Around 1992, I was helping Ged Haney, my former business partner finish off his film The Kings of Siam. We were at the artwork stage and I was in charge of mixing all the inks and supervising a team of painters to colour in Ged’s drawings. His was a very neat style, I was getting bored doing it and dying for the film to be finished, we had been working on it seven years! Around the same time our producer Lee Stork had given us a big pile of old unused sketch books from the 1950’s, they were very dusty and yellow with old fashioned covers. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.
Very First page from my Favorite Sketch Book
Emma Calder’s Favorite Sketch Book
Emma Calder’s Favorite Sketch Book
One evening when all our staff had gone home, I was alone sorting out inks and work for the next day, when I suddenly had an idea. Opening one of the little watercolour pads I started cleaning the dirty paint brushes out on the pages, I continued until I had filled the whole book. Then I took a pencil and turned the blobs into characters and there in front of me was a brand new style. Over the next few weeks I continued with the blobs added splashes and dribbles but, I had no idea where it was going, I was also working on ideas for a film about infidelity and loving two men and then an opportunity to use both turned up.
Favourite Sketch Books, given by Lee Stork
Watercolour of Emma by Emma in 1992