ArtStyle, by Kyle
Or how I am a fake that steals from Quentin Blake
I recently had the opportunity to work with the lovely people at Adult Swim. I was commissioned to draw a social media post for them. Here it is:
Lots of fun, not sure what it all means but hey. Anyways, some of the comments on Adult Swim’s post were more or less saying ‘Did Quentin Blake draw this?’ Or ‘This artist has ripped off Quentin Blake!’
This is a criticism I come up against often enough. Blake, or Ralph Steadman. Or Ronald Searle…or any other number of watercolour and ink artists. I’ll be the first to admit that Blake is my biggest influence. I love his scratchy style and have admired his work my whole life. Searle I found a few years back, but has been an influence since I did. I don’t see the Steadman similarities except in a few of his pieces but he was never on my radar (he’s awesome though!)
When I was young I drew funny characters and drawings of my classmates. Later in life I discovered Tim Burton’s drawings and fell in love with the free linework and inky blackness of it. During the pandemic I picked up drawing and painting again and dove into learning a style of my own. I decided I wanted to draw like Quentin Blake, Tim Burton and Ronald Searle all rolled into one. Also some William Steig. Some Kate Beaton. A lil Lee Gatlin. Dash of Richard Scarry. So on.
It irks me to no end to hear people say I’m ripping off Blake, or any number of my art heroes. Of course I am! I aspire to create great art and we stand on the shoulders of giants. I don’t want to stand directly on one giant’s shoulders though. Given that I hear it often enough, I suppose it’s worth acknowledging. I love Blake’s free line, silly subjects and the way he details his images with flecks of the pen and smudges of ink.
I can only hope one day someone will see my art and call it a ‘Beaudette’.
I was so happy to read this post! Im starting drawing just now in my later twenties, and a great way of making me sit down and start doodling is saving illustrations of people i enjoy ☀️.
I know ill get somewhere with my own style, but for now, i just love looking at pictures of other people and trying to figure out what i like about them and making it on my own. I came accross your illustrations this morning and saved some to try at home, and when i read this piece hours later, i was just so happy to read some thoughts i was developping too.
So keep going and keep making people happy about your art! Xx
I love Blake! But your work is clearly yours. I, for one, I can always tell it’s your work because there’s more diarrhea on the page. Some people just don’t know *art*.