A wird of Dahl and a skitch of Blake

We've been romping through the imagination of a mighty talented writer these past few weeks. My son has been studying the works of Roald Dahl at school. We wrote a story together called the Magic Sketchbook (wonder where he got that idea from!).

We're working our way through Dahl's back catalogue. Just recently we got scared by fire breathing monsters in the Minpins (which were so hideously frightening that they had to be constantly hidden in plumes of smoke), ran from ENORMOUS crocodiles (and celebrated when they catapulted into space), dug tunnels with fantastic foxes and wagged magic fingers at people with guns causing them to turn into ducks. It's been a romp!

When I had to think up a subject for my turn to host the Inspiration Avenue challenge, I consulted my imagination and it really had only one answer! The world of Mr Dahl of course.

It being another week from hell in terms of workload, I didn't have time to write and illustrate an entire children's novel... which was a shame... So instead, I thought I would try my hand at the work of Dahl's illustrator - Quentin Blake. They are surely a partnership as close as salt and pepper. I, for one, can't imagine one of his books not illustrated in Blake's trademark scribbly and spontaneous style.

It's a style a lot harder than it looks to emulate. It's a shame I didn't have time to do more, but here's a few sketches of people, a peacock and a palm tree. Somehow Blake manages to make them look child-like yet professionally illustrated; whereas mine just look like my son drew them! Oh well!

Now I just need to tie all three up into a story. I'm thinking of calling it the Peacock Tale...

I think this makes a fine case for going in Sunday Sketches too... Perhaps I should tell everyone my son drew them???