Day 110: Anthony Browne

Last night I went to a talk by writer and illustrator Anthony Browne. He has won tons of awards for his writing and illustration and he is this years children's laureate for Britain, so I was REALLY excited about seeing him.

Whenever I go and see a creative person, I get so enthusiastic about my own writing and about inspiring you guys to be create with your own talents. There was so many interesting things he said, I'm finding it really hard to chose which one to share...

...After much debate (in my head) I have decided to share this little nugget of wisdom with you:

Think about this, if you ask any child if they can draw or tell stories, they would answer, 'yeah, of course I can.' But, ask an adult and most will say, no. What happened?

Anthony Browne has always loved telling stories and drawing pictures. In fact, he showed us a picture he drew when he was 7 years old. It looked no different from any other 7-year-old's drawing. He claimed creative adults (and teenagers) are no different to anyone else. They just carried on! He was encouraged by his teachers and his parents and other people along the way.

We all need encouraging in out creative pursuits. Even the Children's Laureate was once a little boy drawing stick men. So, be encouraged by me and, more importantly, by Anthony Browne to KEEP GOING! Keep being creative, getting better, learning new skills and techniques. Push yourselves.

Creativity is fun and it brings people who see, hear, touch, taste or even smell your work happy too. I bet a lot of you got enjoyment from people like Anthony Browne when you were a kid. I know I did.

So, go for it. Be encouraged, get out there and do it! Be creative and keep being that way until forever! The world needs you...!