“Many of the most popular children's stories have their roots in tales invented for particular children, and this casual, often serendipitous, approach produces a stream of ideas which are later refined into great literature. With Tolkien's shorter stories and poems,… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I first read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I was eighteen. It felt as though the author had taken every element I'd ever want in a story and woven them into one huge, seamless narrative; but… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
I spend as much time as I can sketching from nature, Dartmoor contains such a rich variety of landscape, as many boulders, foaming rivers… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really.… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I've been strongly influenced, in technique as well as subject matter, by some of the early 20th-century book illustrators — Arthur Rackham and Edmund… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“A lot of excellent illustrators are working at the moment--especially in fantasy and children's books. It is exciting also to see graphic artists such… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“There is a storytelling element in there. The tango form is a little like the blues in that you have a kind of structure.… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
To draw a tree, to pay such close attention to every aspect of a tree, is an act of reverence not only toward the… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“Many of the most popular children's stories have their roots in tales invented for particular children, and this casual, often serendipitous, approach produces a… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“Never let yourself get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired, otherwise you’ll do something you’ll regret.” — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
The power of both myth and art is this magical ability to open doors, to make connections — not only between us and the… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I like to work in watercolor, with as little under-drawing as I can get away with. I like the unpredictability of a medium which… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
I keep drawing the trees, the rocks, the river, I'm still learning how to see them; I'm still discovering how to render their forms.… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I first read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I was eighteen. It felt as though the author had taken every… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
“I often don’t have a clear idea of what I am going to be drawing when I start, unless it is for a very… — Alan Lee Copy Share Image
