The Itch Test

2 years ago, during the first lockdown, I embarked upon a project of copying an illustration a day from 50 great British (or British based) illustrators. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although the results were often far from perfect. I learned about artists whom I was ignorant of previously, and came to appreciate some very fine work. My current obsession with illustrators of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books has had the same effect with me.

Of course, it all starts with John Tenniel. Following a prompt in a sketching group on Facebook, I copied a John Tenniel cartoon, “Dropping the Pilot” which led to me copying others. I’d copied at least part of several Alice illustrations over the last  years or so, but this reawakening of interest in Tenniel’s work then led to me taking on some more of the Alice illustrations, and so forth.

Of course, Tenniel has been one of my great illustrator heroes for a long time. For me, Tenniel’s work almost always passes what I’d like to think of as The Itch Test™. When I look at an illustration, if I really like it, then I get an itch to copy it. I almost always feel like this about Tenniel’s work. Admittedly, me copying a Tenniel sketch to try to understand how it was created is, I guess, a little like taking apart a working Rolex to find out how it works. The best you can hope for is not to do any damage. But I can’t help it. If you have an itch, then sooner or later you have to scratch it.

No other illustrator of the Alice books has made me itch quite so much as Tenniel. If we take Mervyn Peake, for example, I’ve already copied several of his illustrations for the Alice books, and some I think that some of his illustrations for the books rival, or (say it quietly) outdo Tenniel’s. But then some of them don’t make me itch at all. I think of, for example, his illustration of the Caterpillar. Peake was a great illustrator, and a superb draughtsman, and there’s nothing intrinsically bad about his caterpillar, but somehow it just doesn’t do it for me and I have no urge to copy it.

So, yesterday I decided to tackle Tenniel’s Humpty Dumpty. I like the way that the illustration is composed and constructed to give room on the page for the text. Afterwards I searched the internet for images of Humpty from Looking Glass produced by other artists, and I came upon one by an illustrator called E.B.Thurstan.

I wish that I knew more about Thurstan (not clear if this was a male or female illustrator) but I haven’t been able to find out anything. Still, the moment I saw it, my drawing hand began to itch – metaphorically at least. Yes, I think it’s fair to say that this is clearly in the tradition of Tenniel, but I think that the viewpoint looking down on Alice is particularly effective, and the background (at least in the original) is superb.

Speaking of itches, last week I thoroughly enjoyed copying Ralph Steadman’s Cheshire Cat. It started me looking more closely at Steadman’s illustrations for the 1973 editions of the Alice books. Ralph Steadman’s work has, I think, something of a marmite quality. I can understand you loving his work, and I can understand you having a strong reaction against his work – but I find it difficult to accept not having an opinion. I find that the Alice illustrations polarise me. I love certain illustrations, like this one of Alice and the White Knight which made my had start itching the moment I found it. 

On the other hand I really don’t like his illustrations of the Mad Hatter and March Hare, and also the caterpillar. Which is not to criticise the quality of the draughtsmanship. It’s that specific conception of the character depicted that I don’t like. Just a personal thing, and not something I think Ralph Steadman need lose any sleep over!