(Or One Author’s Trip to the Woods)
John Howe writes: To me, writers are mysterious creatures. They make things with words. Pictures are easy, kids do them without thinking. Words are harder, as it implies keeping that gift of spontanteous espression, but using a sophisticated and precise tool most of us can never firmly grasp in out clumsy hands. So, when I meet an Author, I’m always faintly surprised that they seem affable and quite normal, nay, even human. Continue reading “John Howe’s Journal: BUNNIES, WORLDBUILDING & CAPITAL-P PLOTS”
Or the Perilous Pertinence of Perspicacity Premeditated
(Or Exercises in Applied Floccinaucinihilipilificatiousness)
John Howe writes: I’m often told I’ve got my “head in the clouds”. While that’s clearly metaphorical, or at least I dearly hope so, I recently had the opportunity to get a little closer to said clouds for a television interview.
“Têtes en l’Air” is a French-Swiss program half way between interview and conversation. The creator of the show, Manuella Maury, seems to prepare extensive notes, read up diligently on her subject, and then play everything by ear, counting on an agile mind rather than a plodding list of questions. Which is fair enough, though it does mean trying to keep your wits about you.
I always try to keep them about me when doing interviews, but given the surroundings, my wits were off running up scree slopes or poking around under rocks. I’m always distabilised by interviews, just the fact that someone is actually listening throws me off (even if it’s professional listening) and I spend my time like a tightrope walker in a tempest, buffeted by contrary winds. Continue reading “John Howe’s Journal: HEADS, CLOUDS AND CONVERSATIONS”
Or Talking About Somebody ELSE’S Work for a Change: Occasionally I am given the opportunity to write a preface for a book of another artist’s work. It’s an exercise I thoroughly enjoy, an opportunity to pry up the cowling and peek in at the inner workings of another image-maker’s mind. (You just have to keep ypur hands clear of the gears.) When Paul Bonner asked if I’d be willing to do a few words for a volume of his collected work that was in preparation, I immediately agreed quicker than you can say “And about bloody time too!”. Paul’s work is simply amazing, and just knowing folks like him are out there in the wildwood of the mind in which all fantasy illustrators wander is a comfort and an encouragement. Continue reading “John Howe’s Journal: PICTURA AND GNARUS”
