Alexis is a lively genius with an ability to both write and illustrate which sets him apart from the rest. His ideas are powerful and different and he is a true voice of the 21st century who also plays an important part in the world of children's book publishing as an observer and a teacher. Now enriched by parenthood, he has one more string to that bow.
There are artists who develop a style they find comfortable with and who work consistently in that way until we all come to recognise them at a glance. Clients can rely on them to produce exactly what they're expecting – and that's admirable.
But there are others who prefer to challenge themselves to give new concepts plenty of thought and to produce a style that's original, inspiring and relevant. This is where Alexis comes in. He is perhaps best known for his picture books (Beegu, Crow and Bird, Slow Loris) but he illustrated the books of Russell Hoban (Soonchild, Jim's Lion) with a style suitable for slightly old children and with which 'the cold wind from the north seeps right into your bones'.
The graphic novels he's written and illustrated so far (The Curse of the Chosen, Books 1 and 2) show accomplished draughtsmanship and the powerful use of colour over hundreds of pages, and his illustrations for Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black show us both moving and terrifying scenes from World War II.
From 2020 to 2022 he worked as the lead background designer on Hanna Barbera's cartoon series The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, and for many years he has taught illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and at Goldsmiths, University of London.
He has been twice shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and also twice received the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award.
He lives in Hastings in the UK with his wife and son.
2002 Slow Loris nominated for the Blue Peter Award
2008 Chosen by The Book Trust as one of the ten best illustrators of the preceding decade
2014 Winner of the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize
2015 Slow Loris named one of the hundred best books of all time by Time Magazine
Portrait photo credit: Jake Greens