Nick Tankard
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nicktankard.bsky.social
Nick Tankard
@nicktankard.bsky.social
1.8K followers 820 following 3.3K posts
Bloke & sometime Illustrator (I illustrated The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, published by Vintage Classics).

Banner illustration: A copy I made of the rumpus in Where The Wild Things Are

Bradford

nicktankard.co.uk for prints, originals and portfolio.
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I’ve learned that book covers are very important. I’ve been congratulated on this cover illustration more than anything I’ve ever done (even by friends and family) sadly it’s not by me…this lovely illustration was made by Angela Annesley, I did the interior illustrations 🥳🙁
A black and white woodcut illustration of twisting black trees reaching towards a black sun. This is the cover for The Woman in Black by Angela Annesley.
November 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Good morning. Our lovely neighbours recently found out that I am/was an illustrator, yesterday the husband of the couple brought up a copy of The Woman in Black that I did the interior illustrations for for me to sign for his wife, he’s going to give to her for Christmas, it made my day/year/life ☺️
A hardback copy of The Woman in Black that I illustrated…not the cover, that was by someone else. It has a black spine and a black and white woodcut illustration of black twisted tree trunks reaching towards a black sun.
November 27, 2025 at 8:10 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
My brother found some footage of our mum from when she was interviewed by Look North after a sad news story in her local area. So strange (but lovely) to hear her voice and see her talking, the only video we have of her…a shame it was in such sad circumstances. I miss my mum 😔
A middle-aged woman (my mum) looking upset next to a road and some flats.
November 26, 2025 at 11:24 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
We went to Soho and I resisted the cakes but I did stick a nice big croissant into my face, superb coffee too. The staff were lovely and convinced us to purchase our first mince pie of the season. I’m not trying to be thin and handsome anyway.
A cafe called MAISON BERTAUX. The name on two blue striped canopies above the windows which glow with a cosy and inviting warmth. Shelving in the windows display various forms of patisserie, cakes, croissants, eclairs and many other stomach enlargers. People sat on chairs outside the cafe despite the cold and damp weather. Cakes with fresh fruit and cream, cans of soft drinks behind.
November 26, 2025 at 9:22 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Starling Whisperer, Lancing.
A lady in a raincoat is sat on red chairs outside a cafe. She checks her phone as hungry Starlings watch on. A pebbly beach with a line of boulders lead down towards the sea in the background.
November 25, 2025 at 7:59 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
I found Wilson in Lancing on the south coast, good to see he got away from Tom Hanks.
A football inside a small boat. The football has a red handprint on it with white patches where the mouth, eyes and nose should be.
November 25, 2025 at 5:52 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
All over Battersea, some hope and some despair.
Two cylindrical towers of Battersea Power station peering out between buildings of glass. Sunlight reflects on the glass creating flare. Railway tracks in the foreground, blue sky above.
November 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
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I finished reading this recently. A tale of obsession & creepiness. The majority of the characters are deeply odd/repulsive, it veers a little too closely to Dark Matter but never quite hits (a high benchmark though). Apparently Michelle Paver had a block so she’s done well to produce this. So so.
The cover of RAINFOREST by Michelle Paver. An illustration of a rainforest, brightly coloured flowers, tropical bird, snake, frog, skull. Darkness beyond.
November 25, 2025 at 2:49 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Two new book purchases from our travels. My partner bought me Advent from The London Review Bookshop, she knew I was a sucker for that cover and because it’s set in Iceland. I bought The Ghost Theatre from Waterstones in Brighton for research for something I’m mulling over…
The cover of Advent by Gunnar Gunnarsson. An illustration of a figure on a hillside drift of snow, a dig by his side and a sheep behind them. A pink sky beyond. Lovely. The cover of The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman. A bird of prey with its wings outstretched against a golden circle, more golden rings circling around the centre. A dark blue background with gold stars spattered across it.
November 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
A duff photograph of the South Downs seen from the train beyond Burgess Hill. My illustration hero Raymond Briggs spent much of his life living at the foot of those hills & used the surrounding area as inspiration for his work. I didn’t have time to pay my respects at his grave this time ☹️
A range of hills in the distance as seen from a train on a bright and sunny autumn afternoon.
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Back from my first visit to Brighton. We enjoyed chilly autumn sun, fish & chips in the Regency restaurant with rain battering the windows at night. We took relatives to see Gary Numan, they’re fans & they’ve had a rotten year of ill health. They were seated & I somehow ended leaning near the stage🤷🏼‍♂️
The domes and minarets of Brighton Pavilion lit up in glowing pinks against a dusky blue sky. A clock tower at a junction in a city centre. Hundreds of small lights suspended in a net reaching outwards from the clock tower to other buildings and shops at the junction. Nighttime and festive. A beach at night. The pebble beach in darkness, a dimming orange sunset above the horizon of a calm blue sea. Apartment buildings and street lights on the right, the shoreline of Brighton. Gary Numan performing on stage with his bass guitarist/lead guitarist. The stage bathed in an atmospheric green light.
November 25, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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On my travels again. Bye for now 👋🏻

