Saturday with Chris Judge: 'When I have a book deadline, there is a month of solid work to get it over the line'

Chris Judge is an author and illustrator from Dublin 

09.00

We usually have a bit of a lie-in until 9am. Myself and my wife Clíona will make breakfast for ourselves and our two daughters (aged 8 and 11). We’ll have either muesli or toast with marmalade and jam— or both. If it’s a special occasion we’ll make pancakes

10.00

We get the weekend papers delivered on a Saturday and I love nothing more than relaxing in the morning reading the book reviews with several cups of coffee. My kids play tennis on Saturday mornings so I like grabbing a cup of coffee in the park with a book for the hour they are playing.

12.00

I love brunch but we rarely get to eat it since we had kids. We are always amazed at how much we ate out with friends back in the day... 

These days, you’re more likely to find me going for a run or a long walk while listening to an audiobook. As a family, we always get a walk in over the weekend. We’ll head to Phoenix Park, Howth, St. Anne’s Park or to my favourite place in Dublin: Bull Island.

When I have a deadline for a book, I usually have a month of solid work trying to get it over the line. Making a children’s book happens in stages. First, I have to write and storyboard it with lots of back and forth with my editor. Next is sketching out the entire book, which I find the hardest part. Then the inking and colouring for an intense six weeks or so. This is the period that I lose my Saturdays and Sundays.

Making a children’s book happens in stages: Storyboarding, Sketching, and Inking and colouring

13.00

For lunch, we’ll have cheese toasties or scrambled eggs. If we have just done ‘the big shop’ we’ll have something a little more fancy like poached eggs and sautéed spinach on sourdough. We have a DeLonghi machine that makes the perfect cup of coffee, so we end up making way too many of them. If we’re in town, we’ll head to Lemon for veggie power crepes and more coffee.

14.30

An ideal Saturday would be a trip into town with Clíona and the kids. We’ll potter around Hodges Figgis and Dubray and then over to Tower Records to buy a record or two, a quick visit to the National Gallery and then to Stephen’s Green to the playground. If we have time, we love an early evening pint and a bag of crisps in Grogans, especially in the autumn. If it’s not too late, we love to watch a film together at home with some homemade pizza.

"When I have a deadline for a book, I usually have a month of solid work trying to get it over the line"

A Saturday on the Amalfi coast is my dream. We spent our honeymoon there, and I dream of pottering around the various coastal villages and Capri. I recently had a significant birthday and Clíona is taking me there in the spring so I’ll be counting down the days. I will finally get to visit Pompeii!

16.00

We usually visit my parents at the weekend. The girls love visiting their house as they have a little craft area in the kitchen where they happily sit drawing, knitting, or sewing while we catch up with my mum and dad. Myself and my siblings are making a concerted effort to see more of each other as we are scattered across the city (with one sister in Mississippi). We are going to organise a games night once a month this year.

18.00

I love making dinner on Saturday evenings. Clíona is an amazing chef, while I have a limited list of recipes I can make, though I do love the methodical nature of cooking, panicking and shouting like a loon.

19.00

We don’t really go out on Saturday nights these days, but if there’s a good gig on, I’m excited to go. The last gig I was at was the My Bloody Valentine secret gig which was incredible. My social life is not what it used to be. Covid-19 and some other events around that time put a huge pause in socialising for me and I struggled in social situations for a few years afterwards. I’m almost back to my old self and enjoying meeting friends and family again, with lots of fun stuff planned for the year ahead.

22.30

We’re usually in bed by 10.30 or 11pm. I love to read. At the moment I am really enjoying Saltwash by Andrew Michael Hurley. His books have a brilliantly low-key disturbing menace.

A print from Chris and Clíona's project, "A Daily Cloud"

• Chris and Clíona will be at the Showcase craft and design trade fair in the RDS this weekend, presenting a range of cards, calendars, and prints inspired by their ‘A Daily Cloud’ project which has gained over 600,000 followers (including Jack Black, Jennifer Garner and Drew Barrymore) on Instagram. You can purchase their art at adailycloud.com