I was thrilled to discover that one of my favorite artists, Angela Barrett, has illustrated one of my favorite fairy tales, Beauty and the Beast, set in one of my favorite historical time periods, the 19th century. Barrett's gorgeous pictures are complimented by a terrific story from Max Eilenberg (author of Cowboy Kid and Squeak's Good Idea), whose skillful re-working of the fairy tale is intelligent, poignant, and fresh.
Angela Barrett trained at the Royal College of Art in London (where she studied under Quentin Blake), and has illustrated children's books since 1984 -- including Snow White, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Orchard Book of Shakespeare Stories. She has won the Smarties Prize, the WH Smith Illustration award, and the Kate Greenaway Medal. Explaining her working process, Barrett says: "I've got two sorts of drawing. I draw passionately all over paper tablecloths, napkins and backs of envelopes. But drawings like that are difficult to convert into anything useful. Sketch books are different, important to me. So I can jot down ideas on the spur of the moment that probably wouldn’t come back to me otherwise -– dreams, and other things that pass fleetingly through my mind."
For more information on the artist, read "Running With Wolves" by Joanna Carey on The Guardian website, and an interview with Barrett on the Magic Pencil website -- which also has a small slide show of Barrett's art. Background information on the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale can be found here, here, and here.
Wow, her work is beautiful. Very fun that she studied under Blake, a great illustrator in his own right.
Posted by: Carl V. | January 04, 2007 at 09:29 AM
This blog continues to keep my creativity sane on a daily basis. Thank you for the postings and the additional links to the Beast background. I am so lucky to have finally reached a point where I can take fairy tales as seriously as I did when I was a child and I am thrilled to have found such a rich community of storytellers and artists that can recognise the value inherent in a good tale.
Posted by: Beth Mally | January 04, 2007 at 08:44 PM
I adore Angela's work, and am so happy you have presented her here! Fabulous... I also bought this book the minute I saw it...
Posted by: Ulla | January 05, 2007 at 08:27 PM