Quentin Blake

Hello! My name is Quentin Blake, and I get to draw pictures for a living. I was born on December 16th, 1932, in a town called Sidcup, near London, England. Ever since I was a little boy, my favorite thing to do was draw. I drew on everything I could find! When I was just 16 years old, in 1949, something amazing happened. I sent one of my drawings to a very famous magazine called Punch, and they published it. Seeing my own cartoon in print was one of the most exciting moments of my life and made me think that maybe, just maybe, I could be an artist when I grew up.

Even though I loved art, I also loved stories, so I went to a big university called Cambridge to study English literature. But I never stopped drawing. I even took classes at the Chelsea School of Art to get better. In 1960, I illustrated my very first children's book, called A Drink of Water, for my friend John Yeoman. It was the beginning of my adventure in making books. I discovered that I loved bringing characters to life with my quick, scribbly, and scratchy lines. I wanted my drawings to look like they were full of energy and about to jump right off the page.

In 1978, I began working with a wonderfully imaginative writer named Roald Dahl. Our first book together was The Enormous Crocodile. We soon found that my scruffy drawing style was a perfect match for his funny, mischievous, and sometimes spooky stories. We became great friends and worked on many books together, like The Twits, Matilda, and of course, The BFG. It was my job to imagine what his amazing characters looked like. I also wrote and illustrated my own books. One of my favorites is Mister Magnolia, which won a special prize called the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1980.

My work has always been about sharing the joy of art. In 1999, I was given a very special job: I became the first-ever Children's Laureate for the United Kingdom. My mission was to encourage children everywhere to love reading and drawing. A few years later, in 2013, I was even made a knight by the Queen, so now people can call me Sir Quentin Blake. I still draw every single day. My pictures aren't just in books anymore; you can find them on the walls of hospitals and in museums, where I hope they make people smile. I believe that drawing is a wonderful way to share stories and ideas, and it’s something that everyone can enjoy.