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Here are more details about my Ladybird Artists exhibition, which will be taking place in Canterbury over the summer months (2018). It will be held at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, in the centre of Canterbury. Entry is free:…
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Of all the ‘golden age’ Ladybird artists, it could be argued that Ronald Lampitt has the most distinctive style. He never received formal art training and it is interesting to speculate whether, had he attended art college, something of this…
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Do you remember at school, on Monday morning – especially after a holiday – when they got you to write ‘your news’? Well, I’m very pleased to share with you my news here. This summer I’m going to be putting…
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Martin Aitchison, died this week at the age of 96. You might not know his name, but if you are reading this post, there’s a good chance you remember some of his illustrations for Ladybird Books. Until this week I…
Read more(Part one is here) As I said in my last post, the People at Work series was one of the first Ladybird series I remember. The first 7 titles represent for me ‘old Ladybird’ – with a rather retro post-war…
Read moreFor me, John Berry is right up there with the very best illustrators. Although I’ve always enjoyed his artwork, he is another of the Ladybird artists that I’ve grown into more as I’ve got older. One reason is perhaps because his books are among…
Read moreSomething I find fascinating is when photographs come to light that were used by Ladybird artists as studies for their artwork. Here’s one that appeared on Twitter (via @russellsdesk) a couple of months ago – along with the image from…
Read moreNot long ago, I wrote about what it was that had led me to enjoy and appreciate the Ladybird artwork of C F Tunnicliffe. So, in a similar vein, here’s a very personal introduction to John Kenney. (This isn’t a…
Read moreI’ve always loved the pictures in Ladybird Books – but of course my preferences and tastes have changed over the decades. As a child, for example, I found most of John Berry’s ‘People at Work’ series dull and grey and…
Read moreThe original Kenney versions and a 1978 version When I met John Kenney’s relative (see last post) she asked me whether Ladybird had ever published a book in the Robin Hood series called ‘The Spy’. The reason for this…
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