Charles Keeping (1924 - 1988) was an illustrator with a very distinctive style (this gives a great overview of his work) giving a great sense of the wild and the weird. He illustrated many children's books, folio editions of Dickens and his own picture books. As a child he illustrated spare newspaper plackards with his sister that his father brought home. He was in the navy during the Second World War and returned with profound depression. This article has some good information from an interview with his children about his early life and his motivation during his career.