The first thing that strikes you about Bridget Strevens-Marzo is her energy. The combination of creativity and 25 years in France makes Bridget an unforgettable and fascinating character.
‘How did I become a children’s illustrator? Well, that’s quite a story in my case, but according to my family I announced at a very young age that I wanted to write and illustrate children’s books. It must have sounded rather funny that despite being so small I knew what an illustrator was.’
Parts of Bridget’s work space at her home in Oise have a collegiate feel, with documents and books on most available surfaces. ‘Yes, it does look a bit haphazard, but it is roughly alphabetical and I know where it all is even if no-one else does,’ she laughs.
Bridget grew up in London then in Essex, with three older stepsisters, a Catalonian mother and a father who was himself a working artist. This creativity must have influenced her because after art A-level, Bridget gained a place at Cambridge University hoping to study art history.
‘But in the 1970s, you couldn’t go straight into an art history degree, so I took Chinese,’ she explains, as if deciding to learn Chinese at degree level is a perfectly normal thing to do. ‘I suppose I imagined that it was a very pictorial language and communication through images appealed to me. So, after two years of studying Chinese, I crossed over to my degree in art history.’
An artist in Paris
After Cambridge, Bridget wanted to go to art school but with limited finances she followed a tip to try the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, where tutoring was free.
‘Fortunately, having relatives in France gave me a starting point,’ she says, ‘so I built up a portfolio and was accepted into the Beaux Arts. I got a student job as an office assistant, which covered rent, student meals and basic supplies of paint.’
There was minimal structured tutoring in the Beaux Arts of the early 1980s, and Bridget didn’t complete the full course, leaving to continue with her own painting and illustrating a poetry magazine with her then-husband. She became one of the few artists authorised to copy pieces in the Louvre, sitting in front of masterpieces each morning and reproducing them for buyers who wanted their own replica.
‘Although I thought I could maybe make a living with painting alone, the need for steady money meant I also translated hardback art books and – like many others – taught English.’
Art and children
Motherhood nudged Bridget in a new direction, especially after her marriage ended and she found herself as a single mum.
‘I remember telling a friend that I didn’t want to teach English forever but needed the money. I’d been offered this wonderful house for a very affordable rent in Senlis just outside Paris and I needed to keep it going.
‘As my real love is drawing animals and children, my friend suggested illustrating children’s books – the very ambition I’d declared to my family all those years ago.’
This conversation prompted Bridget to develop an idea inspired by her four-year-old son Thomas, showing Paris from a child’s perspective with all its sweets and éclairs and patisserie shops.
Through serendipity or destiny, the publisher with whom Bridget had been translating art books had just decided to expand into children’s picture books. Toto in Paris was published in 1991 under the name of Biddy Strevens and led to two more books set in other European cities.
The artist’s progress
Having successfully published three books as writer and illustrator, Bridget secured an agent and got another project accepted but the publisher found her illustrations ‘too European’.
‘When I imagined my idea being reworked by another illustrator I just wasn’t happy and said no, so the agent and I parted company. The idea was bought by a French publisher but never printed.
‘It’s difficult when you’ve put your heart into a concept that never reaches the public. Another project recently had a similar ending; I can’t complain because I’ve still been paid but I feel the reader completes the process. It’s terribly sad but in fact that’s part of the reality of publishing.’
A pick-and-mix career
Despite a steady track record, Bridget always maintains at least one regular job. She is currently teaching part of the foundation course at the Parson’s Paris School of Design.
‘I’ve always done various work,’ she explains. ‘In the early days of CD-ROMs, a multimedia post updated my technical skills and even while illustrating picture books that might take up to two years to materialise, I simultaneously work on children’s magazines such as Pomme d’Api. That’s fun work with great creative freedom.
‘I think all artists are a bit insecure about the next pay cheque so most of us have other work that is more reliable. I could just concentrate on illustration now but teaching is good for encouraging you to keep up with trends and to analyse the process, which you have to do to explain it to others.’
The practical side
All French businesses, even freelancers, pay taxes and social contributions (the French equivalent of National Insurance) and are responsible for registering with the relevant organisation.
‘Thankfully, when I did literary translating I set myself up with Agessa, the French organisation that collects social contributions for all creative people concerned with print – authors, translators and illustrators. Creative types pay lower proportionate contributions than other professions, probably because we earn relatively little.
‘Every year, you fill in a form for Agessa to confirm the fees and royalties that you’ve earned, then they calculate how much you owe for social contributions. If a French business knows you’re properly registered, you’ll win more work.’
The process
‘I start off sketching then use brush and ink. You have to commit yourself quickly; there’s no messing about and I like that: done. Once I’m happy with the line drawings I scan them into the computer and colour them using Photoshop – a standard software package.’
Despite the on-screen approach, it’s still Bridget holding a digital wand ‘painting’ on a pad connected to the computer. This keeps the artwork rough and realistic, with the advantage that she can customise brush effects. Bridget’s trademark style is partly thanks to her understanding of the print process.
‘Paints have limitless possibilities for exact shades, but the actual print process for a book mixes all colours from four basic inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
‘I keep a printer’s swatch to hand, like a paint swatch, which shows me exactly how my shades will come out of a printing factory. That gives me more control: when I choose a bright, red flower, it will be precisely that, not washed-out or orangey.’
This in-depth research is another proof that successful artists are far more than just ‘creative people’. Most children’s illustrators are equally capable of producing finely detailed pictures, portraits and canvases. Simplicity requires skill.
It’s fascinating how Bridget still works as if using real paint. She may be viewing a screen and brandishing a digital brush, but when asked about the sensory experience, it is clear that she feels all the textures of the imaginary gouache or oil.
‘Drawing is not about what’s being put onto the page. If I’m drawing a sphere, I’m running my hands around it, feeling it. It emerges from the page.’
The French connection
‘Most of my career wouldn’t have happened had I not moved to France,’ admits Bridget. ‘Those early Toto books were directly inspired by France but I think broad cultural experience is always invaluable. You probably get paid less for creative work here but gain artistic input and as schooling is free from the age of two I could afford to do a job that didn’t pay terribly well, working around the children.’
Bridget’s second husband Mick (also an artist) came to France in his thirties and was quickly won over to the French way of life. Although he recently won a prestigious teaching post in London, he returns to Senlis whenever possible to be with Bridget, Thomas and the daughter they had together, 12-year-old Ella.
‘If I’m not teaching, I try to work solidly in the morning, maybe get distracted after lunch, then often continue until 1am,’ smiles Bridget. ‘A typical day might include the local market for fresh food and fresh air – another advantage of French life!’
The French culture encouraged Bridget to experiment artistically and both her children seem effortlessly bilingual although neither will necessarily become an artist. Thomas studied law for four years and now philosophises in London; Ella loves singing and is bubbly like her mum.
‘What’s strange is that I no longer think of myself as English or French,’ muses Bridget. ‘I find the English way of life so foreign after 25 years, but of course over here I’ll always be “Bridget, l’Anglaise”!’