The Journey North from The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

nicktankard.co.uk for giclee prints £75 (free P&P - UK only - I also ship worldwide).
A black and white pen and printmaking illustration of a steam train and its carriages at a standstill on a bridge in a foggy and featureless landscape. Steam hisses from the train, the engine and carriage lights glow in the gloom.
November 19, 2025 at 1:08 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
The Nine Lives Causway and Eel Marsh House from The Woman in Black. Unpublished illustration.
A black pen and printing ink Illustration of a muddy and damp causeway track winding across an estuary. A horse & cart with two people on it is making its way across the track towards the misty and looming shape of a large Victorian house situated on a small island. Weak winter sunshine reflects on the waters surface, a heavy sky above the scene. Gloomy, forbidding and atmospheric.
November 19, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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A sample of a commission that I’m working on for a friend. Great to be back on with work, the new year will herald a new approach and technique, I’m revved up now!
A sample of a pencil and black pen illustration of silver birch trees and undergrowth.
November 18, 2025 at 7:57 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Proper grim up north weather today.
Rain and misty drizzle obscuring a landscape of wooded hillsides and the rooftops of a small town in the north of England. The dark silhouette of a chimney and rooftop in the foreground. Grim.
November 18, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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Well, this getting up early & cracking on with work thing seems to be sticking, I’m enjoying being back at my desk & listening to a new podcast. When I’ve got these three commissions completed I’ll start new work of my own in the new year, hopefully in a new direction, I can’t crosshatch forever! 👍🏻😉
A small portion of my workroom desk and window. An iPad with the podcast ‘The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward’ on it. Pens, pencil, candles, books on the windowsill and a small white mouse holding a lightbulb. Red brick walls and a hazy starry window sheet to stop bright light shining in to my workroom (not much chance of that in England in November!).
November 18, 2025 at 8:20 AM
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A photograph I took of the entrance to Bowie and Iggy’s apartment in Berlin in 2017.
A photograph of the entrance to an apartment building. Patterned tile floor, two tone grey painted walls, notice board and a collection of silver letterboxes on the wall at the left of the image. A bright green bin on the floor. A flight of stairs leading up to the next floor, red carpet running up the middle of them, sunlight at the top of the staircase.
November 17, 2025 at 10:27 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
Crikey today is zipping by, the sun is setting already. I’m crosshatching away on a commission for a friend. I’m listening to a podcast drama and very much enjoying it but I’m being driven mad by the sound of fingers on a keyboard in it. I hate that sound 😬
Crosshatch black pen on white paper. A very small section of my current work.
November 17, 2025 at 3:42 PM
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The Woman in Black. Original unpublished illustration I made for the book by Susan Hill. Crosshatch pen & rolled printing ink. Some yellowing where masking fluid was applied & removed to leave areas of ink free paper.

£200 + P&P. I ship worldwide but will need to adjust costs to counter TariffBoy
A woman in a black Victorian funeral dress and bonnet stands at the headstone of an open grave, lots of other headstones around her. The rear of a church of and arched stained glass window on the right of the illustration. A glimmer of an estuary in the distance. A slash of grey sky cuts across the otherwise white sky. A large Yew tree hangs over the church. A black pen and block printing ink illustration on off white paper. Crosshatched pen and printing ink applied with a small roller.
November 17, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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Christmas Eve from The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. I’m selling giclee prints & originals (I’ll post the originals & their prices here on Bluesky) of the illustrations I made for this book. Visit nicktankard.co.uk to see more. Giclee prints £75 (free P&P - UK only - I do ship worldwide also). Ta 👍🏻
A black & white pen and printing ink Illustration of a man standing staring into a fire in an old fashioned parlour. An ornate rug beneath him, a wingback chair to his right (the man has his back to us) a Christmas tree and presents on his left. A single candle on a shelf above the live fire. The roaring fire casts the man’s shadow across the rug. The man is distant, thoughtful and…anxious. Festive but with a hint of menace.
November 17, 2025 at 10:58 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
We are all nuts though aren’t we? Anyway, if you haven’t done so yet go and watch Perfect Days, it’s such a beautiful film. I too would like to tour those very same toilets. Nuts 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣
My reply to andycoasterboy telling me that he did a toilet location tour from the film Perfect Days: “Nice! (I love that we live in a world where a stranger tells me via a glowing pad in my hands that they did a "toilet location tour" of Tokyo this year and I nod in approval. We're all nuts. Magic!”
November 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
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On this bleakest of November days we’ve just been to our allotment plot to dig/pick the very last of our produce. We grate the apples and add them to overnight oats. The potatoes are for tonight, veggie bangers and mash. The chillies are mindbendingley hot so I’ll use them sparingly in a chillie 👍🏻🌞
Red skinned potatoes, red skinned apples and red peppers which are ridiculously hot all from our allotment plot.
November 16, 2025 at 12:29 PM
nicktankard.bsky.social
After two years of searching for new influences/new direction I find myself repeatedly drawn back to the work of my childhood illustration hero…Raymond Briggs. This is the living room of his house in Sussex. I’m heading down that way soon but I doubt I’ll have time to pay my respects at his grave 😔
A large and very lived in living room. A huge red and blue rug sitting beneath sofas covered with throws. Bookcases stuffed with books and a wall with small drawers and more books on it. Two large round paper lamps hang from the ceiling which also has large maps pasted to it.
November 16, 2025 at 10:38 AM
nicktankard.bsky.social
I’m just slipping on my new boots & popping out to get a paper.

(They’re not really mine, these belonged to David Bowie from his Glass Spider days but I reckon he went to Asda in them sometimes. From the V&A Storehouse exhibition.)
A golden leathery boot with wings and a golden toecap.
November 16, 2025 at 9:42 AM
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I’ve just watched this film for the first time and I already know that it’s going into my lifetime top ten. I know I’ll watch it many more times and never tire of it. It’s right there in the title 😍
A poster for the film PERFECT DAYS by Wim Wenders. An older Japanese gentleman in a blue boiler suit sits on a park bench, he is smiling and happy as he looks up at tree tops.
November 15, 2025 at 10:46 PM