Artist Research: Lauren Child

When picking an artist to look at during my commercial illustration project, I tried to think of children's illustrators I grew up loving, Lauren Child is one such artist. Born in 1967, Lauren Child is an author and illustrator who grew up in Wiltshire and has always had a passion for picture books, studying Art at Manchester Polytechnic and London Art School. One of her first jobs in the creative industry was an assistant to Damien Hirst before starting her company, 'Chandeliers for the People' where she channelled her creativity into making ornate lampshades.

She published her first two books in 1999, 'I Want a Pet' and 'Clarence Bean, That's Me' which spiralled her into an incredibly successful career in children's literature. Through her career, she has won many awards including a Kate Greenaway Medal in 2000, she was also awarded an MBE for services to literature and named the Children's Laureate for 2017-2019. Being 20 this year, I remember watching Charlie and Lola on CBBC throughout my childhood, I think a lot of people look back on it as being one of the most memorable children's programs. To this day, I still have a lot of picture books including, 'I Will Not Ever, Never Eat a Tomato' which won many awards at the time for Laurens ability to create such humorous and charming stories following the mundane lives of a young brother and sister.

As a child I didn't see much past the funny characters and pretty patterns of Charlie and Lola's world, however, after revisiting it recently I've loved reading about how the characters came into existence and more about the thought process Child takes in creating these stories. In an interview with The Guardian, Child talks about a little girl her boyfriend and herself met on a train from Copenhagen to Jutland. They shared a carriage with a couple and their little girl who, 'Kept bombarding them with questions while they were trying to read the paper.  She looked like a pixie and, although she was clearly driving her parents to distraction, I found her mesmerising'. From here, Child created the character of Lola and started making a storyline for her. She goes on to talk about her boyfriends younger sister, who had a similar resemblance to the girl on the train, and her imaginary friend, Soren Lorensen. Anyone who has seen or read Charlie and Lola will know about Soren Lorenson, being Lola's imaginary friend. I've always found it clever how this character is used to show how Lola is feeling without making it blatantly obvious, they do everything together like when Lola starts school and says Soren is 'Feeling slightly not very well' to show her reservations about going to school.  

Lauren Childs adoration for seeing the world through children's eyes is what makes these books so mesmerising, the way she writes in a way a 7-year-old would speak makes the stories and characters so much more believable. Charlie's character came shortly after seeing old photos of her boyfriend's sister and him playing as children, the boy wearing Charlie's iconic tee-shirt with different coloured sleeves and an embroidered name on the front. The two characters have a unique understanding of each other, with Charlie being sarcastic but letting Lola explore and let her imagination guide her through her childhood.  Child has written many other books which link to Charlie and Lola, a book series named after the main character, 'Ruby Redfort', who is a spy that Clarence Bean admires. Other books are 'Clarence Bean' and 'Pippi Longstocking' showing strong female characters who teach children to take on adventures and be brave. All of her books are aimed at children and have good life lessons, as well as entertaining parents who can relate to storylines and key moments in a child's life. 

A Collection of Books by Lauren Child

The artist works in a very distinctive way, contrasting the creative process of many illustrators in the early 2000's. She uses collage, combining photographs, textures and hand-drawn characters to mirror themes in the book. She always loved scrapbooking and from starting her lampshade company, had a lot of fabrics and textures which can be seen through the books, like in the elephants in a spread above. I think this style was pioneering of the time as many artists today, such as Oliver Jeffers, used a similar process combining photography with traditional drawing materials. The effect here is almost jarring, turning a page to find a huge tomato or potatoes isn't exactly what you expect in a book! However, it correlates with the children's idiosyncrasies and reflects how a child's imagination has no limits.

In a previous project, I used a similar process, making textures traditionally using brushes and ink rollers then cutting them up to form shapes and character. I'd love to follow her process more accurately, using wallpaper samples, magazine cuttings and characters. There's a simplicity to her work which is loved by all readers and viewers as they can relate to the stories and amusement brought about by children's imagination and view of the world. Lauren Child is said to be inspired by a child's honesty and fascination with things, also taking inspiration from fellow illustrators Quentin Blake, Carl Larssen and E.H. Shepard, the original illustrator of Winnie the Pooh.