Quentin Blake NOW shows new work at Cromwell Place London

The NOW exhibition opens at Arc Gallery, Cromwell Place in South Kensington on Wednesday (January 31) and is the London-born artist's first commercial show for decades.

Still bursting with ideas at the age of 91, the exhibition focuses on more experimental work created in the past 12 months and is a chance for fans to see Blake's artwork up close, and even buy a piece themselves.

Blake has experimented with new forms including watercolour, wax markers and ballpoint pen (Image: Quentin Blake)

Work on show includes large-scale portraits and fantastical compositions, full of movement, humour, and pathos. They sit alongside pen and ink drawings and explorations in different forms, from ballpoint pen to water colour, and wax markers - with some pieces described as "calming and uplifting."

"None of the drawings in this show existed a year ago," said Blake in a statement.

"They’ve all been produced in recent months. Some represent a return to what has always been my favourite medium, which is a scratchy pen and bottle of ink. It was a pleasure to make use of that tenuous line in inventing a sequence of bearded sages and vultures inhabiting lofty structures, and then let my fantasy loose on a series of drawings of les velos tout terrain (bicycles) of my own inventing, set against sombre skies and craggy landscapes.

All of the pieces have been created by the 91-year-old artist in the past 12 months (Image: Quentin Blake)

"The exhibition also features a set created with the Stabilo Woody marker. I think these may have originally been developed for children, but they are not having them back. The final set of drawings contain scarcely any element of fantasy at all. What I hope is that they are calming without losing a sense of life and activity, they have been described as uplifting and I indeed hope that they are."

Blake is one of the nationls best-loved illustrators, famously giving imaginative form to many of Roald Dahl's characters as well as writing and illustrating many books of his own.

His first drawings were published in Punch  when he was 16, and still a pupil at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School.Quentin Blake has written and illustrated more than 500 books since his first in 1960. (Image: Supplied)

He continued to draw for magazines like Punch and The Spectator before illustrating his first children's book in 1960 A Drink of Water by John Yeoman.

He went on to write or illustrate more than 500 books by writers such as Russell Hoban, Joan Aiken, and Michael Rosen - creating characters of his own, including Mister Magnolia and Mrs Armitage with some have turned into popular animations, such as ‘Zagzaoo’ and ‘Jack and Nancy’.

His books have won numerous prizes, including the Whitbread Award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award, and the international Bologna Ragazzi Prize.

CEO and Artistic Director of Cromwell Place, Helen Nisbet, said: "We are honoured to be hosting ‘Quentin Blake NOW’ in our galleries. Blake is an iconic figure whose work reaches far beyond the canon of illustration and we're excited to host these works which show a lesser-known side to his work."

The NOW exhibition runs from January 31 until February 18 at Arc Gallery, 4, Cromwell Place, South Kensington. Opening Hours: Weds-Sat 11am-7pm; Sun 11am-4pm.