Peter Malone took a little while to realise a long-held ambition - to become an illustrator.

Peter previously taught drawing on an art foundation course and painted; largely for his own amusement. In the last fifteen years he has illustrated over twenty books (by Kevin Crossley-Holland, Vivian French and Margaret Clark), for children and adults, both in Britain and the USA. These have often been sold on to a worldwide market and translated into a variety of languages from Catalan to Korean. He has also produced stamps, CD covers, editorial work, wine labels and a wide range of book jackets including those for books by Rita Mae Brown and Henning Mankell. Publishers include Orion, Random House, Harper-Collins, Chronicle, Penguin, Scholastic, Templar and currently, The Folio Society.

A draughtsman, colourist and designer of some distinction, his work ranges from descriptive realism, as in 'Close to the Wind', (which he also wrote) to a more formal stylisation that produces a dramatic visual poetry. Providing a complex, detailed but uncluttered world to explore, his work is readily approachable with obvious appeal to a child's inquisitive nature, without ever being patronising. A blend of his own sharp sense of observation, visualisation and recall, not to mention a dry wit, with a variety of art historical influences from Europe and beyond, have helped to make his work instantly recognisable. His illustrations provide an imaginative and sometimes surprising response to the demands of a text. Over the time he has been with The Artworks, we have worked with him to produce a portfolio that demonstrates a calibre of output that has delighted publishers worldwide.

Peter has received bronze awards from the Association of Illustrators in London and certificates of merit from the Society of Illustrators in New York. He has had starred reviews in Kirkus Review and Publishers' Weekly, an award from Deutschland Radio, book of the month at Waterstone's and many glowing write ups on both sides of the Atlantic. This year (2009) he has been given the American Meteorological Society, Louis J Battan award for 'Close to the Wind'.