I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

Recently I went to Seven Stories in Newcastle, to visit the Jim Kay 'Harry Potter' exhibit before it was taken down. If you're not familiar with Jim Kay's artwork, then I strongly recommend you get Googlin' because he is AMAZEBALLS. He is the artist that has created the artwork for the newly released 'Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone' illustrated edition, and is now working on the others.

Anyway, it turned out to be a bit of a day out for me and the family. We went to a vintage fair at the Biscuit factory which was very interesting. I've never been to a vintage fair before so it was cool to see all the newly recycled/old brands of clothes that I remember from when I was younger. I had my eye on some Levi shorts, but unfortunately my curvy shape doesn't allow me to fit into any pants properly (super tight thighs/baggy crotch).

We then headed on over to Seven Stories, my sister Charlotte and I went in while our parents went for tea in the Cluny next door. The attic room was decorated with huge cardboard prints of Jim Kay's 'Diagon Alley' from the book, with an assortment of house robes and hats. These MIGHT be for the little kids, but that didn't stop us from taking full advantage and documenting our maturity with many selfies.

"You're a wizard Chloe!"

Seeing the Diagon Alley illustrations blown up was very interesting. You could see so much detail Jim Kay had added into the drawing that would be hard to notice in the smaller version. The designs were so wacky, it gave the buildings so much character that really brings that childhood magic to life.

The floor below was the actual set up of Jim Kay's original illustrations, which we visited next. The walls were covered in his early sketches in various media, but mostly pencil.

A rough 'Ron' sketch

Early 'Albus' sketch

'Fluffy'

These character sketches are so amazing to look at. To see his interpretation of all these characters that I once imagined through reading the books and watching the films, really reminded me of being so lost in the stories when I was younger. Even his sketches are so incredibly detailed, I would imagine a huge amount of time were put into these drawings captured the character perfectly.

There was a short film playing of Jim Kay talking through his process. He gave a small tour of his studio and showed his piles and piles of rough sketches. I love hearing illustrators talk about their work, I find it very inspiring, especially when you're feeling unconfident.

Again, if you haven't heard of Jim Kay, then i HIGHLY recommend you look up his work, or if your'e a big Harry Potter fan then go buy the sexy illustrated version because it really is beautiful! Also if you're a fan of children's book artwork, or illustration in general, you should check out the exhibits at Seven Stories.

Thanks for reading!

Chloe x