Announcing our 2025 Shirley Hughes Sketchbook Award WINNERS!
Following on from announcement of our shortlist, we’re thrilled to announce the winners for the 2025 iteration of the Shirley Hughes Sketchbook Award!
Winner - Liz Anelli
The judges loved Liz’s sketchbook pages which were full of children. Children running, playing, dancing, listening, drawing and cuddling. They were delighted to see that drawing tricky things hadn’t been avoided, like the child cutting out paper, or the teacher leading the class. The pages were alive with energy, interactions and brilliantly observed moments that one can only capture by being there amongst it all. The judges were very inspired by the work and felt it was just as Shirley would have used her sketchbooks when researching for the characters and moments in her books.
“Winning this award feels like a personal pat on the back from my inspiration and hero, Shirley herself, and I am totally delighted. Thank you! Drawing is my lifelong friend, my comfort and my career. To capture one moment of somebody else’s life in pencil gives me a thrill of excitement and connection. Never impertinent, it is my way of caring for the world. Sketchbooks are simply the best accessories to happiness.”
Liz wins £1000 and an Orange Beak tutorial. Congratulations Liz!
You can find more of Liz’s work here
Runner up - Signe Torp
Signe’s drawings are truly exceptional examples of observational drawing and the judges were so impressed by the quality of each sketchbook page. Signe’s work really stood out for the full scenes filled with people going about their everyday lives. The mark-making, use of material and observations - from the man feeding the toddler, to diverse queue of people waiting for food and the lovely series of drawings of the ginger cat - are so brilliant!
“This means a lot! And really many different things, the most important and practical one being that I feel incredibly inspired to continue drawing in my sketchbook! To prioritize this part of the job that is by far the most fun and the least directly ‘sensible’ one, that is a space to just explore, play and really thoroughly look. And search for that magic point where directly observing the world meets an unfiltered expression on the page. Which, on a very good day, means I actually feel at one with both the world and my drawing of it! No I will tell the voice in my head saying I should stop playing and start ‘working’ about this runner-up business every time it tries to make me stop going out with my sketchbook :) I am both very humbled and very proud, thank you so so much!”
Signe wins £250 and an Orange Beak tutorial. Congratulations Signe!
You can find more of Signe’s work here
Highly Commended - Tom Smith
Quiet, thoughtful depictions of family life are seen throughout Tom’s sketchbook pages. The judges loved the quality of Tom’s line, and the attention to details throughout - for example, the way the child is stroking their hair whilst listening to their story or falling asleep. You begin to get a sense of story through these drawings of the daily routines of the family, and the judges especially loved the tired grown up who has drifted to sleep on the armchair.
“I’m really thrilled that my sketchbook pages have been highly commended. Drawing from observation makes me feel calmer and happier, and makes me more appreciative of my day-to-day life. I don’t always find it easy to make time for it, but I’m always glad when I do. Shirley Hughes’ work has been such an inspiration - it’s incredible to see how much life and energy she was able to capture in her sketchbooks. I’m in awe of the sense of immediacy and warmth in her drawings.”
Tom wins an Orange Beak tutorial. Congratulations Tom!
You can find more of Tom’s work here
Congratulations to all three winners, to all those shortlisted and a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to enter this years award, we were absolutely blown away by the quality of your drawings and sketchbook work, and it was such an incredibly tough selection process!