Rachel Stubbs wins Walker illustration award

Artist Rachel Stubbs has won this year’s Sebastian Walker Award for Illustration.
 
Stubbs, who has a BA in illustration from Falmouth and an MA from the Cambridge School or Art, was chosen as the winner because of the “the grace of her line, her keen sense of composition and the simple elegant stories that we saw in her portfolio”, said Walker picture book publisher Deirdre McDermott.
 
”Every year I look forward to seeing the contents of the portfolios we judge for this prize – it’s incredibly exciting for Walker to be at the forefront of discovering brand new illustration talent in the UK and to be a part of the grassroots support for the artists just starting in the industry,” said McDermott. “Picture books continue to be vital in the formative days of our children’s lives and it’s a great honour to continue to build on the strong tradition for quality publishing from Walker with new talent.”
 
She added: “Rachel makes equally strong use of the space around her art – great illustration is as much about you leave out as what you put into the picture. We also particularly admired Rachel’s limited palette and her use of hand drawn typography.”
 
Stubbs was given her £500 prize at a ceremony in London last night (9th February).
 
Walker Books set up the Sebastian Walker Award for Illustration six years ago, in partnership with Anglia Ruskin’s Cambridge School of Art and their MA course in Children’s Book Illustration, to honour Walker’s founder Sebastian Walker. Previous winners include Heidi Deedman, Becky Palmer and Simona Ciraolo.
 
More information about all the entries under consideration is on the Cambridge MA website.