EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 14 © 2016 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

76 has recently taken up woodturning. PR: Where did you train? AS: I never did Art A Level but managed to get on to the foundation course in Art and Design at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University) on the strength of my O level art work. I was very lucky, and I have been thankful of that moment ever since. From there I went to the Norwich School of Arts to undertake a degree in Illustration, and then onto Brighton University for a Masters Degree in Narrative Illustration. I never left Brighton: I still live and work here by the sea. PR: What were your early influences? AS: There are some picture books that I remember vividly from my childhood: 'In the Night Kitchen' by Maurice Sendak: 'The Sorceror’s Apprentice' by Tomi Ungerer and ' Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor', by Mervyn Peake to name but a few. I can see elements in my work that echo those books, even now. It always amazes me how powerful our first experiences of books can be, and I try to keep that in mind when I make my own picture books. At college, I discovered all the classic book illustrators who were very influential for me, including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Heath Robinson etc. Then there was Ronald Searle, Heinrich Kley, Windsor McCay, early Disney…The list goes on. PR: Did drawing come easily to you? AS: Yes, I have always felt very comfortable drawing. Like any creative pursuit, the hard part is putting in the hours of practice, but if you love the activity of drawing then that hard work becomes a pleasure. I draw as often as I can, whether from life or my imagination. I like to experiment too: There is always more to learn.