The Authors and Illustrators - Profiles

James Mayhew

  James Mayhew was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire in 1964. James studied illustration at Maidstone College of Art graduating in 1987 with first class honours.
James is keen to involve children in music and art and his enthusiasm for his subjects and sense of fun come across very strongly to young audiences. He visits many schools, libraries and bookshops and enjoys involving children in activities such as mural painting and a variety of art and literature based projects. He also teaches degree students at Anglia Polytechnic University.
  James first book for children was Katie's Picture Show which began a series of art books for younger children, described by The Times as a "brilliant concept".
James illustrates texts by some of our most contemporary writers including Elisabeth Beresford and Joyce Dunbar. In 1994 he received the New York Times Award for one of the ten best illustrated books of the year for The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams written by Jenny Koralek. James books have been published all over the world, from Japan and Korea, through Germany, France, Spain and Scandinavia to America. He has exhibited his work throughout Hertfordshire and in Cambridge, London, Paris and New York.
   As well as having a talent for illustration, James is interested in Art History, photography, classical music and opera, particularly Russian Nationalist Opera and Italian Bel Canto Opera. He has illustrated a number of programmes for the Kirov Opera, St Petersburg, and in 1998 was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to design a series of tee-shirts for the Kirov's season there. He also enjoys collecting 78RPM records and antique gramophones.
  James lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife and son.

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