John Howe Quotes

• What a folly to dread the thought of throwing away life at once, and yet have no regard to throwing it away by parcels and piecemeal.

  John Howe

• Occasionally projects just take off unexpectedly, sometimes you can work away at sketches and ideas for years before they are published. There are a number of authors I would be eager to illustrate.

  John Howe

• My initial plan was to spend a year in France, go to some kind of school and learn a bit of French. I went a year in an American college in the outskirts of Strasbourg, but got a glimpse of a real art school, L’Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, and enrolled the following year.

  John Howe

• More often than not, however, the person who flatly states ‘Elves aren’t like that!’ is hard pressed to describe how they really look…. as if Tolkien has summoned archetypes from so deep in our minds that we can only recall them incompletely.

  John Howe

• Information and inspiration are everywhere… history, art, architecture, everything an illustrator needs. Europe is, after all, the land that has generated most of the enduring myths and legends of Western culture.

  John Howe

• I think I was interested in history without knowing it and that became very clear when I arrived in France. Everything that I was really interested in was there, but I knew nothing, no education, no art education, no education beyond high school. It was extremely overwhelming and it still is.

  John Howe

• I initially moved to Switzerland for work on an animated feature film, and have been here ever since.

  John Howe

• I have been illustrating Tolkien’s books ever since I first read them, long before illustration became my profession.

  John Howe

• I have a website because it’s an interesting tool, very – and quite unexpectedly – useful for my work. It’s become an archive and a fairly complete on-line portfolio, as well as offering an opportunity to write a little.

  John Howe

• Drawing must seek interest, not admiration. Because admiration wears quickly.

  John Howe

• Dragons and bridges are very much something out of fairy tales and fantasy.

  John Howe

• Character is power; it makes friends, draws patronage and support and opens the way to wealth, honor and happiness.

  John Howe

John Howe (12)

Birth:	21st August, 1957
Nationality:	Canadian
Profession:	Illustrator

About

John Howe was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is a Canadian book illustrator. He studied at École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, France. He is best known for his work based on J. R. R. Tolkien's worlds. Howe and noted Tolkien artist Alan Lee served as chief conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. He also re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in 1996–2003. In 2005 a limited edition of George R. R. Martin's novel A Clash of Kings was released by Meisha Merlin, complete with numerous illustrations by Howe.

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Today's Anniversary - 30th May

Births

• 1966 - Stephen Joseph Malkmus
• 1980 - Steven Gerrard
• 1893 - Norman Cota
• 1814 - Mikhail Bakunin
• 1908 - Mel Blanc

Deaths

• 1952 - Albert Lasker
• 2008 - William Odom
• 1911 - Milton Bradley
• 1640 - Peter Paul Rubens
• 1994 - Ezra Taft Benson