LUCIDMEDIA

Interview with Scott McKowen of Punch and Judy Inc.

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Tuesday, 15 April 2008 04:13

It was early morning on Downie Street and as I observed my interview questions, and came upon what appeared to be the side entrance of a studio, I entered into a case known to me as “The Scratchboard Illustrator Of Inverness”. One such artist comes to mind as I met the individual I had journied to meet, Scott McKowen.

I was personally very excited about this one. Not that all of the other interviews are not exciting, however this one was interesting because of the magnitude of Scott's original style, and the location of his studio made this meeting ideal. It also proves that local illustrators can have great success on the world stage.

“It is a privelege to see your work, Scott,” I said. “You use a unique medium called scratchboard. Could you give us a little working knowledge and history of the scratchboard technique?”

“Scratchboard is a black and white medium that I have been working with for the last fifteen years. I studied in Ann Arbour Michigan where I learned graphic design and discovered along the way through the areas of type design and photography. Scratchboard was very popular in the 1920s and 30s. Back then print quality was enhanced by this medium not allowing for any variations in print.”

Scott's work has extended from theatre posters to the world of comics. For example, he worked on the project 1602 written by Neil Gaimen and produced by Marvel comics. “This was a very interesting project which came completely out of the blue,” he told me. “I was approached by an art director related to a theatre in New York who saw my work. I asked him why on earth would you think of me. The scratchboard medium is an engraving technique that was used in the 17th century. It was great for printing and it evokes another time and place. For the 1602 project Neil and I developed the pencil sketches together.”

Mr. McKowen's work is still widely used in Theatre productions, and his style really lends to the old-world feel. His use of line and his technique blends movement with his linear approach to illustrate a moment in time. The one thing that impressed me was that Scott really does his homework before even attempting a project. For instance, due to the success of the 1602 comic series by Marvel, Scott was again approached by Neil to do a graphic novel where he came to the table with an interesting idea:

“In 1605, Guy Fawkes, head of the Gunpowder Conspirators, plotted to kill the King of England. He was a politician in England, and for his acts, and those of the entire band of conspirators, he was executed for treason on the 5th of November. Well, I used the only picture available from the time period, which was rendered using the scratchboard technique. In the picture there were all men depicted however I sketched in one of the X-Men for the project, with Rogue along the outside.”

Working for Marvel is a dream for many young people, but after seeing the talent that Scott McKowen has, it is also easy to see why his current projects for Sterling Press have become equally renowned.

The illustration that he rendered for the cover of the Sterling Press publication of The Adventure and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes were really what captured my eye and made me aware of his obvious talent. I was in a comic shop where the owner mentioned, as I brought the copy up to the till, that Scott McKowen worked around here. After finding that out, I began to look more seriously at the other covers that he has done for many classics reprinted by Sterling. They include King Arthur, Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables and many others. However, the one that truly caught my attention was the scratchboard rendering he showed me of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. Scott reminisced about the motive for his depiction of Alice's fall down the rabbit hole:

“What if the fall of Alice was not into an earthy hole but a home setting. The cabinetry I used was taken from a sketch I did in the oldest existing taxidermy shop in England. The cabinet on the cover comes from one of the rooms. It was so magical. . .In addition, I am also working on more covers for Sterling Press: The Jungle Book, Gulliver`s Travels, Frankenstein and Journey to the Center of The Earth.”

“I am also very interested in the work you do for the Roundabout Theatre in New York City,” I then said, “specifically the Harold Pinter play The Caretaker starring Patrick Stewart.”

“Roundabout has a subscriber base of 40,000 subscribers,” McKowen replied, “they needed something that would express a family look but capture in one frame what the production was about.”

Well, Scott McKowen has definitely carved a name out for himself, as part of an interesting collection of classic stories. His style and articulation lends to his ability to convey in a singular vision, a version of events to commemorate or spin a story. His studio business is under the name Punch and Judy Inc.