This Christmas Eve, you may be settling down with a hot cup of cocoa, mulled wine or a strong eggnog, ready for a full on day of festivities tomorrow and on television this afternoon on BBC2 at 3.55pm on Saturday, December 24, is the story of the author behind the best selling book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy.
If you're not familiar with the name, you will most likely be with his book and drawings, which have been brought to life in an animated adaptation which airs on Chrsitmas Eve also on BBC1 at 4.55pm.
The tale tells the story of, as reported by the Radio Times, "a boy and his animal companions, who share a series of brief but profound conversations on the nature of friendship as they journey together in the youngster's search for home".
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The book was first published in October 2019 and spent over 100 weeks on the Sunday Times' Bestsellers List in the top ten- it, according to the artist's website, "holds the record for the most consecutive weeks in the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Chart across all formats as well as being the longest running Sunday Times Non-Fiction Number One of all time."
It also became the Waterstones Book of the Year and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year in 2019 and its author was named in the 2020 Nielsen Bestseller Awards after his book achieved Platinum status.
But who is the writer behind the words and illustrations?
The 60-year-old grew up in Northumberland, surrounded by landscape and animals and after attending private school, he began working on his best friend's family farm at 18 - as reported by iNews. He later moved to London in the 1980s after his best friend sadly passed away and honed his craft by drawing. But he didn't study art - as reported by ArtNet - instead discovered his talent more organically.
He told the publication: "I picked up a pen I found in a place I was staying and started to draw obsessively – looking back I think it was a way of processing my grief. Then one day somebody offered me some money for something I’d done and I realised I could make a living out of it."
He soon began his career as a cartoonist for The Spectator before becoming a book illustrator for the Oxford University Press and designing adverts for various papers.
Since then, his works have been featured in renowned newspapers, magazines, books, galleries, private collections and public spaces throughout the world - as well as on his own social media for all to enjoy. But, according to GQ, what catapulted his stardom and sealed his book deal was a simple drawing he absent mindedly posted to Instagram that stemmed from a conversation he'd had with his friend Bear Grylls, in which they were discussing bravery.
He told the magazine: "I started thinking about what the bravest thing I’d ever done was and I realised it was having the courage to ask for help, so that’s what I drew. The boy says, ‘What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever said?’ And the horse says, ‘Help.’”
He then posted it on the social media platform and it went viral. Now, the words and drawings from his bestselling book, which has sold over a million copies, have been shared online, have been printed on t-shirts, in schools, cafes, prisons, hospital wards, NHS hopsitals and even in the streets, providing everyone and anyone who needs with it a small comfort. It seems his art did not just help him in his time of need, but has had an immense effect on helping and changing other people's lives, too.
He told the publishing house Penguin in an interview about the inspiration behind his inspirations mottos and drawings, saying: "It was more a feeling – about us, how we are and what we really need as people. And what I wish I’d known, what I could tell myself if I could go back in time. Perhaps I’d have shown myself some of this stuff about love and kindness and self-acceptance, to take the worry out and make me feel more connected.
"And people inspired me, really. I have some close friends who find life very difficult, and when I sent them, texted them drawings and I saw their responses, that inspired me. I saw that the drawings had a small effect on them. The book really made itself after that."
He also revealed his process of writing - " I walk a lot, and bike a lot, and think, and listen to music. And then, I have a notebook, and I’ll stop when I’ve thought of something, and I’ll draw it or write it down."
Earlier in the interview, he revealed that writing and drawing hadn't been his only career. He explained how he used to wear rhinoceros outfits and do dance routines on stage to raise money for Save the Rhino. Other charity work of his has included working with Richard Curtis on the set of Love Actually to create drawing to be auctioned for Comic Relief.
The artist - self described as a "grubby artist" - now lives in Suffolk with his daschund Barney and leads a pretty private life.
It seems helping people to be honest and offering a slice of kindness to others whenever it is possible is at the centre of not just Charlie Mackesy's work but his everyday life, too.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse airs on BBC1 at 4.55pm on Christmas Eve and Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and Me airs on BBC2 at 3.55pm on Christmas Eve.
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