Shirley Hughes - What Do Artists Do All Day ?

Video from Art Documentaries

Shirley Hughes - What Do Artists Do All Day ?

"First broadcast: Jul 2016.

Episode 25/25 For over five decades, Shirley Hughes has been entertaining young children with her lovingly illustrated picture books. From the adventures of Alfie to the stories of Dave and his favourite toy Dogger, Shirley has created some of our most popular children's books. In 2007, Dogger was voted the nation's all-time favourite illustrated children's book and, aged 89, Shirley shows no signs of slowing down.

This program sees Shirley working on the final page of her latest Alfie book, discussing her love of illustrating, the challenges of coming up with new ideas, and why she has no plans to retire." from the video introduction

Shirley Hughes, children’s author and illustrator, born 16 July 1927, died 25 February 2022

Shirley Hughes: Celebrated illustrator who brought children’s stories to life

The talented artist brought her whimsical style and an ability to evoke happy memories to more than 50 books

The undisputed doyenne of children’s illustrators in Britain, Shirley Hughes brought a unique brand of joyous energy to her work. Sole creator of more than 50 picture books, and the jobbing illustrator to innumerable other titles, she excelled at creating infant characters as bouncy as the real thing. Selling more than 12 million copies of her books over a long lifetime, she was a greatly respected figure in the publishing world and immensely popular outside it.

Born the youngest of three sisters, Hughes was born in West Kirby, Merseyside. Her Welsh Methodist father owned a large departmental store in town; the cause of his early death, when Hughes was five, was something she always refused to discuss. But otherwise what she later described as a “rather buttoned-down childhood” passed by happily enough, with much time spent reading, drawing and playing intensely imaginative games with her sisters.

Favourite illustrators at this time included W Heath Robinson, in his fairyland vein, and Arthur Rackham. Both artists had a direct influence on Hughes’s own meticulous draughtsmanship in the years to come..." from the article: Shirley Hughes: Celebrated illustrator who brought children’s stories to life

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