Quentin Blake is 90 today!
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Table of Contents
Sir Quentin Blake, the ! To celebrate this, there have been some new initiatives
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90 illustrators have celebrated his life by creating illustrations of
candles for a virtual exhibition by the UK’s national centre for
illustration
Quentin Blake: The Drawing of My Life
Blake is presented with an enormous white wall of paper and invited to draw
his life.
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Quentin Blake confronted by the giant blank wall of paper on which to draw his life |
You can access the programme now on iPlayer – but, although I started
watching it, I’ve decided to save it for Christmas Day when it’s also being
broadcast on BBC2 at 4.10pm in the afternoon. There’s a lot of much younger
illustrators who will wish they can draw with the fluidity of Quentin at 90!
90 Candles by 90 Illustrators
With a career in illustration spanning eight decades, Blake’s books have
inspired generations of readers and illustrators.
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration invited 90 of the UK’s leading illustrators – working in editorial,
literature, fashion, animation and design – to create
an image of a candle that references the original meaning of the word
‘illustration’ as “to light up, make light or illuminate”.
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| some of the 90 candles illustrations |
illustration and look forward to the opening of the Quentin Blake Centre for
Illustration in 2024.
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The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is the new name for House of
Illustration. -
This is now halfway through a £12 million fundraising campaign to create
the permanent national centre for illustration at the fascinating
industrial heritage site New River Head in Clerkenwell, London. -
Opening in 2024, the Centre for will offer a dynamic programme of
exhibitions and will provide a home for Blake’s 40,000-work archive.
The 90 illustrators Contributors include
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Axel Scheffler (best known for his collaborations with Julia Donaldson
including The Gruffalo), -
Lauren Child (former Children’s Laureate and creator of Charlie and
Lola), - Chris Riddell (political cartoonist for The Observer),
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Margaret Calvert (best known as a designer of the UK road sign
system), -
plus Oliver Jeffers, Posy Simmonds, Joey Yu, Hannah Berry and many, many
more.
The collection of illustrations are being bound into a special book and
presented to Quentin Blake as a birthday gift.
Also, from 16 December, the 90 candles will be exhibited at
www.qbcentre.org.uk and available for sale as limited edition prints from
www.90candles.org.uk, priced at £50 each with all proceeds going to Quentin
Blake Centre for Illustration.
Full list of contributors
Adam Higton, Aleesha Nandhra, Alexis Deacon, Alice Lickens, An Chen, Andrzej
Klimowski, Anne Howeson, Ashton Attz, Axel Scheffler, Bruce Ingman, Carolyn
Gowdy, Catherine Anyango Grünewald, Charlotte Ager, Chris Haughton, Chris
Riddell, Christopher Brown, Claire Alexander, Cressida Cowell, Dan Fern, Emily
Rand, Emma Chichester Clark, Erin Aniker, Grace Holliday, Graham Rawle, Hannah
Berry, Harry Woodgate, Hollie Fuller, Huntley Muir, Isabel Greenberg, James
Mayhew, Jason Chuang, Jay Cover, Jean Jullien, Jemima Muir, Jhinuk Sarkar,
Joanna Layla, Joey Yu, John Lawrence, John Vernon Lord, Jonny Hannah, Joy
Yamusangie, Julie Vermeille, Karrie Fransman, Kingsley Nebechi, Laura Carlin,
Lauren Child, Lena Yokoyama, Lily Ash Sakula, Lily Kong, Lucinda Rogers, Luke
Best, Luke Pearson, Maisie Paradise Shearring, Margaret Calvert, Margaret
Sturton, Marion Deuchars, Mark Oliver, Matthew Richardson, Mick Inkpen, Montana
Forbes, Natsko Seki, Nick Butterworth, Noma Bar, Oliver Jeffers, Owen
Gildersleeve, Paul Cox, Peony Gent, Peter Nencini, Posy Simmonds, Rachael Ball,
Rob Biddulph, Rob Ryan, Roderick Mills, Rubyetc, Russell Mills, Sabba Khan, Sara
Fanelli, Sharon King-Chai, Sharpay Chenyuè Yuán, Shonagh Rae, Simone Lia, Siôn
Ap Tomos, Skye Baker, Steven Appleby, Thomas Hedger, Tom Abbiss Smith, Tom
Gauld, Toya Walker, YiMiao Shih, Zoom Rockman.
