Remember Mister Peebles? The guy with an interesting name and whose interesting art work we featured some time back on our blog. Mister Peebles draws animals dressed like humans or portraying a personality different from the regular ones. The drawings look simple but are fine examples of creativity and observation. There is a fun element too added to his works and that is the witty one lines along side his sketches.

"Mister Peebles' illustrations are created in North London using watercolor pencils,  pen and some ideas picked up at the zoo. He then creates & packs up each print himself for you to enjoy," he shares on his website.

There is no doubt that Mister Peebles' illustrations are engaging and successfully bring a smile on the viewer's face and the best thing they come as greeting cards that are fun to receive and give. Here is an interview with the artist. Read on to know more about him and the stories behind his work.

1. Hi Mister Peebles, please introduce yourself to our readers.

Mister Peebles is a shy and retiring gent. He likes to draw animals in unusual situations to keep himself amused, hopefully amusing others in the process.

His humble assistant Helen helps him keep his pencils in a row and staying in touch with the outside world.

2. Your art is unique. Where do you draw the inspiration from? What makes you draw animals rather than anything else?

Animals are good company for us humans and Mister Peebles likes the expressions and characters that different creatures have. Sometimes the animals are the starting point and sometimes a word or phrase gets a drawing going, each one is a bit different! Lot of things can be inspiring from reading the paper to overhearing a conversation that gets the mind wandering.


Mister Peebles is just a man of adventure with no formal training to speak of, only many adventures. Helen however trained in Costume Design at Edinburgh College of Art which meant lots of drawing and sewing so she helps him out with that knowledge.

4. What is the main source of ideas for your drawings? Do you look for real animals for making the illustrations or is it all your imagination?

The animals are all based on images from books, magazines, museums and good old Google, as well as real creatures. They are mostly from the imagination and usually change as they are illustrated. One drawing is often based on two or three pictures of real animals and some made up bits in between.


A love of word play and an inability to pass up a naff pun! It is really nice to make people smile and chuckle, seeing people getting some pleasure from the illustrations is really motivating. Mister Peebles wants life to be less serious some of the time.


Some drawings are very quick and others take a while. The best ideas are often the ones that seem to come from nowhere, usually on the bus or in the bath. Lots of notebooks and scraps of paper sit around the studio with half ideas on and some of those get turned into finished drawings.

Now his drawings are out there Mister Peebles also gets requests and suggestions for certain animals or phrases and that helps to keep the inspiration going. He is very open to your requests!


All the illustrations are created using watercolor pencils and felt pens. The originals are quite small, usually less than A5 size. Some very small brushes and well sharpened pencils get used. If an animal is mostly one color then they will still be made up of a small rainbow to get a richer texture.

Building up the textures of fabric, feathers, fur and skin is Mister Peebles favorite part of the drawing process. This requires lots of layers and lots of tea.

8. How do you pass your time when not drawing?

Mister Peebles is a avid collector of many things, including matchboxes, dusty books and magnifying glasses. Helen tries to get him out and about but he is stuck in his ways. Helen likes to spend time outdoors in the park dog watching and is a big fan of slightly cheesy TV shows and Wes Anderson films.

9. Which one(s) among your creations is/are your favorite(s)?

The favorite one changes! I think if Mister Peebles had to pick it would be the Penguin at the moment. This may be because of the time of year as he is very sunny and happy little chap. He is based on a little penguin in the Tasmanian Museum in Australia so he reminds him of the sea and faraway shores.

David Meowie is the most popular drawing and makes people smile, so that is a firm favorite too.

10. Whom do you idolize as an artist? Is there anyone you would like to work with in particular?

Mister Peebles favorite illustrator is Edward Gorey. His amazing drawings are odd and funny and his life was odd and interesting too. He produced thousands of drawings in his life as well as stories to go with them. Mister Peebles admires that greatly.

If he could work with anyone it would be someone who has a completely different set of skills. It would be interesting to see what would be produced working with someone from a different discipline. Making patterns to print on textiles would be a dream.

11. Tell us the best compliment you have received till date.

Mister Peebles feels very lucky to have people enjoy his illustrations and all the smiles they raise make the work worthwhile. When happy customers get in touch to say they are pleased that is the best thing. A nice fellow recently bought a card at a market. He said it was the second year in a row he was going to give one of the illustrations to his girlfriend for their anniversary. That is a very nice thing to have a small part in.

12. How do you promote your creations?

As an old fashioned fuddy duddy the internet was a shock to Mister Peebles. Helen helps to keep him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so people can see what he is up to. Being online is such a wonderful thing for small businesses and such a good way to get instant feedback on things. Getting out and about at markets like Designers/Makers and Crafty Fox in London is great too. Meeting people is a nice old fashioned way to promote the creations.

14. What do you plan for the future as an artist?

More animals to add to the menagerie! There are new illustrations on the way to being finished including some larger scale drawings with lots more detail.

Mister Peebles is a big fan of stationary and is working on designs for new products that will expand the range of things he has his paws in. They will be here later this year.

15. Any piece of advice you would like to pass on to the new and upcoming talents?

Keep going.

It is a lot of work and putting things out in the world can be scary but if you can persist and build a little creative business you will be thankful you did it. When one day you can say 'My job is drawing bears', as Mister Peebles now can, you will know it is well worth all the effort and late nights at the desk.

Thank you Mister Peebles for taking out the time and doing this interview with us. We'd like to wish you and your humble assistant Helen the very best for the future.

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