Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

quentin blake
Blake considers his favourite; one he loves the
most. The BFG, he says, holds a special place in his
heart, especially now, given the recent success of
the Spielberg film. Blake actually had two attempts
at the loveable giant, the first versions rejected by
Dahl “because there weren’t enough of them”, and
the second versions eventually used in the original
book. But as Blake explains, the first versions finally
saw the light of day this year when Waterstones
published them in a new edition of the book. Blake’s
Someone once said to me: ‘It’s
very astute of you to assume
that style.’ But I didn’t. It’s just
a kind of handwriting for me.”
other much-loved character is from a picture book
he created himself called Clown, about a toy that
comes to life.
At an age when most people have long retired,
Blake is still as busy as ever. He says he draws
virtually every day. Currently he’s illustrating a
new book for the Folio Society – part of a series
of classic novels – and doing drawings for Great
Ormond Street Hospital. In the summer he produced
illustrations for West End restaurant J. Sheekey
which ended up gracing menus, napkins, crockery
and coasters.
But surely, even this seasoned artist must
occasionally get illustrator’s block. “What? Like
writer’s block?” he asks. “No, never. Thank God
for writers.”
Thanks to J. Sheekey restaurant, 28-35 St. Martin’s
Court, WC2N 4AL.
where to, parker? 41