The Art of John Lawrence and Celebration of the publication Wayland

The Art of John Lawrence
Celebrating the publication of Wayland

18th September - 12th October 2013

John Lawrence at Illustrationcupboard Gallery, signing copies of The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

John Lawrence’s bold yet intricately expressive engravings have transformed Illustrationcupboard Gallery into a world of adventure and romance. Our celebration of his art exhibits his work from several books, including Treasure Island, The Once and Future King, and His Dark Materials. Rare and wonderful watercolours for Watership Down can be seen, too. Pride of place, however, is taken by his latest collaboration with Tony Mitton, bringing to life the ancient Norse myth of Wayland the Smith in a new retelling.

Fairy-tales and myths thrum with an undercurrent of danger and risk, and John and Tony have powerfully foregrounded this element in their work, intensifying the appeal of the story for both children and adults. Wayland is an experience which will stay with you a long time.

We are delighted that both illustrator and author will join us tomorrow evening for the launch of Wayland. In anticipation of this exciting event, have a look at John’s superbly evocative illustrations, pictured below and available to view online: www.illustrationcupboard.com

Wayland stood firm, Vinyl engraving, 210 x 330mm, £750

Out of the lands far North, Vinyl engraving, 190 x 220, £450

Bright wonders for folk to behold, Vinyl engraving, 185 x 125mm, £350

John Lawrence is a formidable artist, respected by his peers, publishers and collectors alike. Widely recognised as one of the greatest working engravers, his talents have led him to receive the Victoria and Albert Museum's prestigious Frances Williams Illustration Award twice along with a host of other international accolades. His work appears widely across the world in public and private collections, including the V & A in London.

As John approaches his eightieth birthday, Illustrationcupboard Gallery is delighted to host a striking solo exhibition for this wonderful artist. Celebrating the publication of his latest book, Wayland ( a collaboration with author Tony Mitton), we shall showcase the technical prowess as well as the imaginative range of his illustrative oeuvre. There will be drawings from the original illustrated Watership Down as well as more recent wood cuts and engravings produced for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. This stunning selection from John's work will provide a unique insight into the artist for collectors and enthusiasts interested in the art of engraving.

Monday - Friday 9.30am - 6.00pm, Saturdays 11.00am - 5.00pm

+44(0)207 976 1727

www.illustrationcupboard.com

Illustrationcupboard

22 Bury Street

St. James's

London

SW1Y 6AL

The BIG-Hearted Auction : Tuesday 6th August

Hodder Children’s book illustrators Quentin Blake, Tony Ross, David Melling, Cressida Cowell, Lauren Child, Alex T. Smith, Nicholas Allan, John Vernon Lord and Mick Inkpen have specially donated artwork showing their best-loved character holding a heart or, their unique style featuring a heart. 
The donations have been made to mark the publication of The BIG-Hearted Book by Nicholas Allan, published by Hodder Children’s Books, written in support of the International Children's Heart Foundation.A silent charity auction of the donated artwork will be held on Tuesday 6^th August at the Illustration Cupboard in London, 5.30pm – 7pm. Bidding is open to anyone by contacting Illustration Cupboard on 0207 976 1727 to place a one-off bid and leaving contact details as reference. The nine pieces have been displayed online in The Telegraph and can be viewed by visiting 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/10191723/Childrens-illustrators-show-heart.html#?frame=2622639

John Huddy of the Illustration Cupboard has freely donated the use of his gallery and all the profits from the auction of the artworks will go directly to the International Children’s Heart Foundation. Bidding will close on Tuesday 6^th August at 7pm and the winning bidders for the nine pieces of artwork will be contacted to arrange payment and delivery of their artwork. Please note, as all bids will be ‘silent’ and the artwork will sell to the highest bid at close of bidding, you may be outbid. Please call 0207 976 1727 for further details and bids.

Happy Heart by Quentin Blake

Mick Inkpen’s famous Wibbly Pig and heart

Girl with heart shaped trees by Tony Ross

Cressida Cowell’s How To Train Your Dragon hero, Hiccup with Toothless and heart

Alex T. Smith’s Claude and Sir Bobblysock with giant heart

Hugless Douglas sending you a heart by David Melling

Nicholas Allan’s Babette and Bill from The BIG-Hearted Book

Lauren Child’s Lola with heart

John Vernon Lord

While we were discussing details of the charity auction at the Illustration Cupboard, John Vernon Lord spontaneously drew this on the back of an envelope for us to add to the auction.

Clowning around with Mr Benn

David McKee has added a little extra to the 40 year anniversary Mr Benn silkscreen (limited to 99) and individually hand drawn and coloured Mr Benn's imagined activity in a variety of poses, £850.

David also dropped off a bonanza of Mr Benn merchandise:

We were bowled over by the Mr Benn wooden skittles which have been beautifully designed by Roger Copple, £39.99 and signed by David.

And to get yourself in the Mr Benn mood, we have a number of copies of 'As if by Magic', a CD including the signature tune for the opening title, by Duncan Lamont Big Band featuring Kenny Wheeler, £12.99.

 

All CDs have been signed by David McKee and Duncan Lamont.

*Special Offer* - buy Skittles and CD together at the discounted price of £49.99

Pop into the gallery or call us on 0207 976 1727 to purchase.

