July Artist of the Month – Clare Elsom

Our July ‘Artist of the Month’ is illustrator and author Clare Elsom

About Clare Elsom

Clare is a children's author and illustrator based in Devon in the UK. She is the creator of hilarious young fiction series Horace & Harriet and has illustrated over 80 other children’s books including the popular Flying Fergus series written by Sir Chris Hoy and Joanna Nadin and Superheroes Don’t Get Scared by Kate Thompson. Clare loves working with children and regularly visits schools and appears at literary festivals. She has been a guest on CBBC and Blue Peter, was a World Book Day competition judge in 2018 and won a Lollies Award for her illustration work in Cats: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend in 2024.

What a visit from Clare entails

Clare is experienced and very flexible to accommodate school needs and timetables. She offers presentations, live drawing and both writing and illustration workshops.

Her usual presentation lasts 45 minutes and includes an introduction to the brilliant world of being a children’s author-illustrator, which started for Clare when she was 7 and won a prize for making a lift-the-flap book.

The session is lots of fun and will involve story-telling, visuals, props, costumes and a Q&A session.

Clare does lots of live drawing, including showing how to make basic shapes into characters, with lots of shout-out help from the audience. She will also teach the children (and willing teachers!) how to draw some characters from her books.

You can see details on her visits here

Testimonials from previous visits.

"Clare was amazing . The children were so enthusiastic and gripped by the assembly. Clare's illustrations were superb and some of the children even went home and drew their own versions of. The teachers also raved about how inspirational she was and how much they enjoyed Clare's time with them.”

Woodford Green Prep School

“I just wanted to say it was also an absolute pleasure to have Clare in school for the day. EVERY child in the school as well as all the staff loved it! It was a huge success and Clare was brilliant in every way possible - it couldn't have gone any better!”

Greenford C of E Primary School

“Clare was absolutely brilliant, enthusiastic, interesting and the pupils were engaged throughout her entire presentations. She is very good I would recommend her to any schools for any book related event for KS2. She fitted into the school perfectly it felt like she had always been here! I would have booked her again if I had a new influx of pupils. It was great the way she incorporated her illustrations within the workshops and she could also talk about her books Horace and Harriet.”

Chigwell School

Interview with Clare Elsom

When did you first get interested in drawing?

As a child. I’ve always loved books and would pore over details and expressions in my favourite pictures and try and copy them. I also remember pausing Disney movies to try and draw my favourite bits - not so easy with VHS tapes, it could be very wobbly!

Can a picture be worth a thousand words?

Ha, yes! I love images that are full of narrative, expression and detail. I often try and add extra details or stories or jokes within my pictures, expanding on the written words. Pictures can say so much, and I really admire books that tell stories with limited or no words. It’s such a calming experience to read them.

You have illustrated a huge range of books by different authors – what is the collaboration process like? Do you work closely together and get much say in the illustrations?

It depends on the book and the publisher – but I think it’s a common misconception that authors and illustrators work closely together. We really don’t!! I work closely with designers and art directors on the look, design and briefs, but rarely exchange a direct word with the author until the book is finished.

The author might email helpful notes or highlight passages of relevant description within the writing (particularly for the look of characters) and I would usually receive a written brief and a layout from the publishers, but there is huge scope for my own imagination and ideas to flow. I get a lot of creative control with the artwork. Ultimately, we’re all collaborating to make the best book possible, and I’m lucky to have worked with publishers who trust my judgement and ideas.

Of course, if something is more technical (for example, I’m working on a non-fiction science series with Ladybird right now) then there are much more prescriptive briefs involved, as the content has to be factually correct.

You have written some books too – how was it to be in charge of the words as well as the illustrations?

Yes, I wrote my young fiction series Horace and Harriet, and it was great to be in control of everything – characters, world-building, text and illustrations. The relationship between text and image was even closer to me, and I found I ‘wrote’ in pictures quite a lot. I’m very proud of the series and had a lot of fun with it. The process is inevitably a lot more work and I did miss having a fellow author when it came to promotion! I’m working on more of my own books right now; I sincerely hope to have another authored series around in the near future.

Where do you find your inspiration from?

Everywhere: I people watch ALL the time, I snap pictures of colour combinations I love, I quickly scribble down anecdotes and phrases I hear, I visit galleries and pore over books to get inspired by other artists, and I make little pictures of everyday life whenever I can. I mostly love trying to capture expressions and movements and detail in my work – the best way I can put it is I try to screenshot things I see in my head and record them on paper at a later date! I was, and still am, very inspired by old Disney animations and love to see development sketches from animators.

A lot of your books are very funny – and you recently won a Lollie – congrats! Does humour come naturally or is it something to be worked on like any other skill?

Thank you very much! When it comes to drawing, I think I naturally draw in a comic or cartoony way and I love trying to get some silly expressions and slapstick moments into my illustrations. I’m just drawn to recording light-hearted moments, I love to make people smile.

When it comes to writing, again, I really love making people laugh. You can definitely work on it. One of the most valuable processes for me is doing events with children, as you can really see what works and what doesn’t. Some of what I consider the funniest moments in Horace and Harriet only raise a smile, but other tiny moments (such as Horace crashing a homemade bicycle) have them roaring with laughter.

How was it to win the Lollie, what was the ceremony like?

