Howl's Moving Castle Limited Edition | Over two-thirds sold

In the Studio: Lela Harris

July 10, 2025

The opportunity to illustrate the Folio book of Alice Walker's The Colour Purple felt like winning the lottery, says artist Lela Harris

‘I like a space I can make a mess in, and I’ve made the kitchen alcove all mine. There’s a lovely light from the big windows and I ignore the recycling bins and the washing machine behind me. My sketches are pinned to the wall in place of family photos, and I have pads of paper to hand, stacks of art books, jars of brushes, boxes of charcoal and plants cascading down onto the tiny space where I draw, perched on a stool – and most often in my slippers. My daughter and husband are really understanding and give me space to draw when I’m busy. It’s chaos but it works.

I’m a graphic designer and run my own stationery company but decided to learn to draw about two years ago to have a break from the computer screen. I’m entirely self-taught, and I’ve eventually mastered charcoal, which now I just love. It’s perfect for portraits and there’s a freedom that comes with being able to rub it out and build up layers. I’m obsessed with the process and draw at any time – I can lose myself for hours.

Being chosen to illustrate The Color Purple was like winning the lottery. I was just flabbergasted to have been selected as I had been creating artwork purely as a hobby and sharing my work on Instagram, so this was my first professional illustration commission. I’d read the novel when I was much younger, but the first thing I did was re-read it, picking out particular scenes that resonated with me and making notes. I already love the 1930s photography of dustbowl America, which feels so familiar to me – there’s something about that era that fascinates me, so I was able to use these images to develop my illustrations.

If the beginning of the novel is bleak, it evolves into something truly uplifting as the characters grow. I had a pretty bleak childhood myself and some of it felt too close to home, but this also helped me to connect with the characters. I love the way Celie emerges as a strong, confident and compassionate woman as she gets older. I had fun with creating Sofia too; she’s a character who fights to the end and I wanted this to come across in her portrait. I made a point of not watching the film as I didn’t want to crowd out my own ideas but I definitely want to watch it soon.

Before committing anything to paper, I thought deeply about the characters during long dog walks – the Lake District, where I live, is a great landscape in which to find inspiration. But if it takes me a long time to mull over the characters, it might take just an hour to draw them. Before I began, I had butterflies, but Raquel Leis Allion, Folio’s Art Director at the time, who discovered me on Instagram, told me to just do what I do – that they loved the way I captured the essence of people. Along with the Editor Robert Davies, Raquel supported me through the whole process and gave me the space and encouragement to develop my ideas.

I have such a mishmash of styles because I’m a newcomer to drawing and painting and I want to try everything, but this worked out beautifully for the novel. Quilting and sewing is an important theme – it’s how Celie becomes independent and she’s a fragmented character – so I decided to do a massive collage for the cover. I used watercolour, pencil, charcoal and pastel to build up a portrait of Celie nestled in an abstract landscape. In one way it’s a giant quilt – a special cover for a beautiful book.'