Our Illustrator in Residence Ed Vere talks about the power of drawing

New BookTrust Illustrator in Residence Ed Vere talks about drawing and why he wants everyone to pick up a pencil. Watch the video or read the transcript below. 

"I’m Ed Vere, I’m delighted to be BookTrust’s Illustrator in Residence for 2020 from March until August.

I’m going to focus on this residency on exploring drawing in all its forms and for all people, from children to grown ups. So many grown ups seem to have stopped drawing and I want to encourage all of us to draw. One thing that really strikes me as I visit so many schools and work with children is how many children start primary school loving drawing, expressing themselves with drawing, and by the time they leave far too many have lost confidence in drawing and I wonder why that is.

But the thing that feels so sad is that they’ve lost a form of self expression. And so I want to use this residency to talk about drawing, to encourage all of us to draw a little more, through many initiatives and projects that we are planning to run through the six months.

So I hope you’ll all join in… and enjoy drawing!

Thank you."

We're big fans of Ed's beautiful books, including How To Be A Lion, Grumpy Frog and Max the Brave. We can't wait to get started on lots of exciting projects with him!

Ed is replacing BookTrust's previous Writer in Residence, Cerrie Burnell. 

Stay up to date with Ed's blogs