illustrated.
I think the drawings stuck in my mind because they were so dark and hectic. They were incredibly messy and full of activity, perfect for reading over and over, late at night(when you should be asleep), because you always found things you had missed before. http://curiouspages.blogspot.com/2010/01/emergency-mouse-inspector-mouse.html This site is fantastic, with some wonderful examples of children's illustrations.
Struwelpeter- by Dr Heinrich Hoffmann, is a book for the disobedient child, equally as gruesome and was also on our book shelf! Some consider Struwwelpeter to be a little inappropriate for children, given its content. For example, the book teaches children not to suck their thumbs (or else they will be cut off, with very large scissors.)
I suppose i have always been fascinated with horror stories. I remember vividly stories my granddad Orange would tell of 'The war'. Sometimes i think he just invented a lot of it to make it sound more interesting for me. He so desperately wanted to fly planes, but couldn't. So he made the most if his job in the ambulance service. Going round helping people, and invariably cleaning up the mess. Which is where most of his stories came from. I would listen intently, as he described in detail finding a leg here and an arm there.. Granddad would smile, not in a sadistic way, but because he always did and liked making light of a situation. Making it funny somehow.
I remember at school watching a videos about farm life (that's what you get when you live in the country) They showed 'the danger of farms' children drowning in manure or getting caught up in combine harvesters. I remember this particular video because it was so graphic, but perhaps i've made it worse in my mind.
Health and safety at school, was shock tactics. This is what WILL happen to you, if you 'play with fire' or 'cross the road without looking both ways' You'll end up like that hedge hog.. Only this isn't animals of farthing wood, where you'll be rescued by some shrews..
Well, that's a brief insight into my head, and might help to understand some of my drawings. With the risk of writing too much and boring everyone, i'll include some of my recent drawings to end on. This guy has suffered some kind of trauma, and may feature in a few other drawings later.. I'll be doing some prints this week too, so look out for them!
I think the drawings stuck in my mind because they were so dark and hectic. They were incredibly messy and full of activity, perfect for reading over and over, late at night(when you should be asleep), because you always found things you had missed before. http://curiouspages.blogspot.com/2010/01/emergency-mouse-inspector-mouse.html This site is fantastic, with some wonderful examples of children's illustrations.
Struwelpeter- by Dr Heinrich Hoffmann, is a book for the disobedient child, equally as gruesome and was also on our book shelf! Some consider Struwwelpeter to be a little inappropriate for children, given its content. For example, the book teaches children not to suck their thumbs (or else they will be cut off, with very large scissors.)
I suppose i have always been fascinated with horror stories. I remember vividly stories my granddad Orange would tell of 'The war'. Sometimes i think he just invented a lot of it to make it sound more interesting for me. He so desperately wanted to fly planes, but couldn't. So he made the most if his job in the ambulance service. Going round helping people, and invariably cleaning up the mess. Which is where most of his stories came from. I would listen intently, as he described in detail finding a leg here and an arm there.. Granddad would smile, not in a sadistic way, but because he always did and liked making light of a situation. Making it funny somehow.
I remember at school watching a videos about farm life (that's what you get when you live in the country) They showed 'the danger of farms' children drowning in manure or getting caught up in combine harvesters. I remember this particular video because it was so graphic, but perhaps i've made it worse in my mind.
Health and safety at school, was shock tactics. This is what WILL happen to you, if you 'play with fire' or 'cross the road without looking both ways' You'll end up like that hedge hog.. Only this isn't animals of farthing wood, where you'll be rescued by some shrews..
Well, that's a brief insight into my head, and might help to understand some of my drawings. With the risk of writing too much and boring everyone, i'll include some of my recent drawings to end on. This guy has suffered some kind of trauma, and may feature in a few other drawings later.. I'll be doing some prints this week too, so look out for them!
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