Mervyn Peake: gothic and ghoulish

Mervyn Peake was a real original, as a writer (Gormanghast Trilogy), illustrator and artist. Much of his work has an intensity and a tendency towards caricature which seems to attract some people and repel others.

As an illustrator, his technique was rather restless since the artist in him was always keen to experiment. I think his penmanship is remarkable and he could achieve effects of mood and atmosphere which belong to him alone. He relies on cross-hatching with almost complete absence of outlines and edges