Paul Kidby

Making false teeth, firing flaming arrows and painting magic wossname: the British artist tells Gary Evans about his long and eventful career.

- Gary Evans

Paul Kidby grew up in suburban London in the 1960s and 70s. As a boy, there was a house on his street that he found fascinating. In the window was a skeleton. And when he heard what this lady did for a living, he found her house all the more fascinating. But he was well into his teens before he dared knock on the door of Miss Ockingdon’s.

At that time, he’d just dropped out of sixth form and worked on a Youth Opportunity Program making false teeth. He’d been interested in art from a young age. He’d make plasticine models of the orcs and elves from the books his big sister would read to him

He was always drawing, too. He had plenty of supplies, since his dad was a stationary salesman. As a teenager, he drew imaginative pieces influenced by his two interests: fantasy literature and punk rock – The Lord of the Rings and The Jam, War of the Worlds and The Clash. Aged 17, Paul “plucked up the courage” to introduce himself to Miss Ockingdon.

“Miss Ockingdon,” he says, “had been an anatomical artist working in operating theatres, and was an adept draughtswoman and calligrapher. She had taught art at Ealing Art College. Her students included Pete Townsend, Freddie Mercury and Ronnie Wood.

“She told me, in no uncertain terms, that if I was serious about becoming an artist, I had to learn the nuts and bolts of my craft, starting with perspective, anatomy and composition. I had to ditch my imaginative illustrations and start drawing from life.”

Paul visited Miss Ockingdon every week. She critiqued his work and set him challenges. Technically, he learned a lot from her. But above all else he learned that to be a successful artist you need discipline. “It was the start,” the illustrator and sculptor says, “of a life-changing process in my artistic development.”