David Dean

David Dean, Illustrator Somewhere near Manchester, UK http://www.theaoi.com/artist/daviddean This is what I laughingly call my studio (in reality the box room), where all my work is created. Most of my ideas come to me on my morning walks, but this is where the nitty-gritty of putting them on paper happens. It's also a complete tip. This is not intentional (I'm obsessively tidy really), just the by-product of needing so much . . . stuff, and only having this little room to shove it in. The walls are blue - this, I have realised is a mistake, but the idea of emptying the room just to paint the walls white is too frightening to contemplate, so blue is how they're likely to stay. Anyway, here is a shot taken from the door. It's a pokey little hole isn't it? That's my lovely Herman Miller Mirra chair - a bit of an extravagance but so comfortable. It doesn't have any arms because they kept getting in the way! This next picture is my work table, with all my paints neatly organised. And this is my "proper" desk, where my geriatric Mac lives, chunnering away to itself "Ee, in my day . . ." That's the phone (obviously) and those are a load of CDs I've not yet got around to listening to. This is where my printer lives, atop a postwar "utility furniture" chest-of-drawers that acts as a plan chest. The stuff on top of it are mainly briefs and reference material for jobs I have on the go. On the floor are all the books I'm using for my current project (a children's book set in Egypt). And talking of books, most of one wall is taken up with shelves. It seems an illustrator can never have too many books! The vast majority of them are photography books about different countries, as most of my work seems to involve illustrating foreign climes. Though the bottom shelf is mainly illustration/design-related. And finally, if you were wondering how I managed to fit into that tiny room and do my work, well: I don't! This is my housemate, Bunny. In addition to his burgeoning career as a movie star and globe-trotting playboy, he also acts (schedule permitting) as my painterly amanuensis. That he doesn't get paint all over his liitle paws is a minor miracle!