Bethlehem up Bradford way
The Yorkshireman behind this year’s Royal Mail Christmas stamps reveals how they – and much of his other work – are inspired by Bingley Moor. Chris Burn reports. Pictures by Tony Johnson.
THIS year’s Christmas stamps take their cue from traditional carols and the story of the Nativity – but there is a subtle Yorkshire influence at play too that those in the know can take in. The Royal Mail’s 2023 offerings – the first festive set to feature the silhouette of King Charles – have been created by Yorkshire illustrator Tom Duxbury, whose designs were chosen for the prestigious commission.
The images that he has created are inspired by the themes of Christmas carols and each features a lyric from O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Away in a Manger or We Three Kings.
But while the landscapes portrayed on each stamp are set in Bethlehem, they also take inspiration from the “stillness, softness, and magic” of Duxbury’s beloved Bingley Moor. Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Duxbury explains: “I’m from Bingley originally and the landscape of the moor here is my biggest inspiration.
“Everything I do responds to it, even if the brief is about Bethlehem. For me, everything connects back to that landscape.”
The commission is the latest impressive achievement in the 34-year-old artist’s career – having previously designed memorable book covers for the likes of Philip Pullman and Carol Ann Duffy.
He says he “always knew” he wanted to be an artist and with the encouragement of his talent by his schoolteachers, went on to study illustration at Brighton University.
After university, Duxbury quickly started getting book cover commissions from major publishers, specialising in the medium
‘Each stage went by and as the weeks went by, you would tweak the artwork. Each week, each month, mine weren’t knocked out.’
of woodblock printing to depict both vintage and modern scenes. The technique involves designs being carved onto a block of wood and then inked before being printed onto a chosen material.
A Sarah Ridgard book was the first major publication to feature his artwork on the cover.
“Seeing that first front cover in Waterstones when I was 21 years old was an amazing feeling,” he says. “Seeing my work on a hardbound physical object felt really special.”
Duxbury does not restrict himself solely to the one artistic technique but says he favours it for book covers such as the one he did for Philip Pullman’s The Serpentine.
“I think when you carve into a piece of clay, you get life and movement. With The Serpentine cover, having to physically carve something you get all those beautiful swirls and all that energy captured in that clay.”
As his artistic career was starting out, Duxbury lived in London but the call of Yorkshire, and particularly Bingley Moor, became one he couldn’t ignore and he returned home. Nowadays, he combines his art with a job in a Leeds.
“I did work in London as a graphic designer for a bit. I found it difficult to connect with the things that I am inspired by so I knew I needed to be around the moors because that is what inspires me.
“I work in a design agency in Leeds for most of the week and then I work on commission as and when really and work from my studio in my house.
“Because I do create from a very personalprivate space, I do like to work as a graphic designer and have a bit more of a steady career.
“I just get into the illustration world when I feel the pace is right or I feel I sit well with the commission.”
His ongoing fascination with Bingley Moor began as a child with the folklore surrounding Rombald the Giant. It is claimed that huge rock formations on the local moors were caused by an argument between Rombald and his wife and stone-throwing that ensued.
In other versions of the tale, Rombald is believed to have been a godlike creature who, when angered, generated thunder and hurled huge boulders across the valleys in his rage.
Duxbury says: “As a kid, I always imagined there was a giant out on the moor and that naturally led me into this rich world of imagination.
“I have always been compelled by that story. As soon as I started digging as an adult, there were lots of little stories – there
used to be a poet up there who left an inscription on a rock hidden in a wood. I thought that was a legend until I found it in 2020.
“The moor itself has got a hold on me and keeps revealing these little secrets, there is so much up there.”
He adds: “There is a very special track on Bingley Moor where I have just learnt so much about the landscape since coming back from London in my mid-20s. I’m now 34 and I could talk to you all day about the myths and legends and wildlife and geology out there.
“I like to be out there if physically possible but it is always in the background of my creative output.”
This year’s Christmas stamps have been 18 months in the making after Duxbury was contacted by Bath-based design agency Steers McGillan Eves, whose co-founder, Christian Eves, had seen some of his work in a bookshop.
Duxbury adds: “The agency said there would lots of others going for it.
“Each stage went by and as the weeks went by, you would tweak the artwork. It would go to Royal Mail and they would come back and say who had gone through. Each week, each month, mine weren’t knocked out.
“It was highly competitive – I’ll never know the scale of it behind the scenes, I just submitted artwork.”
Initially it was envisioned that the designs would be done with lino-printing but Duxbury says the technique failed to translate well to the size of the stamps and he instead opted for watercolours, using a set that had belonged to his late mother.
He says finding out his designs had been selected was a moment that he is still processing.
“Living in a world that feels so separate from civilisation, designing these things in my little studio and then all of a sudden they are going to be everywhere, it does feel surreal. I don’t know if it has still sunk in for me yet.”
He says gaining the commission was an important moment for his career but he has no plans to give up his day job in Leeds.
“I think it gives me the freedom to not do anything else for commercial gain. I’m so inspired by this landscape I want to spend the rest of my life responding to it and not worrying about commercial illustration.
“I did a stint of working for myself in my studio and even though it was great, because I do operate with personal inspiration it is exhausting being in the space 24/7.
“I need to step out of it and use a different part of my brain and feel part of something else. Then I can come back to this special space and create my illustrations.”
Unsurprisingly, Duxbury’s next major project will focus on the moors.
“My focal point I am setting my sights on is something about Bingley Moor I can publish, whether that is in a year’s time in an art exhibition or a story or a book, the next thing will be Bingley Moor.
“Bingley Moor is a very special place for me. If you spend any time up here, you realise how much magic is up here.
“It is a bit like the sea. People who have lived by the sea say they miss it when they don’t live there any more, I get the same feeling about this huge expanse. It holds my imagination – it has never let go and I don’t want it to.
“The biggest thing for me is responding to where I live. The stamps are incredible and I love designing them but I can’t wait to share stories and more illustrations about where we are right now. I’m excited for the next chapter.”