EXTRACTS: illustrators issue 2 © 2012 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition))

62 UNDER THE GREAT ARCH OF HEAVEN The Iridescent World of Raymond Sheppard By Norman Boyd “...it is under the great arch of heaven in the pure and sparkling air, you in your imagination can fly into unknown and pleasant regions of the mind, to that perfection of Beauty towards which all art aspires.” Raymond Sheppard, How To Draw Birds T he first week of secondary school is not a good time to strain a ligament in your knee. But who would know that it would leadme, in 1969, on the trail of an all-but forgotten illustrator? My mother was never one to allow children to stay at home when they were unable to attend school, so she had me working clearing a friend’s house. Aged just eleven, my walking stick to hand, taking books from the bookcases around the cramped room and sorting them into sizes ready for packing, one small tatty paperback caught my eye with its realistic illustration of a grey seal. Reviews at the time of publication for Rowena Farr’s Seal Morning were expansive and generous but for me, of course, at that young age, it was the illustrations that captivated me. They were by an artist called Raymond Sheppard and I have loved his work ever since. * * * Raymond Sheppard, the son of Edward and Annie Sheppard, was born on 3 March 1913 in Muswell Hill, North London, and spent much of his childhood growing up in North West London. Both his parents were of Lancastrian extraction and both had an eye for art. Edward’s work as a manager at Pilkington’s Pottery was centred on sourcing strong designs for decorating Pilkington’s ever-expanding lines of glassware and ceramics. Annie, who was also employed by Pilkington’s, was an accomplished still life and floral artist with art school training and a passion for drawing. As Raymond would prove to be in years to come, Annie was a keen observer of nature. She loved to draw from life, including from the human form—she first used her son as a model at the age of three. Doubtless spurred on by his mother’s encouragement, young Raymond entered and won a prize for the biscuit manufacturer Carr & Company’s art competition in 1921. The same year also saw him win a prize in a competition run by the toffee manufacturer Edward Sharp & ABOVE: Self-portrait: Raymond Sheppard capturing the moment in 1935.