2 minute read
Meet the Artist
MEET THE ARTIST Rob BIDDULPH
The children’s book illustrator famed for his world record-breaking online draw-alongs. Interview: REBECCA BRADBURY
When I was fi ve, I entered a drawing competition. I drew a picture of children dancing around a maypole and I remember the day the headteacher came into class to tell me I’d won. It was a formative moment.
I also loved reading anything by Richard Scarry. His illustrations were packed with detail. I could pore over them for hours and spot something different every time.
During my art A level, I became obsessed with Stanley Spencer. The skin tones in his fi gurative works were revelatory to me. He used greens and blues that really made me look beyond the surface level of colour.
After my degree I worked as a junior designer at Just Seventeen magazine. The job was super glamorous, we went on photoshoots with the Spice Girls.
I had an epiphany while looking through an Oliver Jeffers book. I thought maybe I could create a picture book too, so I wrote a story and got an agent straight away. It took me another four years to get published.
A lot of my inspiration comes from my own children. One of my books is about a boy who has an imaginary friend called Kevin. His name and the way he looked all came from my daughter – he was her imaginary friend.
Writing doesn’t come so easily to me. I write in rhyme and I’m very pernickety about it. Drawing comes much more naturally. I can draw away happily listening to music but when I’m writing I have to be alone in silence.
#DrawWithRob began just before the fi rst lockdown. I thought if I fi lmed my draw-alongs and stuck one up online a few times a week, I could provide respite for parents. Monday I recorded my fi rst video, Tuesday I put it online, and Wednesday I was on BBC Breakfast.
Last May, I broke the world record for the largest online art class. I needed 16,000 households to break the record and in the end I had about 46,000.
I’m a big fan of Kuretake brush pens. I use them for all my #DrawWithRob illustrations. I absolutely love the different textures you can create by pressing harder.
People think there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to drawing – but there isn’t. My advice is don’t be too self-conscious, just draw for the love of drawing. Rob’s latest book, Draw with Rob: Build a Story, is published by Harper Collins. www.robbiddulph.com
