Expression: Can you tell us in a little about your childhood? What was it that attracted you to illustrating for children in particular?
JS: Half my family are from North Wales. Although I was born in England I was raised with a very strong sense of Welsh heritage, including all the legends and stories of the mountains. From the word go I had a fascination for history and mystery. With an already over-active imagination, the books I read as a child had a big impact on me for their illustrations, especially old books. I think I was naturally attracted to pen drawings from a fairly early age. I toyed with the idea of becoming a wildlife or landscape artist when I was around twelve, but then I discovered (or rather re-discovered) the work of early 20th century fantasy illustrators and was completely obsessed with children’s books from then on. At that time and for many years my main fascination was with fantasy, children’s novels and fairy tales rather than picture books. I only seriously began taking on the challenge of picture books for young children after I’d graduated.

Expression: Was there a particular drawing/book/illustrator that you remember being particularly affected by when you were a child?
JS: In retrospect, my mum’s shabby old 1920’s books of fairy tales had an effect on me. One of them, The Children's Treasury of Great Stories had almost 500 pages in it and illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Harry Rowantree and Chas Robinson. The stories included, Alice in Wonderland, Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, Gulliver in Lilliput by Dean Swift and Tales from Arabian Nights. We didn’t have many picture books when I was very young. Comics were the regular reading matter in our house, so I started to be influenced by illustration when I began buying my own books at the age of nine or so. Probably the first illustrator who made a big impact on me was Edward Ardizzone. His drawings fascinated me then (and still do) for the archaic timelessness of the work.

Expression: Can you recall the first picture you did that you were really pleased with?
JS: Oh yes. It was a school exhibition project when I was aged 14, a large portrait of a craggy old man’s face rendered in coloured ink, all in line. My parents still have it in its original frame somewhere.

Expression: What do you most enjoy about creating work for children? What aspect do you find the most difficult?
JS: Most enjoyable thing is getting completely absorbed by the project. Not every book does that for you of course, but when it happens, there’s no greater buzz than being sucked in and pulled by your imagination or inspiration along a journey of exploration. When everything seems to flow and the pictures go just in the direction you want. When everything seems to come together without a struggle. Difficult things? Overcoming the procrastination at the start of a project is always a bummer – tinkering with other things instead of getting down to work. Sometimes getting into the groove can take a while. I’m like an old engine that takes forever to start moving, but when I get going it’s full steam ahead, and no stopping till it’s done!

Expression: Can you tell us a little about how you developed the techniques you use?
JS: I’m a traditionalist at heart, so most of my techniques follow a well-trodden path of pen and watercolour, with hints and tips picked up from the masters along the way. In recent years computer illustration has made inroads on my commercial work, but I’m a luddite at heart and I’d rather keep my children’s illustrations away from digital. A good pen nib and the right paper (which I'm still searching for) are my fundamentals, with layers of watercolour washes. The rest is down to observation, occasional experimentation and trial and error.

Expression: Can you talk a little about the other kinds of illustration work you do (editorial, advertising etc) and how these relate to or compare with your children’s book illustration.
JS: In Japan I’ve worked on a lot of commercial illustration. It's in a somewhat different technique, but originates from the same basic style -- I simply use different paper, stronger, bolder pen lines and flat colour fills as opposed to watercolour. I tend to approach commercial illustration and children’s books from opposing points of view. Posters etc need to have strong messages, be punchy, easily understood and memorable, so whenever possible I try to keep the overall image strong and dynamic. Illustrations for children’s books, on the other hand, are for me windows into another reality. Rather than thrust the image at the viewer as in commercial work, I try to gently entice them into the world of the book, and do my best to keep them there. When given the opportunity (which is not always) I try to create pictures that the viewer will come back to again and again and always find something to hold them, whether through tiny details they may have missed before, or atmosphere and mood.

Expression: In what ways did moving from the UK to Japan affect your career?
JS: The market in Japan is very different from the West, which inevitably encouraged me to explore new techniques and styles. Working on pop-art posters for fashion department stores wasn’t at all a thing I’d considered doing when living in the UK, but in Japan I’ve become known for that more than for my children’s books. As a result my work has tended to polarise into two separate fields. I’ve tried to bring the two techniques closer together in the past with mixed results. Now I’m happy to keep them as two separate entities. There are some cross-over points however. Regarding children’s books, as an authentic European I’ve often been approached in Japan to work on fairy tales and other “European” stories which have allowed me to indulge the traditional side of my work more that I possibly would have done in the UK. In recent years the growth of the internet and email has made working with artists based overseas a much easier proposition for publishers, so I’m working a lot more internationally, something that would have been very difficult ten years ago. Living as a Westerner in Japan has made me very aware of the possibilities of the Net. It’s getting to the point that it really doesn’t matter where you live, it’s all down to how confident the client is in using technology. A lot of my recent work is for publishers in the United States. Some western publishers have noted how my colours have become a lot brighter and less shadowy since arriving in Japan. This is probably due to the tastes of the local market, and also how the light in the two countries is very different.

