Shirley Hughes

 Shirley Hughes orginated from Cheshire, England & was born in 1927. Currently this artist resides in London working as a freelance writer & illustrator, her speciality being children's books. Hughes studied two degrees, her first being costume design at the Liverpool School of Art, then she progressed to study illustration at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine art in Oxford. It was her were she was encouraged and found her forteit for children's illustrations. Soon after her time studying, she was comissioned by the publishing agency, HarperCollins. This then led to her moving to Nottingham to settle down with family.

 However at first, she illustrated for other novelists rather for her own work which publicised her talent greatly. In the 1950's she illustrated novels such as My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards and The Bell Family by Noel Streatfeild. In the next decade, she then progressed to illustrate her first novel Lucy and Tom's Day which actually evolved into a large series of novels. She eventaully ended up writing more than 50 novels, many of which she won awards for.

 From what it appears, she uses watercolours to colour her work. This makes the illsutrations ,much more softer & more child friendly. Because of the softness of the style, I would say this is clearly aimed for a very young generation. You can also tell the age of the illustrator just looking at her dated style & old fashioned technique. However I prefer children's illustrations in this style. It frustrates me how artwork aimed at children is quite artificial these days & lacks that organic vibe that brings more life into the novels. This style has far more quality to the novels which I believe allows the family to treasure it more.

 I feel that her character design is excellent. The way these two characters interact is very realistic & the anatomy is excellent. You can really feel a connection with the postures, expressions & emotions the  characters are displaying & I feel that not only children would appreciate this style, but most certainly adults aswell. The use of black inking on the characters give them great definition which also creates a good contrast from the subtle, watercolour backdrop.

 In conclusion it is inspiring to discover an illustrator from my area, however I do not feel that she could influence my style as I illustrate for an adult audience only. On the otherhand I do find her anatomy brilliant & I wish my skills with watercolours were to her level.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Hughes
http://alfiebooks.co.uk/
http://cambridgeprints.com
[All electronically accessed & submitted]