A WELL-KNOWN children’s author and illustrator has been helping to inspire the next generation at the opening of a new exhibition.
Chris Mould, whose work includes the Something Wickedly Weird series of books and the Spindlewood Tales, was at the Museum of Hartlepool to meet youngsters and sign copies of his book.
Called Spineless – Dissecting the Art of the Children’s Book, the exhibition will be at the museum at Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience until Sunday, March 24.
The exhibition explores the creative processes involved in producing illustrations for books, from concept through to the finished book and there are many sketches and finished artwork on show from Chris’ books, including previously unseen development work from his latest book Pirates and Pistols, which was released last year.
Chris Mould went to art school at the age of 16 and during this time he did various jobs from delivering papers to washing up.
Chris, who spends his working day in one of the prestigious art studios at Dean Clough Mills, in Halifax, won the Nottingham Children’s Book Award and was commended for the Sheffield Children’s Book Award.
He has also worked for a range of prominent organisations and firms including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the BBC and the Financial Times as well as film company Aardman Animations, for which he provided character development work for the film Flushed Away.
Jo-Anne Cole, Hartlepool Borough Council’s cultural services officer, said: “Chris loves his work and likes to write and draw the kind of books which he would have liked to have had on his shelf as a boy.
“This exhibition is a fascinating opportunity to study an illustrator’s creative processes.”
The Museum of Hartlepool, off Maritime Avenue, is open from 11am-4pm every day and entry is free.
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