Peter Arkle, an illustration artist who likes to paint portraits of potatoes in his spare time, will be giving a talk about spuds and other stuff at the Tenth Street branch of Ninth Street Expresso tomorrow night. I was so curious about this whimsical idea that I asked him a few questions about his wide-ranging practice, and of course, about his personal library. Here’s the interview that took place by email:

Peggy Roalf: As an illustration artist, you must own a lot of books. How have you structured your library for how you use it? 

Peter Arkle: Ha! I wish there was some structure to the piles of books that are all over the office and home I share with my wife, Amy. Most of them are not specifically about illustration or design. I tend to follow my own weird little paths through writing and enjoy being inspired and entertained by all sorts of books that then end up next to each other in random arrangements: The Pebbles on the Beach (not a metaphor, literally a book about stones on UK beaches) by Clarence Ellis is next to Joseph Brodsky’s Watermark about Venice. Ian Fleming has ended up beside Donna Tartt. Yes, it is hard to find things, and yes, we always talk about taking the time to arrange them better, but we just never find the time.

PR: When did it become evident that you were meant to be an artist?
PA: When I was a kid I always loved drawing. But I wanted to work as some sort of outdoor scientist (in forestry or geology). Then I realized how awful I was at math. You cannot go to university to study any kind of science without having good math qualifications. I was very happy when I went to art school and discovered illustration.

PR: Do you remember the first art book or illustrated book you purchased?
PA: Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever. I loved that book as kid and I love it now. My brother and I used to spend hours deciding which house, car or boat we liked best. I can still get lost and distracted by many of the drawings. His animals are so cute, but most of all I love the way he draws the stuff around the animals. I also like the strange and funny hierarchy of which animals get to wear clothes (pigs, rabbits, cats and even worms) and those that don’t (cows, horses and fish).

PR: I noticed that you seem to gravitate towards scientific subjects in your work. Even the Potato Portraits have a kind of scientific reality beneath the whimsy. Have you found yourself collecting books in the real world sciences? 
PA: I do enjoy books about natural history and other bits of science. I like paying attention and observing things (people, plants, animals, everything). I suppose that is a sort of scientific approach. I wrote my MA illustration thesis about cicadas in my final year at The Royal College in London. I had seen/heard theseinsects in Greece for the first time and was amazed by them. I love the way they sound, and I think they look really cute. I enjoyed reading books by the pioneer naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre and in 1992 for my research managed to visit his house in the South of France. He really loved cicadas. I have a copy of a lovely book by Eleanor Doorly about him (The Insect Man), with simple, beautiful black-and-white woodcuts by Robert Gibbings. 

I have a particular love of the 19^th-century approach to natural history. It’s more friendly and general than nowadays, where science has become so specific. You cannot just study insects. You must study only the tiny hairs that grow on the feet of one particular insect and become the world expert on that. When I draw a plant or insect, I am glad that I can use artistic license and draw/paint for the sake of what looks good or what I enjoy. I have worked for a few science institutions, including The Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Field Museum in Chicago. I had to be so careful. One line in the wrong place and the scientists are not happy: “Tail on roundworm should be a little thicker and not as pointy.” ––actual quote from an HHMI scientist. 

PR: Where is your library located? 

PA: I dare not call it a library but our piles of books are in every corner of our home and office in the East Village of Manhattan. We’ve lived here for nearly 24 years but one day we will have to move and then we will be forced to deal.

PR: What went into your choice of bookcases?

PA: We have a random collection of old bookcases from junk stores and from the street. We have one nice set of glass-fronted barrister’s bookcases—which would be quite fancy if our cat had not smashed one of the glass panels by knocking a chair into it—and we have some wooden crates from Home Depot. These work well. For years we coveted a very stylish, full-wall midcentury modern bookshelf that was in the window at Modernlink on Bond Street. The store is gone now.

PR: What do you do when you run out of shelf space?
PA: We make vertical piles on the floor. Very annoying when the book you want is on the bottom of the pile.

PR: Have you ever had to move your library? What are the best and worst things about that situation?
PA: Moving would be hard work, but it would be good for us. We’d finally have to be organized. Plus we might even cull a few books. 

PR: Is there anything you might want to include about favorite libraries for doing research or just hanging out in?

PA: I rarely go to any libraries these days. I do most of my research online or out in the real world, paying a lot of attention to everyday life. I do most of my reading in bed at night. I wish we had a log fire. An armchair in front of that would be the best reading place. Having a real library with purpose-built shelves filling the walls would also be amazing!

PR: Do you consider being a bibliophile a special form of madness?
PA: Books are amazing. I don’t think there is anything mad about liking them. I love going to the antiquarian book fair at the Park Avenue Armory every year. I can never afford to buy anything but I love chatting to the sellers, who are often happy to share their excitement about their collections and happy, usually, to trust me to look through some rare and beautiful books. I am always amazed that so many wonderful books can exist. I have illustrated a few books. Making books is hardwork. 

Peter Arkle grew up in Scotland, went to art school in London and has been working as a freelance illustrator in New York since 2005. He has drawn for probably hundreds of magazines and newspapers, and also for books, brands, museums and stores. At the moment he packs a monthly page with the things he sees and hears while wandering around New York for Japan’s POPEYE magazine. He also creates regular editorial illustrations for The Wall Street Journal. In his spare time he likes to paint portraits of potatoes—-some of which will be on display at the Tenth Street branch of Ninth Street Expresso from April 10^th until May 8^th.