My name is Simon Howe. I'm the author/illustrator of four picture books and illustrator of many others. I live in the Macedon Ranges inVictoria, Australia.
Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
I’d say my illustration style is painterly, cosy and inviting.
What items are an essential part of your creative space?
An oil heater. Warm lighting. Lots of framed pictures on the wall. Endless cups of tea.
Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I work digitally for books, but when I take some time with a sketchbook, it’s hard to beat pencil and watercolour.
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Only three!? I’ll say Shaun Tan, James Gurney, and Brian Froud.
Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I would leap into the Golden Age of Illustration in the early 20th Century. I’d visit the studios of Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter, Edmund Dulac, John Bauer and Kay Nielsen and buy as many original works as they’d sell me.
Once upon a time, I shared a creative co-working space with artists of various disciplines. Two of those creatives were illustrator Serena Geddes and author Ailsa Wild, and their creative work and encouragement had a big impact on me. Around the same time, I got to know a children's book publisher whose support further fueled a belief that I could pursue illustration and succeed.
I’ve always loved drawing and illustration, but it was meeting some outstanding people at the right time that helped me see a pathway and take it.
Share a photo of your creative workspace or part of the area where you work most often. Talk us through it.
I’m lucky enough to have a home office with a drawing table on one side of the room, a computer desk on the other, and a sofa for thinking, reading and procrastinating. I spend most of my time at the drawing table.
Every stage has its highs. But the best bit has to be when the roughs are done and I’ve worked my way through the first one or two spreads. I know what I’m doing by then, and the rest is simply playful.
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Don’t rush and don’t take shortcuts. Write your own stories. And don’t wait for permission; just start making things and share how you did it.
Simon Howe is an illustrator and author with a broad appetite for children’s literature, animation, storytelling and design. He has authored several books, illustrated many more, and produced animation for advertising and television. Grounded in themes of childhood, family, hope and home, his work has been nominated for the Australian Book Industry Awards and the Australian Book Design Awards.
If you love whimsical art - but also illustrations full of energy, pay a visit to Simon Howe's website where you'll find information about Simon the creator, along with his books and a selection of fabulous essays about everything from how he works, to fatherhood and reading with children that you can also find (and more) on his Substack newsletter, pictures, mostly. You can (and should) also follow Simon on Instagram.