Graeme Base

Graeme Base
Graeme Rowland Baseis an author and artist of picture books. He is perhaps best known for his second book, Animalia published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour which was released in 1989...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionArtist
Date of Birth6 April 1958
kids years ideas
People kept asking, Whats your market? Ive got no idea at all other than me, an eleven year old kid in a 56-year-old body. But there are a lot of us out there.
ideas baggage looks
I guess I dont come to the work without baggage. I have an idea of what I want my pictures to look like in my head, and if they dont match up, I find it frustrating.
stars australia eight
I was eight when we came to Australia. It was five amazing weeks onboard this ship - it was the Northern Star.
absolutely areas childish childlike difference easily finance good hope life responsibility sort stuff terribly
I hope that there's a difference between being childish and childlike and that I'm the latter, if you take my meaning. I often sort of wonder. I don't think I'm a terribly good grown-up; I don't take responsibility easily or well in many areas of life. Finance and stuff like that, I'm absolutely appalling.
few goldfish nature ordinary sort terms unusual white yellow
I have pets, but they're the really ordinary sort - yellow Labrador, tabby cat, white rabbit, a few goldfish - that kind of stuff. Nothing very... extravagant or unusual or exotic, but I find, in terms of inspiration, Mother Nature is just it.
advertising art began bit design graphic interested senior spent studying three various work worked year
I was always interested in art at school, and after year twelve, senior year, I spent three years studying graphic design at college. I worked in advertising for two years but didn't like it much, then began doing a bit of illustration work for various publishers.
sublime works writer
There's a book called 'Where The Wild Things Are,' by American writer Maurice Sendak... it really is the most sublime book. It's a picture book, but it works at so many levels, and it's fantastic.
corner fill games imprisoned love puzzles whilst
Whilst I love still hiding... games and puzzles to play, I'm not as imprisoned by that need to fill every corner with detail.
advertising began book books chance far growing offered publishing sort work
I began illustrating children's books because of a growing disillusionment with the sort of work I was doing in the advertising industry. Book publishing offered me the chance to be far more creative.
anyone eleven grew might since telling
Ever since I was a kid, I might have been eleven or twelve. I'd be telling anyone who would listen that when I grew up, I wanted to be an artist.
decided expect foot genre pedal readers sign sure took
I decided to take my foot off the pedal with all the detail. I'm sure after 'Animalia' and 'The Eleventh Hour,' readers thought that's what to expect from Graeme Base. With 'The Sign of the Seahorse,' I took a step away from the puzzle-book genre - that was more of an adventure story.
goes hope nature optimistic prevail though
I'm a relentlessly optimistic person, and I think 'The Waterhole' is a story of hope and that even though nature goes through cycles, we prevail in the end.
detail drove nut scale since tanks
It was always that detail that drove me. Ever since I was a little kid, I used to get into the nitty gritty... when I was drawing army tanks or monsters, I'd do every nut and rivet, and I'd do every scale on the dragon's back. It was just the way I was built.
hobby hope keyboards maybe music playing record score
My only real hobby is playing music. I write a lot of music on guitar and keyboards and hope one day to make a record or maybe even write the score for a film.