Who or what made you want to become an illustrator?

I guess I always wanted to be an illustrator, or more specifically an artist, art came naturally to me from a very early age, I loved to do it, and it felt natural and good. I think genetics chose me! As a boy in primary schoool I remember the children flockiing around me when I drew a picture, wanting me to draw them something. I also loved images, I was inspired by stories in picture books that had wonderful illustrations, I related to them not just for their story telling facility, but also for their aesthetics, I wondered how the artist had done them, and I knew I wanted to do the same, I wanted to make my own illustrations. I practiced and practiced, I wrote little stories, and illustrated them. Through school I became known as the artist, and I was commended highly. This led me to eventually attend university, were I initially studied Graphic Design and specialised in illustration in my second year. I later completed my masters degree in Illustration. Opon completion of my first degree I travelled to London clutching my portfolio, to find an agent. Three days later I found an illustration agent who accepted me. I then completed a number of commercial assignments over a two year period for them. I had a traditional oil  technique at the time, mainly subverting old masters, creating pastiche peices for advertising.

My technique and style have changed dramatically over the years. I have tried every medium there is. I have worked both very small and on a very large scale. My practice has undergon diverse changes. My masters degree further fuelld my diversification, as I became influenced ever further by my peers and my research. I began to relive my school boy aspirations, and became inspired by what could be achieved within the world of children's illustration. It was some time after I left my degree, that I made a decision to specialise in children's illustration. It took me around six months to create a children's illustration portfolio that I was happy with, and that reflected my aspirations to inspire children, as I myself was inspired when I was a child. As I began to create my portfolio, I realised that I had found the right direction, the genre enabled me to expand my sense of narrative, and I worked hard to try to develop a style that would appeal to young viewers. I wanted to stay true to my traditional techniques, believing that only traditional means had the warmth and aesthetic I was aiming to acheive. Over time my style had developed into a technique whereby the majority of the execution is by traditional media, I would say that around 70% of my work is traditional, however, I soon realised the capabilities of technology, and also realised that digital intervention is a neccesarry requirement, and so the remaining 30% of my work is now digital.