Anne Wilson

Born on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, Anne now lives in the much less remote town of Reading. Growing up, she loved picture books and one day decided that telling a story through pictures was something she’d quite like to do for a job. Taking inspiration from natural forms, patterns and colours, Anne studied art, receiving an MA in Illustration from Central Saint Martins.

Approach

Anne’s process balances the traditional and digital. Her scalpel, dip pen and inks sit side by side with her Wacom tablet, Mac and Photoshop. She loves the physical processes of colour mixing and mark making if they’re right for the project. The results are scanned and imported into Photoshop to create a final image.

Style

Anne’s colourful, folksy images often feature a host of interesting characters. Teapots sprout legs, bears knit forests of trees and cats dance around mice. She varies her style and if stronger graphical forms are in play she’ll limit her palette accordingly.

Awards

2011 – Serco Prize for Illustration 2019 - Santa Monica Library, Green prize for sustainable literature - 'Red Alert!' Otterbarry Books 2020 - Teach Primary, best non fiction childrens picture book - 'Invisible Nature' Otterbarry Books