Stephen, a uniquely gifted artist, whose journey started by uttering his first word “Paper” to amaze the world with his miraculous art using larger than life masterful drawings. His talent and dedication can be seen in his detailed, lifelike and accurate representations of cities. His largest drawing is a panoramic view of Tokyo measuring 10 meters in length. It took Stephen 8 days to complete the artwork using only a pen. He not only enjoys drawing cityscapes but also often draws portraits of celebrities and close friends in his private sketchbook. Music also plays an evident part in his life. Stephen has perfect pitch and has been endorsed by The Royal College of Music to perform his piano and singing skills. He has numerous achievement and recognitions including a prestigious “MBE for services to the art world in 2006.” Stephen's artwork is exhibited frequently in venues all over the world.
Thank you Stephen and his sister Annette Wiltshire for your time. Stephen your interview will inspire all our brave superheroes and their families.

You are famous for drawing landscape after observing them briefly. If you were to design your own dream city how would the landscape look?S: I have done several imaginary cities on a large scale and they have a combination of London and New York mixed together. Please see an example here: London Metropolis

Why is it easy for you to communicate through art? Do you think Autism helps the artistic mind?S: Art was not an option for me, it was my only form of communication until I was able to speak at the age of five. I have no understanding of Autism, I only understand that I love to draw and that the more I study my passion of drawing the more I understand architecture. I find comfort in knowing that other people enjoy looking at my work as well as watching me perform on stage to crowds of over 150,000, it's a great buzz and very fulfilling as well as overwhelming.

At what age did you realize that you can could draw all the big landscapes from your photographic memory? How did you feel when people refer to you as “The human camera”?S: I started drawing at the age of three, however my work was not recorded until the age of five, my fascination of big landscapes started from the age of eight or nine, however we are not sure when the eidetic memory kicked in!
A:  As for the title "Human Camera" like all media they needed something that was catchy and would make people have a reason to watch the documentary. We on the other hand have been trying for years to shake this title off as it has no relation to how Stephen likes to be perceived. Stephen sees himself as an artist in his own right and to be known as "Stephen Wiltshire" it's as simple as that. No gimmicks, no fancy titles, just a humble individual who loves to draw and is passionate about his city where he was born and grew up in.

How did you get inspired to do "London Alphabet" project? How long did it take you to finish? How difficult was it to find all the London landmarks for each alphabet without internet?S: The London Alphabet was the idea behind Queensmill School, this was to help me to read and write as they already knew I had a passion to draw buildings, they thought it would be a good idea to collaborate the two together and I responded really well to this. I think the teachers all got together and helped me put the landmarks together as well as visit each one so it would enforce me to talk about my experiences, draw them and help my writing skills and learn the alphabet all at the same time.
In 2012 we decide it was a good idea to re-create the London Alphabet as the skyline had changed a lot since then, I can imagine how hard it was for them to think of all the landmarks to cover each alphabet as we had quite the trouble in doing so ourselves and was certainly a challenge, we managed to finish it. (Yes, we did cheat a bit and used the internet unlike before.)

How do you define success? What different ingredients are must for achieving success?S: My motto is "DO THE BEST YOU CAN AND NEVER STOP" we actually have this printed on mugs which we sell at the gallery as it has a lot of meaning to many people and helps to inspire each and every one of us.
A: Stephen is a self-taught artist who has accomplished many challenges along his journey that others would have doubted, his pure determination and the willingness of never giving up on his dreams and aspirations are what makes him successful as well as being a happy individual who loves what he does and is able to share this with thousands if not millions of people who find comfort in my work regardless of my condition.

Which project is closest to your heart and why?S: Singapore and New York! New York was very moving for me as the company who invited me over took into account that my favourite building was the Empire State Building and they were able to secure a studio that was right next to the iconic building where I only had to look through a skylight window to see the building in it's true form, my breath was taken away and I smiled throughout the whole time I was there.
Singapore was equally moving due to the overwhelming support of the Singaporeans, these people knew nothing about the artist Stephen Wiltshire, yet they embraced my visit to their country and made him feel like part of the family.
A: Over 150,000 people visited Stephen to see him draw onstage in less than five days. The crowd was immense, it was probably the most enchanting, memorable visit we have ever had in all the cities we have visited and one of which we still talk about a year later like it was yesterday.

Could you describe your daily routine?S: Get up in the morning have breakfast, have a shower, get ready for Art School or the Gallery, working on commissions, sometimes meeting customers at the gallery or being filmed, go to lunch and then carry on with projects. Leave to go home. If on a business trip then an itinerary will be laid out so I knows exactly what is going on throughout the day.

What are your other hobbies?S: I like the movies, going shopping, dancing, singing, practicing the piano, listening to music and travelling. Drawing in my sketch book and making notes and writing in my diary.

How can art play an important role for our special children?S: I have never seen myself with a disability, I have only seen myself as a possibility to being someone great and confident, spreading my love for drawing and only encouraging others to pursue your dreams regardless of whatever hurdles you may come across. If it is art, music, dancing, performing that helps you become a better person and get you closer to your goals in life, then it's important to go full throttle and become a better person for it, with the love and support of family, friends etc...
A: Art for Stephen was communication right from the beginning, this open up a world that was almost closed to him. It opened doors for him that may have stayed closed, sometimes when a person is labelled it can be a hindrance and therefore make things hard for an individual to be recognized for their talents. Disability can be looked upon as a nuisance or incapable, rather than looked upon as a possibility and this can be so unfair, not even given those a chance to be counted, due to being labelled with a title.

Any special message for our community?S: "DO THE BEST YOU CAN AND NEVER STOP"

Enjoy Stephen's artwork - Trafalgar Square on a Christmas evening