Korky Paul facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Korky Paul
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Hamish Vigne Christie Paul
1951 (age 73–74) |
| Known for | Children's illustrator |
Hamish Vigne Christie "Korky" Paul (born 1951) is a famous British artist who draws pictures for children's books. He grew up in Rhodesia (which is now Zimbabwe), but he lives in Oxford, England, today. Korky Paul's drawings are easy to spot because they use bright colors and lots of fun details. He is best known for illustrating the popular Winnie the Witch book series.
Contents
The Life of Korky Paul
Korky Paul was born in 1951 in a big family with seven children. He grew up in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). He often describes his childhood in the African Bushveld as "wild and privileged."
He went to Estcourt High School and then studied art at Durban School of Art, finishing in 1972. After that, he worked at an advertising company in Cape Town. In 1976, he traveled to Greece. There, he met James Watt, who worked for a Greek publisher. This publisher asked Korky Paul to draw pictures for educational books that taught Greek children how to speak English.
Later, Korky Paul worked in advertising in London and Los Angeles. He also studied how to make animated films with Jules Engel at the California Institute of the Arts. His very first children's book was a pop-up book called The Crocodile and the Dumper Truck, which came out in 1980.
How Winnie the Witch Began
In 1986, Korky Paul met Ron Heapy, an editor at Oxford University Press. Ron Heapy saw Korky Paul's drawings and asked him to create some pictures for a short story about a witch. This story was written by Valerie Thomas for a reading program. Korky Paul liked the story so much that he decided to draw enough pictures to make it a full picture book.
Even though this was more than he was asked to do, Ron Heapy showed the book to the people at Oxford University Press. The book, called Winnie the Witch, won the Red House Children's Book Award in 1988. It has since been printed in more than 10 different languages. Korky Paul's drawings in this book are full of funny visual jokes and clever details. Since then, he has illustrated nineteen more Winnie the Witch books, and over 7 million copies have been sold!
Helen Mortimer from Oxford University Press said that Winnie is a much-loved character. She believes this is partly because the artwork is so special and detailed, with so much to look at on every page. Korky Paul once told the Telegraph newspaper that he didn't want to use typical "witchy" colors for Winnie. He loves adding lots of color, saying it makes him feel like the famous painter Jackson Pollock.
Korky Paul's Art Style
Korky Paul's artwork is known for being wild and full of details. He uses bright watercolor paints and pen and ink. People often say his style is like the Tom and Jerry cartoons. His work has also been compared to the artists Ronald Searle and Ralph Steadman.
Three of Korky Paul's picture books have been made into CD-ROMs. These include The Fish Who Could Wish, which won an award in 1995, Dragon Poems, and Winnie the Witch.
You can see some of Korky Paul's original artwork at The Mazza Collection Galleria at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, USA.
Korky Paul's Life Today
Korky Paul lives in Oxford with his wife, Susan Moxley, who is also an artist. They have two children named Oska and Zoë.
When talking about how he creates his art, Korky Paul mentioned some of his tools. He uses an Apple Mac computer, Schminke watercolors, and Caran d'Ache pencil crayons (with an electric sharpener!). He also uses Saunders Waterford paper, black Kandahar ink, colored inks with a dip pen, a toothbrush, porcupine quills, and his left hand.
In 2015 and 2016, Korky Paul was one of the most borrowed illustrators in public libraries across the UK. This shows how popular his books are!
