P. J. Lynch: Ireland Illustrator

I hope my work never settles into a recognizable "style." So long as I am learning, my work will always be changing.

P. J. Lynch

P. J. Lynch was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1962, one of five children in a working-class family. Belfast in the seventies was violent, and Lynch found escape in drawing. He attended Brighton College of Art in England where he was taught by Raymond Briggs, graduating in 1984. He entered a student exhibition that resulted in a collaboration with Alan Garner on A Bag of Moonshine, a collection of tales from England and Wales. For his illustrations, Lynch received the Mother Goose Award for the "most exciting newcomer to British children's book illustration" when the book was published in 1986.

Lynch is known for his meticulous research, storyboard planning, and painstaking attention to detail. He generally draws in pen and ink from photographs, then adds watercolors and gouache. Although his work is realistic, it is infused with his own perspective. The detail of his work anchors the fantasy of the traditional tales he often illustrates. Valerie Coghlan notes "Lynch's use of light to point his readers to that which he wishes them to observe is a constant feature of his work." Light and shadow reflect and create mood, but often help tell the story too.

Lynch excels in drawing a viewer into his work. He consistently employs a variety of viewpoints to open up the action of a tale and conspires with the reader to eavesdrop on conversations and spy on characters from above and below as in The Steadfast Tin Soldier or by skimming rooftops in The Snow Queen. He often uses the gaze of a character to highlight the dynamics of a relationship.

P. J. Lynch's work has been recognized internationally and he is the recipient of many awards, including two Kate Greenaway Medals and three Christopher Medals, among others. In recent years, Lynch has also designed posters for Opera Ireland and the Abbey Theatre, as well as several sets of stamps for An Post (the Irish Postal service), including four Christmas issues. In 2006, he completed work on two large-scale murals in oil based on Gulliver's Travels for the new Cavan County Library. Lynch lives in Dublin with his wife and three sons.