It was absolutely brilliant and extremely unexpected! The ceremony was in the daytime, so various schools could attend, and there were brilliant presenters and performances. We won the non-fiction category for our book CATS: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend. John Bradshaw (the author) and I were left with our mouths hanging open when they read our name out. The other nominees were fantastic, and the whole ceremony was so big and glamorous, I think we felt like our little book didn’t stand a chance! I went from gobsmacked on the stage, to extremely excited to meet so many inspiring authors and illustrators: Michael Rosen, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Martin Brown to name a few. It was absolutely one of my career highlights. I’ve been buzzing about it ever since! It’s particularly rewarding as the Lollies are ultimately voted for by children, which is exactly who we want to be enjoying the book!

So many books on other award lists deal with very serious subjects and are used to help young people learn about and tackle some big issues. Why is it still important to make time for fun and have a laugh? Why is comedy such a valuable genre?

I think books that tackle Big Subjects and feelings are incredibly important, and there are such beautiful texts out there that address all kinds of issues for children. And I sometimes think that credibility and respect for authors goes hand in hand with the need to be taken seriously about serious books.

But, alongside these, funny books are vital. They hook children in and entice reluctant readers. They will be sought out, returned to, shared and talked about. Children need to know that reading can be joyful! It can be fun and entertaining and allow some mad and hilarious escapism. Children are naturally so much more playful that adults, and the books that are available for them should embrace that. And quite frankly, we could also use a little more light and laughter.

What has been a memorable moment from a school or library visit?

I was doing a presentation at a Primary school, and a child was struggling to sit still. They were being a bit disruptive, refusing to join in and seemed to be paying little attention to me. But at the end of the session when I was about to leave, a little hand came and pressed some paper into mine – the child had drawn a brilliant picture of one of the front covers of my book, and whispered “that was my favourite bit of school ever Miss.”

You recently visited a school abroad for us – how was that experience different to UK schools?

Yes, I visited a school in Stockholm, Sweden. It was fantastic! Such a wonderful opportunity to travel and visit a different culture. There were certainly differences with the school environment, such as how they handled their day-to-day schedules and the content of their learning, but ultimately children are children and the actual visit itself was surprisingly similar to the UK! My favourite difference was their tradition of ‘fika’ – coffee and cake time!

Which other countries are on your wish list to visit?

I’d love to visit as many different countries as possible. Send me anywhere! I love to travel, and I’m so grateful it’s become part of my job. I love school visits, and getting to do them all over the world is the icing on the cake!

Which books or authors did you enjoy growing up?

All sorts. I had a huge Enid Blyton era, either disappearing up the Faraway Tree, longing to be part of the Famous Five, or desperate to head off to Malory Towers! Ann Digby’s Trebizon series was also a big hit. As a younger child I loved Bel Mooney’s Kitty books (I think I was a bit stubborn and headstrong like Kitty!) I was also a young teenager when the Harry Potter books were coming out, and I remember longing for the next one and queuing up at midnight at the bookshops to devour them.

Your career has taken you to some amazing places and meet some amazing people – have there been any particular highlights?

Working on the Flying Fergus series with Sir Chris Hoy and Joanna Nadin was a big highlight – we were a real team and all very proud of the series. We got to do lots of events and festivals together and even go on Blue Peter, which was a childhood dream come true!

There is a huge push for STEM education, but there are a whole host of valuable and varied jobs in the creative industries too. What advice would you give to someone considering a career related to art?

Keep going! Work hard, put the hours in and try and establish what particular creative area you are interested in. There are wonderful art foundation courses that let you dip a toe into lots of different art practices to let you see which area is for you. If possible, talk to someone established in your industry and ask them how they got there. I met the brilliant illustrator Korky Paul as a young teenager, and talking to him really set me on a path to my job.

What impact can a great author or illustrator visit have on a school?

Reading and engaging with books is so incredibly important for children, and I think an author or illustrator visit is a really memorable occasion for them. To see the people who create the books they read and perhaps allow them to consider it as a tangible job, but also to have moments that break outside the usual timetable to experiment, think creatively, tell stories and have some fun.

I see kids faces light up when they realise where their imaginations can take them. I show them that anyone can make up a story or draw a picture, and the pride they have in the little ideas we create together is beautiful.

What should schools do to make sure a visit is as successful as possible?

Prepare the kids (and their parents) for who is coming, which might give them the opportunity to see some of the author or illustrator’s work in advance. The children are always very excited if they know or recognise one of my books!

A clear timetable is also important, so I can plan the length and activities within the presentations or workshops for different ages. It also makes a huge difference when the teachers get involved with the day – whether that’s to join in the draw-along, ask a question or make a silly suggestion to a shared story. The children are always much more engaged when they see their teachers enjoying it too!

How would you encourage a reluctant reader or shy illustrator to pick up a pen?

I often think reluctant readers haven’t found the right book for them yet. Trying something slightly different – a graphic novel perhaps, or a non-fiction book – can really work. Reading should be enjoyable, so work with them to make it so, even if that’s going outside the norm. Do they want to read for only 4 minutes? Read a book up a tree? On a cosy cushion? Read it together? It’s all reading!

With drawing, I think lots of people can find it quite a vulnerable activity. And what’s scarier than a blank piece of paper?! (I’ve often encouraged people to scribble on the paper first, to make it less intimidating.) But again, try and find what’s enjoyable – is that making a shared picture? Or drawing on your own? Do you like copying an image? Or making up something from your head? There’s a route for everyone.

What are you currently working on?

I’m busy illustrating a big science series written by Moira Butterfield for Ladybird (I love a bit of non-fiction work) I also have a few of my own book proposals out there – more funny and illustrated young fiction, and I hope to be working much more on that very soon!