My friend Dweezeljazz introduced me to this really fun book by illustrator Quentin Blake. Blake does some really great illustrations. If you’ve read any of Roald Dahl’s books, you will be familiar with his style – loose, easy, and extremely expressive and full of character.
You can see more of his stuff at his website here.
What I love most about it is that it is a book for ANYONE of any talent – dubious or otherwise.
In fact, here is one bit of advice given right at the beginning, which sets the tone of the entire book
So you see, it is for anyone, and very encouraging and affirming.
For someone like me, who tends to draw and paint realistically and very carefully, it is helping me enormously to break out of my detail-style drawing to be more flowing and spontaneous. There are no wrong strokes here, and the narrative of the book is encouraging, anything-goes, and very fun.
You never know what’s going to come out of your pen, or pencil. By the way, this “100% KLutz certified” book comes with two watercolor pencils – black and red. And a fine point felt pen.
Here’s a sample page. Quentin Blake has drawn the hot-air balloon and the fellow quaking below it. I filled in the rest. You can see how fun this can be. It’s great for loosening up and getting over any artistic blocks and fears you might have now and then.
And by the way, the book is for ages 8 and up, so more than likely, you’re safe.
