Elected 2016


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Published Titles By Stuart Hill

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I’ve been a maker of things for as long as I can remember. As a published and prize-winning author I have been a professional maker of books for over a decade and I’ve been a maker of pictures for as long as I’ve been able to hold things in my hand that would make a mark on paper. Admittedly, this wasn’t always appreciated – I learnt early on that pictures made on wallpaper or on enticingly clean surfaces of recently decorated rooms, wouldn’t always receive rapturous applause!

Today I mainly work on gesso-primed wood and though I have made occasional journeys into the realms of canvas, I find the ‘bounce’ of the surface doesn’t suit my methods and I usually return to my home ground of wood as soon as possible.

My pictures tend towards the bright end of the spectrum, though not exclusively so. Their subject matter is drawn from the mythology of many cultures, as well as from the natural world; and also from the darkness that can be found in the original versions of so called Fairy Tales. My style is figurative, often stark. I’ve heard it described as ‘unusual’ many times. As far as possible I try to avoid brushstrokes and so paint with the board laid flat, and use very liquid acrylic paint that will (hopefully) flow out to a smooth finish. Having said that, I sometimes actively employ the texture of brushstrokes to add an extra depth and dimension to a picture, if I feel this is needed.

As an artist I firmly believe that ‘beauty’ is not a dirty word. In fact, now that the concept of the 'shock of the new' is so venerated, and as we all live in an increasingly troubled world, I think the time has come to embrace the 'shock of the beautiful' . . . now that really would be a shock!

Stuart Hill won the inaugural Waterstones Children's book prize for 'The Cry of the Icemark'.  See the list of his novels below.

Published Titles By Stuart Hill

Stuart Hill

Shield Maiden, published by Bloomsbury, September 2017 - A novel for young adults outlining the early life of Aethelflaed, the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great
Fire! Fire! published by Scholastic, September 2016 - A novel for younger readers telling of the Great Fire of London
I was There - Viking Invasion, 2015
I was There - Richard III
,  2014
Prince of the Icemark
, 2013 - shortlisted for the Red House Book Award
Last Battle of the Icemark
, 2008
Blade of Fire
, 2007
The Cry of the Icemark
, 2005 - won the inaugural Waterstones Children's book prize