Expression: How, if at all, have your relationships with editors and/or art directors influenced your career so far?
JS: The best children’s editors are those that have the insight to sense what the illustrator is capable of, and to gently inspire the best from them. That’s really all anyone could ever want from an editor. Sometimes you just need to be wound up like a clockwork toy, given the right project (where you have a clear concept of what you want to do), and be left alone with plenty of time to work your thing. Occasionally editors have introduced me to new things – I’m eternally grateful to one Japanese editor who introduced me to Czech and Slovakian children’s illustration some years ago (which had nothing to do with the book we were working on). More than illustration, where editors really come into their own, of course, is with writing. I regard myself primarily as an illustrator and secondarily as a writer, and sometimes, a word or two on my writing from a trusted editor has made all the difference. With art directors, some AD’s in Japan have had a very big impact on my work, especially for commercial illustration, where working as a team has produced something perhaps greater than if I’d been left to my own devices. In children’s books, however, I tend to prefer to be left alone to do my thing.

Expression: What kinds of things prompt a new idea for one of your own projects?
JS: Sometimes it’s a twist on an old memory or anecdote. Sometimes my wife and/or daughter might spark an idea. I always keep a small sketchbook and notebook with me wherever I am in case I get an idea. Some of the best ideas for pictures come when I’m on the train doodling on a pad.

Expression: Which of your projects presented the biggest challenge to create?
JS: I’m working on a pop-up book at the moment which is quite complex as each element on a page has to be constructed without being able to view the end result easily. Coming up with finished picture book manuscripts is always challenging.

Expression: What work are you proudest of? Why?
JS: It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of because I’m my worst critic. Even books that I’m really pleased with always have some niggling thing that makes me uncomfortable. At the same time I’m proud of most of the books I’ve completed. Since tying the knot with my second wife, I think I’m producing better work than ever before, but on the whole I always think the next project will be the best. It’s a good policy to be harshly critical with your output, but at the same time to be confident in your skills. I suppose I’m proud of what I believe I might be capable of, but that truly great book is always somewhere in the future.

Expression: If you could write your own entry in the Best Ever Guide to Children's Literature and Illustration what would you like it to say?
JS: No idea. It might start something like “Disoriented in the Orient, how an innocent artist’s search for Hokusai turned into years of rampant illustration mayhem in the bowels of the Tokyo megatropolis” etc etc …

Expression: From your experience of the feedback you have received reviewing your work, do you have any advice for writers and illustrators concerning other peoples’ reactions and reviews of their work?
JS: This is all going to sound rather clichéd, but here goes -- People feel comfortable in being able to sum up an artist’s output easily (and perhaps a writer's output, too). As an illustrator with a range of techniques for different markets, the old adage that you shouldn’t have too many styles has often rung in my ears. I think it’s important to have a clear identity by which your work can be identified, but at the same time having other directions in the background shows flexibility. The important thing is not to let different styles clash with each other. I think you should listen to criticism if it’s offered seriously and constructively, but at the same time be aware that tastes change, and don’t be a slave to the market. What might be wrong for the market now could be all the rage in five years. I remember when I was a student I was told never to draw fairies, yet that's not the case now. You can never please everyone all the time of course, just try to please some of them most of the time. Sometimes the greatest truths come in one-line comments from the mouths of those who supposedly know nothing about your business.

Expression: Are there any contemporary artists /book designers/ illustrators/ authors or publishers whose work you'd like to single out for any reason?
JS: Sorry, minds a blank at the moment. There are a lot of Japanese artists I could mention, but I couldn’t list one without listing twenty or more, and still I’d be fretting I’ve left someone out.

Expression: What do you have up on the walls of your studio?
JS: I’m working at home as I write, and will move into a new studio at the end of this month, so there’s not much on my walls, and what is there will change soon. At the moment it’s bits of drawings and stuff, an etching by the late Albin Brunovsky and one of my old pictures. On the pin-board -- a few postcards, photos of my daughter, and a sheet of Japanese calligraphy that says “fugen jiko” (less talk, more action).