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Charles Piers Mackesy OBE (born 11 December 1962) [ 1 ] is a British artist, illustrator, and the author of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2019).
British artist, illustrator and author Charlie Mackesy began his career as a cartoonist for The Spectator, before becoming a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. His award-winning work has featured in books, private collections, galleries and public spaces around the world.
Fifteen minutes before Charlie Mackesy won an Oscar earlier this year, he found himself hiding in a toilet. Worried about the cameras and the crowd, he scrawled on a napkin and posted a photo of...
Dec 14, 2020 · With its message of empathy and self-care, artist Charlie Mackesy’s unusual picture book has captured a shared longing in these dark times – and won thousands of loyal fans in the process, reports Alice Vincent
- The animals were inspired by Charlie’s childhood on a farm. I was brought up on a farm, so I always drew animals, like horses. Charlie’s book centres on a boy and three animals: a mole (upbeat), a fox (cautious) and a horse (wise).
- Drawing helped him through the death of his best friend. Charlie tells Joe that he’s faced a lot of loss in his life. “I think eight or nine friends, over my life, have taken their lives,” he says.
- He never planned to write a book. Charlie’s drawings were only ever really supposed to be for him and his friends. The animal drawings started as sketches he’d make to help him process his own thoughts, then post on social media.
- He made 10,000 drawings for the book. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is only 128 pages long, but Charlie says, “there are about 10,000 drawings that actually went into it.
Dec 23, 2022 · Born in Northumberland, Mackesy was a cartoonist for The Spectator and an illustrator who has exhibited around the world, having collaborated on projects with Richard Curtis and Nelson Mandela. The self-described “grubby artist” explains how his most famous characters formed.
Dec 24, 2022 · The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse will air on BBC One on 24th December and Charlie Mackesy has spoken about the influence behind his story.
