“Coffee. Emails. Running. Emails. Reading. Emails. Writing. Emails. Lunch. Emails. Jazz. Emails. Sketching. Emails. Friends. Dinner. Whiskey. TV. Sleep.” – An average day in the life of Illustrator Peter Brown.
Peter Brown is the pencil behind books such as: The Curious Garden, Children Make Terrible Pets, You Will Be My Friend!, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not). We’ve interviewed Peter before, and you can read the whole chinwag HERE.
This time though, we thought we’d have a quick yak and give you a guided tour of his lovely studio.
What helps you work?
Rest. Jazz and classical music. Peaceful, natural settings. Precipitation. Routine. Deadlines.
How do you feel when faced with a blank sheet of paper?
Sad. Because a tree died to make that piece of paper, and now I’m going to ruin it with awful drawings and words. The tree deserved to be turned into a masterpiece.
Do you have a pencil that you remember in particular? Or perhaps a pen that stands out from the herd?
My first mechanical pencil. After years and years of sharpening pencils I finally learned how much I prefer drawing with mechanical pencils.
Which story do you bring out for special occasions?
For special occasions I bust out the story about my days living in London, and how I solved my flat’s mouse problem with a fire extinguisher and several boxes of cereal.
What is the first thing you remember drawing?
My mom kept a number of drawings from my childhood, drawings that I do NOT remember making. The first one I actually remember making was a big piece of paper that I covered with drawings of different wacky monsters. Below each monster I wrote its name, its hobby and its favorite food. I guess I always loved creating characters.
Favourite monster?
Definitely Frankenstein’s monster. Because in the original story, by Mary Shelley, the monster is really quite reasonable and thoughtful and his command of the english language is impressive. I’d like to have a beer with Frankenstein’s monster.
Words are ____?
…everything.
You can find out more about Peter over on his website: www.peterbrownstudio.com.