A Vole Brain in Formaldehyde and a Sing Knot

'A Vole Brain in Formaldehyde and a Sing Knot', a drawing by JVL, June 2005.

This was a drawing done for Brian Love, a gift for his retirement. Brian was for many years in charge of Illustration at Kingston University.

Still life on a table

Still life on a table, a drawing by JVL when a student at The Central School of Arts and Crafts, 1960.

Portrait sketches of Peter Bailey

Two sketches by JVL of the illustrator, teacher and friend - Peter Bailey, in a notebook of 1968.

JVL's studio desk

JVL's studio desk on the 7th of November in 2007; 

the last time I got down to sorting out my art materials and equipment!

'A Dog who was afraid of the Rain'

'A Dog who was afraid of the Rain', an illustration by JVL in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989.

This is the 60th fable to be found in Roger L'Estrange's Fables and Storyes Moralized. Being a Second Part of The Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists, &c, London, Printed for R. Sare at Grayes-Inn-gate in Holbourn, 1699, page 53.

Here is Roger L'Estrange's text, with spelling and other idiosyncrasies in tact:

The Dog who was Afraid of the Rain

IT was observ’d in a Family with all Sorts of Dogs in’t, that one Curr among the rest would never be gotten out of the House in Rainy Weather. His Fellows took Notice of it; and would never let him be quiet till he told them the Meaning on’t: which, in short was This: I was terribly scalt once, a great while ago, and I have been afraid of Water, says he, ever since. His Companions told him he talk’d like a Fool, for Rain-water was Cold, and there could be no Danger in it. Well well! Says he, let it be Hot, or let it be Cold, ’tis Water still; and how shall I know whether it be the one or the other, till I feel it? And by That time, it will be too late to prevent the Mischief.

Moral:  It is folly to fear something without a proper cause but it is wise to be wary when there is reasonable ground for it.

Text: Roger L’Estrange (2/60, 1699).

'An Old Man of Berlin'

'An Old Man of Berlin',  an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012, page 57.

There was an Old Man of Berlin,

Whose form was uncommonly thin;

Till he once, by mistake, was mixed up in a cake,

So they baked that Old Man of Berlin.

Edward Lear

'A Young Lady from Russia'

'A Young Lady from Russia', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012.

There was a Young Lady of Russia,

Who screamed so that no one could hush her;

Her screams were extreme, no one heard such a scream,

As was screamed by that lady of Russia.

Edward Lear

'An Old Person of Newry'

'An Old Person of Newry', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape 1984, and reissued in 2012.

There was an Old Person of Newry

Whose manners were tinctured with fury;

He tore all the rugs, and broke all the jugs

Within twenty miles' distance of Newry.

Edward Lear

A garden design

 

A garden design; an illustration from a gardener's plan for the magazine House Beautiful,

 drawn some time in the 1960s. A pretty dull garden design in my opinion! 

This was a typical 'jobbing illustrator' commission at this time.

Pondering Upon Pomegranates

Pondering Upon Pomegranates, the cover of a self-published book (in a limited edition of 110 copies), written and illustrated by JVL in 1999

'The Fisherman and his Net'

'The Fisherman and his Net', an illustration by JVL in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989.

This is a Greek fable by Babrius, which suggests that insignificance can sometimes contribute towards safety. Here is a translation of the fable by Thomas James in an edition of 1848.

The Fisherman and his Net 

A FISHERMAN was drawing up a net which he had cast into the sea, full of all sorts of fish. The Little Fish escaped through the meshes of the net, and got back into the deep, but the Great Fish were all caught and hauled into the ship.

Text: Thomas James (175, 1848). Selected Parallels: Babrius 4. Perry 282. Chambry 25. TMI L331.

'Gemini'

'Gemini', a monotype illustration by JVL; a Zodiac sign for 'Starcope' for the magazine Honey, 1965

'Still life with pot, plants and mandolin'

'Still life with pot, plants and mandolin', a gouache painting by JVL 

carried out when I was a 17 or 18-year old art student at Salford, 1957.

Window View at Twynberllan, Peterchurch

'Window View at Twynberllan, Peterchurch', a notebook drawing by JVL, 17-19 June 2013.

'The Dong with a Luminous Nose'

'The Dong with a Luminous Nose', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012.

Here are the first two verses:

When awful darkness and silence reign Over the great Gromboolian plain,   Through the long, long wintry nights;-- When the angry breakers roar As they beat on the rocky shore;--   When Storm-clouds brood on the towering heights Of the Hills of the Chankly Bore:-- Then, through the vast and gloomy dark, There moves what seems a fiery spark,   A lonely spark with silvery rays   Piercing the coal-black night,--   A Meteor strange and bright:-- Hither and thither the vision strays,   A single lurid light.

'The University Fairy with a White Shadow'

'The University Fairy with a White Shadow', 

a doodle drawn by JVL at a University School Management meeting on 1 December 1992

old sketchbook pages

Drawings by JVL from an old student sketchbook when aged 19 in 1959

'An Old Man of Dumblane'

'An Old Man of Dumblane' an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape, 1984, reissued in 2012, page 155.

'The Old Man of Thermopylae'

'The Old Man of Thermopylae', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, Jonathan Cape, 1984 (and reissued in 2012, page 121.

'Absurd Event'

'Absurd Event', a notebook drawing by JVL, 13 March 2012

Part of the left-hand page drawing was carried out during a forum at Falmouth University College.

The title of the forum was 'Absurd Event', chosen by Steve Braund (the convener of the Forum), when I had told him a few months earlier that the words 'Absurd Event' were an anagram of his name.

The drawing on the left-hand page is a building where my granddaughter Freya lived during her first year on the BA (Hons) Illustration course at Falmouth.