Riddell Quotes & Sayings

Wherever there are words, let there be pictures. — Chris Riddell

I want to show how much fun you can have drawing ... parents and children can draw together as a wonderful shared activity. — Chris Riddell

School librarians play such an enormous role in bringing children to books they are going to enjoy. It's a magic alchemy when that works. — Chris Riddell

He had been walking for a long time, ever since dark in fact, and dark falls soon in December.
("The Old House In Vauxhall Walk") — Charlotte Riddell

No politician would ever comment on a cartoon unless it was to show what a great sense of humour they have, that they can laugh at themselves. — Chris Riddell

If things are difficult, remember that it won't always be like this. — Jane Riddell

As the Kindle's dread grip on digital publishing is challenged by tablet computers and Android smartphones, with their bright screens and high resolution, the need for illustration is growing. — Chris Riddell

Everything I've done in my life has been by instinct. I never had any doubt I could do anything ... I always knew I was going to be a writer. — Elizabeth Riddell

When I left art school and went in search of work, visiting publishers and showing them my drawings and illustrations, I was met with a polite and sometimes enthusiastic response but no commissions. — Chris Riddell

The minister paused in his narrative. At that moment there came a tremendous blast of wind which shook the windows of the manse, and burst open the hall door, and caused the candles to flicker and the fire to go roaring up the chimney. It is not too much to say that, what with the uncanny story, and the howling storm, we all felt that creeping sort of uneasiness which so often seems like the touch of something from another world - a hand stretched across the boundary-line of time and eternity, the coldness and mystery of which make the stoutest heart tremble. ("Sandy The Tinker") — Charlotte Riddell

Anyone can look through my sketchbooks as long as they don't have a background in psychiatric medicine. — Chris Riddell

I'm interested in illustration in all its forms. Not only in books for children but in posters, prints and performance as a way of drawing people into books and stories. — Chris Riddell

There are loads of fan sites for the 'Edge,' including deviant art, song lyrics using 'Edge' language, multiple entries on Wikipedia, there are even some 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' games all about the 'Edge.' — Chris Riddell

Go out and find a copy of 'The Shrinking Of Treehorn' and its sequel, 'Treehorn's Treasure.' Written by Florence Parry Heide and illustrated by the great Edward Gorey, master of the gothic and the macabre, these books are small masterpieces. — Chris Riddell

As a child, I copied Tenniel's illustrations from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' obsessively, particularly his drawing of the white rabbit in waistcoat and frockcoat, umbrella tucked under one arm and a fob watch in paw, a look of suppressed panic in his eye. — Chris Riddell

Fragmentarily the City is nothing, but collectively it is gigantic ... — Charlotte Riddell

Do you have hands? Excellent. That's a good start. Can you hold a pencil? Great. If you have a sketchbook, open it and start by making a line, a mark, wherever. Doodle. — Chris Riddell

All truth contains an echo of sadness. — Charlotte Riddell

I would like to say to children, 'Don't stop drawing. Don't tell yourself you can't draw.' Everyone can draw. If you make a mark on a page, you can draw. — Chris Riddell

Lose your inhibitions about drawing and just do it. — Chris Riddell

I'm not a painter by any stretch of the imagination; I'm a dyed-in-the-wool traditional illustrator, and I begin with black and white. If I need colour, I add it over the top. There's a calligraphic element to it ... it's about the texture of lines on the page. — Chris Riddell

I want to put the joy of creativity, of drawing every day, of having a go and being surprised at what one can achieve with just a pencil and an idea at the heart of my term as laureate. I want to make sure people have fun whilst addressing fundamental issues I care about passionately. — Chris Riddell

I'm calling myself 'The Doodler,' and with the simple addition of a small burglar's mask, I achieve utter anonymity. — Chris Riddell

I want to bring drawing back to the basics, make it about the pleasure that it can afford and remove the notion that it's some kind of precious or difficult activity. It's another way of telling a story. — Chris Riddell

My sketchbook is not sacrosanct, and my children would draw on one page while I drew on the other. It was something we shared. — Chris Riddell

The 'Chronicles of Narnia' have been favourites of mine since my childhood when I misread 'Aslan' as 'Alsatian' and was struck by the genius of naming a lion after a dog! — Chris Riddell

It was a bad night to be about with such a feeling in one's heart. The rain was cold, pitiless and increasing. A damp, keen wind blew down the cross streets leading from the river. The fumes of the gas works seemed to fall with the rain. The roadway was muddy; the pavement greasy; the lamps burned dimly; and that dreary district of London looked its very gloomiest and worst.
("The Old House In Vauxhall Road") — Charlotte Riddell

If quarrelling be really the renewal of love, theirs had been renewed once a day at all events, and frequently much oftener. — Charlotte Riddell

In the digital future, texts will be annotated visually, animated and illustrated like never before. The austere 'prayer book' paper that permitted the space for Shepard's illustrations to Pepys' diaries is now being recreated in the digital era. — Chris Riddell

A drop in younger children visiting libraries is of great concern. As children's laureate, I am passionate about the role of libraries, both in schools and in the wider community. They are unique places where children can begin their journey as readers, as well as being creative hubs. — Chris Riddell

I don't feel uncomfortable in forbidding institutions, and work with, say, prisons or psychiatric institutions could be one of the things that evolve out of the Laureateship. — Chris Riddell

I think stories can grow out of the visual. It can be an engine for literacy. — Chris Riddell

The computer is a tool, just like pencil or charcoal, allowing illustrators to manipulate images from their sketchbooks. — Chris Riddell

Fans write to us via our publisher and more than ever via the Internet, blogs and fan sites, and good writers should be actively seeking out that interaction. Gone are the days when writers are dead or hidden away in dusty attics; nowadays, you've got to get out there. — Chris Riddell

Roald Dahl worked with other illustrators, but it was only when he teamed up with Quentin Blake that the chemistry began to fizz. Quentin Blake is Britain's greatest living illustrator and has that special talent all the great illustrators have, of unobtrusive brilliance. — Chris Riddell

The writing process isn't something I'm in love with. I'm an illustrator who writes. — Chris Riddell