Anthony Browne
Anthony Browne
Anthony Edward Tudor Browne is a British writer and illustrator of children's books, primarily picture books, with nearly forty titles to his name. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 2009 to 2011 he was Children's Laureate...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionChildren's Author
Date of Birth11 September 1946
five people six
Most people lose their natural creativity at about five or six - but not me.
book dad five found god positive superhero wrote
One day, I found my dad's dressing-gown in an old suitcase, and it transported me back to when I was five and thought he was a god or a superhero who could do anything. After that, I wrote my first positive book about fathers, about my dad.
larger
I use a little brush only for really small details. Over the years, I've started to use a much larger brush.
bit felt outsider work
I've always felt that I was a bit of an outsider to the British children's-book illustration scene, because I don't work in line and wash.
best somewhere standing work
Most of the day I work standing up, as I once read somewhere that it's the best position for the back.
computers develop images impressed late love paint paper
I'm impressed by the way some illustrators develop their images on computers, but it's too late for me to start, and I'm still in love with paper and paint and pencils.
bit memoir running work
Having a memoir and a retrospective of your work running almost simultaneously when you're still alive does feel a bit posthumous.
art discovered finding obsessed sports
From 17 to 21, I was obsessed by sport and art. In art, I loved the pre-Raphaelites and Rembrandt first. Then I discovered Salvador Dali, and it was like finding something I already knew.
dad physical
M dad was a boxer, so he had this fierce, physical presence.
accepting begin continue illustrate job laureate main picture time
One of my main decisions when accepting the job of Children's Laureate was that I must continue working on picture books. If I don't write and illustrate for some time, then I begin to question who I am.
books excites gap picture pictures slightly
What excites me about picture books is the gap between pictures and words. Sometimes the pictures can tell a slightly different story or tell more about the story, about how someone is thinking or feeling.
Writers are articulate. Artists find it more difficult.
cowboys foreground funny gruesome indians layers liked stories
As a child, I'd always liked cowboys and Indians stories where there were two layers - gruesome in the foreground but funny in the background.
aware born capable children far pictures social worried
I never want to make a child worried or afraid, and I don't think I do. My pictures are born from the belief that children are far more capable and aware of social complexities than we give them credit for.