When doodles become designs -- illustrations for Out of the Silence by Terry Waite

July 3, 2018

Terry Waite’s Out of the Silence was illustrated by his friend Jenny Coles. One simple drawing led to her drawing all of the pictures in his book. Here, she discusses how that evolved and what the process was like.

“Jen, all I want is some simple black and white sketches of, for example, the highland cattle”. These were the frustrated words of the author of Out of the Silence, Terry Waite.

He had just viewed some professional illustrative artwork which did not represent what he was looking for; did not portray him. Disappointed, he turned in for the night and I sat at the kitchen table. There was a scrap of paper lying there. Lined on one side and plain on the other. I picked it up, together with a pencil, and started doodling. I knew ‘Buster’ and ‘Dudley’, the highland cattle Terry was referring to, very well. I had fed them with kitchen scraps, patted them and searched for succulent grass for them. Yes, I knew them and knew what Terry wanted! I had a clear image of them in my mind. I continued doodling . . .

The next morning, Terry came down to breakfast and saw the sketch I’d made of the cattle lying on the wooden table. “Who did that?” he asked. I owned up to having drawn it and Terry continued to study it. After a very short while, he said, “It’s just the sort of thing I want for Out Of The Silence, a simple sketch. That’s just what the book needs,” he told me. “Not Impressionism or Surrealism or whatever which don’t represent what the book or me are about.” Then came the shocking sentence: “Jen, I’d like you to do the illustrations for Out Of The Silence!” “No, Terry, I can’t. I’m not an artist. I can’t draw. This is a one-off.”

Well, Terry is a very persuasive person and knew what he wanted. He encouraged me to try some more drawings. I did so and soon found I really quite enjoyed doing them as time went by. I was lucky though. I did have some big advantages. Firstly, I’m not a recognised artist. As far as I’m concerned I’m not even an artist! Secondly, my dear old mum when she was alive had been an excellent amateur artist and so maybe something had rubbed off on me! Also, there is a poem about when Terry came with me to visit her in the nursing home she was in and I felt I wanted to do it for her. If she’d been alive she would have made a really good job of it for Terry judging by the smile that never left her face when Terry walked into her room! Thirdly I’m a good friend of Terry’s, so know the author quite well and really understand his poems and narrative.

I’d been lucky enough to be involved from the very early stages of this book (and others of his) and had encouraged him to keep writing. I’d persuaded him that the public should hear his insightful poetry so he definitely had to get the book published. “It really speaks to people in many different ways,” I told him. I’d corrected spellings and grammar, read and re-read the book many times, and done initial editing before Terry presented it to the publishers. Also, I help Terry driving with many car journeys so had visited Dartmoor Prison a few times. Each year I assist with Terry’s visit to Llangollen to the International Eisteddfod which he is President of. I have watched the very colourful International Parade through the streets many times.

Terry has shared a rental cottage in New Zealand with my husband and me hence me knowing Buster and Dudley who were pets of the owners, and making me very familiar with the Tukituki river which the property overlooked. We had all travelled together to the South Island and stayed with my cousin on the lovely Banks Peninsular and seen Lyttleton together. We’d all been on the same trip to Komodo Island where we had seen the fearsome dragons. I have been lucky enough to visit both Israel and Palestine and visited some markets and souks in the Middle East. So I knew the vast majority of places mentioned in Out Of The Silence. My problem was how little spare time I have as I seem to always be busy with not enough hours in the day. However, as time went by my little sketches grew in number until we felt enough were completed. I believe Terry’s favourite is still the first one I did of Buster and Dudley which was such a nice surprise for him!