When did you start drawing?
Answer: As far back as I can remember, a very small child and I have very fond memories of when I was around 7 years old, laying on the floor with paper and a pencil drawing and our pet Budgie would perch itself on the end of my pencil as I drew! I always loved that!
What did you like to draw?
Answer: Well like most boys, cars and anything to do with the army. This was the early to mid 1960's and my father had served his national service not long after WWII and I was in awe of him for being a real soldier and having spent time serving in Germany. So because of that I loved to draw tanks and guns and explosions! I had so much pride in my Dad for being a soldier and that gave me the motivation to draw anything related to war!
Do you draw things like that now?
Answer: No not now, I am more focused on caricatures & cartoon styles of drawing the human face. But now this has come up in the conversation, it has me thinking again. I absolutely love how Mort Drucker draws soldiers, truly awesome!
How do you approach drawing the human face?
Answer: Thats a god question and one I get asked a lot. There are many other artists out there who draw a million times better than myself but my approach has been developed by learning from such people and from close friends in the business. There are some basic rules when it comes to drawing caricatures and as you learn them, it helps you when you go about drawing the face. But to answer your question directly,what I mean by that is, how I 'do it', it happens within the very first few seconds of looking at someone's face. I can only say that it happens in a kind of natural way that I actually can't explain! Sorry if thats sounds trite or like a cop out, but it's true, I have always 'seen' people like this since I was a child. It has taken me many years to then realise the ability to draw this onto paper. I still have a lot to learn and I don't think I ever will stop, but thats the real fun part, having the motivation to get better, to improve one's work and then seeing it happen, well that gives me such great satisfaction. Then I move on to continue to improve again and again, its is a constant cycle that I am grateful for. There is never a dull moment!
So are there any down sides to drawing caricatures?
Answer: Not really! The only thing that can get me down is when I have tried my best to draw a strong likeness of a person and then that person thinks the drawing looks nothing like them. Some call it rejection but it is more than that. You see, someone like me will poor their heart and soul into drawing and when it is not accepted or liked, it cuts deep and can be hurtful even. I know that caricatures can been seen as a funny drawing and that there is a lack of respect for such drawings, but it is still art and an artist like myself still goes through the same motions. I fully understand how people 'see' caricatures but it still hurts when my work is rejected! Anyway, the up side far out weighs this. I get to meet many interesting people every week! I get to travel extensively around the world and I am based form my home which means I have a very short to walk to each morning!
What will 2010 bring to your work?
Answer: Now that is a good question! Well this year I am drawing and entertaining at many weddings here in the UK. I have some trips around the world with my wife and no doubt during those I will be drawing people in the locations we visit. One of those trips is to the ISCA convention in November that is being held in Las Vegas, thats a almost a week long convention on drawing caricatures with around 200 artists from all over the world! I always seem to have a number of personal projects on the back burner, so if I get time I always try to realise some of them. Things like drawing more cartoon illustrations, working on improving my bodies and constructing scenes for caricatures. I also love technology and I am a bit of a geek I guess, so the new iPad looks like great fun and if possible, I would love to get one!
So computers are a part of your tool set?
Answer: Yes! I use my computer to draw digitally and also interact with the world wide web and also to run my business.
What is your set up?
Answer: I have an iMac 24inch, a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet, a canon scanner LiDE90, an Epson A3 R2880 photo printer, an iPod, a Samsung mobile/cell phone and a logitech desktop microphone. I of course have paper and pencils/pens and watercolour paints.
Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to learn to draw?
Answer: Sure, I always try to encourage others as I was encouraged at school and through my whole life. The best thing is to draw every day, even if it is just a doodle, draw every day. The internet has some great results for people who search for help and tuition on how to draw, search google! If you have one or two artists who you really admire, copy their work! That will really help you! And never forget that even the greatest artist has an off day! So you will too. Just keep going, thats the secret.
Thank you Steve, do you have any final words?
I must say Thank You to my fellow artists who have encouraged me on a personal basis and to those who have become very close friends. Art has given me so much and I have a wonderful life that is built on friendships not money. Money is not that important and I am an average wage earning guy but it is how you live your dream that is so important. My wife is as they say, the person behind my success, she is always supportive and gives me strength. At then end of the day, what I really want to for the person who I am drawing to turn to me and say, "thats great, I love it!". Then I know I have achieved what I set out to do, make people happy!
