Features / Interviews

Investing in childhood nostalgia

By Pamela Parkes  Tuesday Jun 28, 2016

The nostalgia of childhood hangs on every wall of Linda Owen-Lloyd’s Clifton home.

A Gruffalo looks down at you, as does Maisy the Mouse, Shaun the Sheep and dozens more of the most loved characters in children’s’ literature. 

It’s not really a surprise that her home is filled with artwork as the former children’s book publishing executive runs Children’s Book Illustration, an online gallery selling art by some of the country’s best known illustrators.

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The gallery represents artists like Axel Scheffler (of Gruffalo fame), Polly Dunbar (Tilly and Friends), Barbara Firth (Little Bear series) and Eileen Browne (Handa’s Surprise) as well as a whole host of up-and-coming illustrators.

But it’s not just about buying childhood memories, illustrations are also now considered investment gold mines.

The gallery sells work by (L-R)  Barbara Firth (illustration from Well Done , Little Bear), Axel Scheffler (illustration ‘The New Friend’ from Pip and Posy series) and Gwen Millward (Rosie’s Special Present)  

Customers range from parents that want to buy something for the nursery to collectors buying specific pieces from specific books. Works of art have even been sold to universities, galleries and museums.

However, the potential of the art was ignored for decades; illustrators were considered the poor relative of the art world and Linda says they were “barely recognised” by most publishing houses.

“But we recognised that this work was beautiful and it seemed a shame to put it away in a draw, we thought it should be out there on the walls.”

Whilst at Walker Books Linda had already started to collect original artwork and, when she moved to Bristol, decided that her hobby had business potential.

“People were looking through these beautiful books, reading them time and time again to their children and wondering, were the illustrations where and whether it would be possible to buy them?”

When she first started the business not even the artists realised the value of their work.

Artist Sylvia Bennion worked on the pilot episode for the BBC television series ‘Shaun the Sheep’, and was instrumental in developing the characters and the look of the show

“I contacted all the illustrators that I’d worked with and asked them whether they were interested in selling their work,” said Linda.

“It would be a case of going to their houses sometimes and getting the artwork out from under the bed, sort of dusting it off and selecting pieces that way.”

Working alongside Linda is Harriet Potter, who worked in book production for Thames and Hudson: “Every illustrator is so unique and every piece of work is so fantastic.”

The barefaced moon.’ by Jill Barton from ‘Puss Jekyll, Cat Hyde’ published by Francis Lincoln Ltd in 2012

“I have memories of coming into the bedroom where my mother was reading books to my children that she read to me when I was a child; sharing those illustrations and those words with my children…it’s a very special thing.

“I think that’s the wonderful thing about the illustrations themselves, all that nostalgia and all that connection to your child, is maintained just within an image; the visual is just really powerful.”

‘Boats in the Caribbean’ by Cathie Felstead  from ‘A Caribbean Dozen’ published by Walker Books Ltd in 1994

Read More:  Kickstarter hand drawn book campaign

Children’s Book Illustrators will be exhibiting at Gallery 22 on Stokes Croft running from September 30 to October 15. 

 

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