It's surprising to think sometimes that the book Fatbag, my first professional (i.e. paid!) job as an illustrator, was 30 years ago this year. I remember creating the drawings like it was yesterday.
Having graduated from Manchester I moved to Norwich, where my parents had decided to re-settle during my absence. Rural Norfolk was a complete contrast to Manchester. I knew nothing about Norwich at all, but there was a burgeoning music and arts scene which I slipped into pretty quickly. With virtually no budget I started anonymously publishing an indies music/arts fanzine The Blue Blanket, through which I interviewed bands, touring and local, ran local event listings, plus there were odd features on the arts, and opinionated flippant essays under various nom-de-plumes. And of course it was fully illustrated with my work. It was fun, made me a bunch of friends very quickly, and invariably sold out. Somewhere along the years of multiple housemoving I lost my own remaining copies, so I've only memories of the magazine now, but recently I did find one piece of artwork in my dad's house.
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| from The Blue Blanket Issue 4, 1982 |
Any funds raised were pumped straight back into the production of the magazine, so the print quality and distribution gradually improved, the print run more than doubled over a year. However by then it was becoming a burden to write, illustrate, edit and publish virtually all by myself, the magazine was a full time job, any help I did get was completely volunteer. I had to make a choice - am I going to do this for a living? In which case I'd need to generate some income from it, or take up the reins of freelance illustration, which I'd just spent 4 years studying? It was time to get serious about my career.
After throwing most of my student artwork out of the window on the last day at Manchester Poly (see previous post) I just had a simple portfolio of graduate pieces I wasn't particularly happy with, mostly black and white. So I began looking with fresh eyes at the market for children's illustration. I worked on some story ideas and drew a full colour dummy picture book
Bored Brenda, (a modern day twist on
The Fisherman's Wife, set in Manchester) plus a couple of other watercolour portfolio pieces, and added drawings from
The Blue Blanket to my degree show black and white work.
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| Bored Brenda at home (original dummy) 1982 |
1 Comments on Blue Blankets, Bored Brendas and Fat Bags, last added: 6/20/2012
I like my royalty in fairy tales and history books, but I have to admit I've little enthusiasm for, or interest in the real thing. I've more of a Cromwellian leaning shall we say, more of a disciple of Liberté, égalité, fraternité so to speak.
Just because the venerable lady is old and has been in the job a long time doesn't make her any more attractive to me, the royal family has as much relevance to me as I personally do to the Queen herself. I've absolutely nothing against the Queen or any of her family, they're in a job which they didn't ask for and they do it well enough, I wouldn't want to sweep them aside in revolutionary fervour, they're useful for tourism, a convenient figure-head, so they serve their purpose. But I don't understand all the hysteria, nor why taxpayers should spend millions celebrating it all. She's the one with the cash, she should pay for her own damned party. I wouldn't ask taxpayers to pay for my birthday, or other anniversary. Often I really don't feel very British at all!
I'm told that the country has warmed to the royal family since Diana's death, but I was in Japan when that happened so none of the hysteria reached my corner of the world anyway. Diana was as remote to me as any other member of the royal family. It was sad news to hear, but of no relevance to my life in Tokyo. I've no idea what the royal family has done to re-establish themselves in the hearts of the British people because they were never in mine in the first place. So over this weekend of hysteria I've done my utmost to ignore everything about the Jubilee. I actually didn't even know it was on this past weekend until it was broadcast on the radio on Saturday morning, that's the absolute truth!
I detest idolatry and hierarchy in all it's shape and forms, with an intense dislike of celebrities, fame for it's own sake and so on. People should be respected for their talents and their achievements, so I save my respect for those who have talent and have actually achieved something that others can appreciate. It's difficult to judge what the Queen has achieved or her talents, as it's not as if she had to qualify for her job, we don't have others to compare her performance against. I've yet to see her do anything for her people that warrants her and her family stripping us of our land or our taxes. As Michael Rosen very adequately points out, it's a hierarchy established for so long, over so many generations, that we accept it as normal. But it's not normal, in this day and age I don't believe anyone has the right to privilege as a birth right.
I've actually found the whole Jubilee thing very easy to ignore as I'm overwhelmed with too many things on my plate right now, deadlines, house-hunting etc. I haven't watched TV, no street parties around here that I know of, rain kept us indoors yesterday. I've seen a few union flags around and some merchandise in the local supermarket but that's about it.
 | | Hardback original cover |
But wait a minute! I am celebrating an anniversary! 30 years ago this year I completed and saw published my first professional illustration job, the book
4 Comments on Queens and Anniversaries, last added: 6/5/2012
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1 Comments on Blue Blankets, Bored Brendas and Fat Bags, last added: 6/20/2012
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By: John Shelley,
on 6/4/2012
It may be ages before I find it, but I think I've got a copy of "the Blue Blanket" somewhere.
With any luck I'll have discovered, scanned, and emailed it to you in time for your 70th birthday!
Weren't you chums with Charlie Higson for a while in Norwich? You should look him up now he's a media personality.