EXTRACTS: The Art of Ron Embleton (illustrators special) © 2018 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

141 living room and adding to the merry banter at their occasional dinner parties. They were very much a team. By the time I came to know him, his comic strip era was more or less over and he was well and truly immersed in work for Look and Learn, which I loved at the time. Latterly he would be creating fairy tale art for Once Upon A Time , Roman legionaries for Newcastle publisher Frank Graham as well as work for Osprey Books and then, of course, his saucily irreverent work for Penthouse magazine’s Oh Wicked Wanda! The scope and range of his work was breathtaking, as was the speed and energy with which he created it. As I recall my visits to Ron, several stand out. One that springs readily to mind was when my wife and I joined Ron, Liz, their daughter Gillian and fellow Embleton enthusiast Alan Vince, for dinner at a local restaurant. On our return to their home, Ron was full of bonhomie and in no great rush to curtail proceedings, drinks were poured, anecdotes shared and, hitherto unseen, artworks were brought down from the loft much to the delight of his guests. Another memorable visit was occasioned when I was struggling with my painting technique. Seeking some advice fromthemaster, I phonedRonupand, with typical affability, he invited me over to watch him work. Ron was a night-owl in terms of his working hours and evening was drawing in when I was ushered into his studio. A lightly pencilled illustration for Once Upon A Time was on the drawing board. I drew my chair up next to his ornately carved chair, and watched in awe as with deft flicks of fine brush work he brought the image to life. Some words of advice along the lines of “You need to devise a formula for getting your ideas across”, accompanied the demonstration. It was a rare glimpse of an artist whose consummate command of his craft made the whole process appear magical. It was gratifying to hear Ron and Liz say latterly, that of all the putative artists who visited him, I was the only one who went on to be a pro. It was determination and persistence rather than a great natural talent that got me to that place, unlike Ron who was a prolific and brilliant draughtsman from the start. He launched his career as a consummate line artist but, as with a lot of great artists, his technique evolved far beyond the confines of the comics that had first introduced me to his work. It was inspiring to witness a part of that evolution, I feel truly privileged to have got to know the man behind the art. l