November interview with Quentin Blake

IN AN EXCLUSIVE interview with illustrator Sir Quentin Blake he reveals why he chose to buy a second home in France 20 years ago.

The full interview with Sir Quentin
appears in our November edition.
Subscribe here by October 10
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Sir Quentin tells Connexion that he picked La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, because he was drawn to the landscape by its “flat country and marshes.”

The famous British illustrator who has just published two new books in French, has been working in France since the 1970s and his works here adorns hospitals, schools and libraries. He is held in such esteem in France that this year he was awarded the country’s highest accolade, the Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur.

He is currently commuting between his homes in France and in London, where he is launching The Big Draw, a worldwide project in which museums and galleries offer a space for people of all ages to try their hand at drawing.

“The thing about children is that they draw anyway,” Sir Quentin says. “But when they get to 12 or 13, they get inhibited about drawing and they start to feel, perhaps, that other people do it better than they do, or that there should be some standard of photographic realism. As far as older children and adults are concerned, in a sense we don’t encourage them to draw, but tell them they are allowed to draw.”

The Big Draw festival runs until November 2, click here for details .

Photo: Sir Quentin Blake at the Museum of Childhood, London