Verdy, A Seed For Change In The City

Joseph has a passion for wildlife and nature and fell in love with the woodlands and rivers of North Devon, all of which clearly filters down into his stories and illustration work. Joseph is a professional Illustrator with over ten year's experience and working on a wide variety of projects with many wonderful and talented authors. Joseph had always dreamt of working in the world of arts and literature, but being dyslexic and suffering from depression has meant that he felt too held back to try and write down any of the hundreds of ideas that he has floating around in his head. Until nom . . . "Verdy - A seed for change in the city" is his first adventure as a solo writer and illustrator, and explores his love of nature, the magic he sees in the woods where he lives and how important he feels it is to look after our plants and wildlife. Joseph studied Animation at Norwich School of Art and Design, and this combined with a passion for cinema and growing up as a lover of comic books, he feels that this strongly comes out in his illustration, as he tries to translate as much movement and dynamism that he can into his work so the pictures almost come to life. As an illustrator Joseph has worked on award winning books, such as, poet and rapper, Karl Nova's book "Rhythm and Poetry", and Joseph has been shortlisted in the Stratford Literary Festival. His work is rooted in the natural world and draws on traditional styles of illustration. When he is not illustrating books, he teaches the skills and crafts that he has learnt over the years in primary and secondary schools all over the world, visiting students in Manchester to the Middle East, with his work with Authors Aboard and The Appledore Book Festival, teaching illustration and creative writing workshops. Joseph has a passion for his subject and injects masses of enthusiasm into his teaching with a very hands-on approach to creating art and design, aimed at encouraging students to explore new skills, build confidence and get creative. As well as teaching art and creative writing, Joseph is proud defender of the Earth, and has worked with charities such as Plastic Free North Devon, which has allowed him the opportunity to visit schools and groups to talk about nature, conservation and the threats that face our environment. Encouraging the younger generation to make changes and take action.