THE WORLD OF DAVE McKEAN

Book launch for MOUSE BIRD SNAKE WOLF

May 15th 2013

We were thrilled to celebrate the fantastic launch of Mouse Bird Snake Wolf illustrated by Dave McKean and written by David Almond (pictured).

Mouse Bird Snake Wolf is the third collaboration from Dave and David and is absolutely brimming with magic! Original artwork by Dave McKean is on show in the gallery alongside plenty of books 

(also including: Slog's Dad and The Savage) all double signed.

Moulins Merveilleuse

Congratulations to the Musée d'Illustration Jeunesse in Moulins! 

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to visit this inspirational museum in France last week and met the charming curator Emmanuelle Martinat-Dupre. A most enjoyable afternoon was spent touring this wonderful chateau, surveying the current exhibit entitled Même Pas Peur featuring artwork by Tomi Ungerer, as well as the pride of the French collection of illustrated books and original artwork. In hushed reverence I was ushered in to the back room of treasures and was privileged to been shown a broad selection of the collection this museum now holds.

Along with the Eric Carle Museum in the US and Seven Stories in the UK this institution must rank as one of the leading repositories of illustration artwork. Their feast of forthcoming events is exciting and I look forward with relish to a return visit later this year. Housed in the beauty of central France  a pleasant train ride from Paris well rewards for the visitor, which I highly recommend.

HOORAY FOR BREAD! Illustrations by Bruce Ingman Exhibition launch

On Wednesday the 6th of February 2013 we celebrated the launch of Hooray for Bread illustrated by Bruce Ingman and written by Allan Ahlberg. Hooray for Bread is the fifth book from this remarkable duo, following the success of Everybody was a Baby Once, Previously, The Pencil and The Runaway Dinner.

Bruce Ingman and Zoe Toft

Allan Ahlberg

The evening was a fantastic success with Gail's Bakery sponsoring the evening with delicious artisan breads.
Baker's hats and even a Bread Headdress were donned!

Bruce and Allan signed stacks of books. 

Bruce took the time to draw an individual bread illustration in each one too! 

Axel Scheffler and Bruce Ingman

For more photos visit our Flickr page. 

Bruce Ingman's first book, When Martha's Away, was published in 1995 to great critical acclaim, winning The V&A Illustration Award. Bruce also won the prestigious Mother Goose Award as the most exciting British newcomer to children's books.

Since then Bruce has produced a number of highly distinctive and individual books including Lost Property (Methuen, 1997) and A Night on the Tiles (Methuen, 1998), Bad News I'm in Charge! (Walker Books, 2003) and Boing! (Walker Books, 2004) written by Sean Taylor. More recently he has worked in tandem with the author Allan Ahlberg and produced a number of picture books.

Hooray for Bread is a deliciously playful story which tells the tale of a loaf of bread. Bruce Ingman experiments with a softer style of illustration and his gentle, charming pictures complement the text perfectly. The original artwork from the book will be exhibited and available for purchase, alongside a selection of Bruce's other book illustrations. The exhibition will continue from the 7th to the 23rd of February 2013. Signed books are also be available to purchase.

For more artwork and information on Bruce Ingman visit his artist's page on our website:
http://www.illustrationcupboard.com/artist.aspx?aId=97&page=0

Lisbeth Zwerger's beautiful editions and signed books

Illustrationcupboard was privileged to host an evening with Lisbeth Zwerger in October 2012, and as the signed books are getting very quickly snapped up we thought it appropriate to share the sheer delight of Lisbeth's stunning artwork and books.

Lisbeth is one of the great names in modern book illustration. The following for her highly imaginative and superbly crafted artwork has a world-wide audience, reflected by the major retrospective held at The Eric Carle Museum in 2010.

Lisbeth was acknowledged as one of the leading artists in her field over twenty years ago when she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1990) for illustration – this award is offered for a lifetime of achievement, and Lisbeth was only in her mid-thirties, which in itself highlights the respect and admiration in which she is held.

Working in the tradition of the famous nineteenth century artist like Arthur Rackham, Lisbeth Zwerger shows a skill and technical ability with brush and watercolour that is without parallel. Best known for her renditions of fables and tales, her latest publication Tales from the Brothers Grimm (minedition, 2012, £19.99) is a classic and includes many favourite stories such as Little Red Cap (Little Red Riding Hood) as well as some lesser known fables.

The books we have in the gallery are published by minedition. minedition publish picture books of the highest quality that 'opens the door to the world' for children. (www.minedition.com)

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (£12.99), The Hans Christian Andersen Fales (£19.99), Tales from the Brothers Grimm (£19.99), The Little Mermaid (£9.99), The World of Imagination (£35.00)

Lisbeth signed all of the books, and also some book plates.

The World of Imagination is an incredible book, with an introduction by Eric Carle, Lisbeth writes about her influences, her personal experiences and her love of drawing. It is such an inspiring and facinating read. The book itself is beautifully bound (see below). 

For the exhibition, Lisbeth created 10 limited giclee editions. They are £375 each and are signed and numbered by Lisbeth Zwerger. For the full range of editions, visit Lisbeth's page on our website: 

 http://www.illustrationcupboard.com/artist.aspx?aId=381&page=0

The detail is just incredible.

'The Little Mermaid Loved to hear Tales'

Detail from 'The Little Mermaid Loved to hear Tales'

'Dwarf Nose Served the Pie'

Detail from 'Dwarf Nose Served the Pie'