Gordon Brown it's all over!

From a recent wedding

Here is a photo from a recent wedding I was at, the photo was shot by 4Season's video, a local business run and operated by Graham & Jean, who are both loverly people and create excellent video's for weddings!

Click here to visit the 4Season's website

Nick Clegg LibDems Leaders

Finally got around to getting Nick Clegg drawn!

He has a long face, so to speak but no real defining character or feature except his forehead!

Nick Clegg - Leader of the LibDems
Click on the image to view full size

Nick Clegg to buy!

Yes you can buy a Nick Clegg mousemat and some other very cool stuff at my store.....

Nick Clegg mousemat by sjhearn

Cartoon for a friend

This is a cartoon I did yesterday for a close friend.



The idea is that the cartoon will be used for his car registration showing him as a grumpy old man!

Its a surprise so don't say a word, keep it our little secret!

he is not an internet user so he won't read this, but keep shhtum, just in case!

Youtube video Fun!

Just a bit of fun I found from my god friend's blog site, the one and only Kenny Durkin!

Kenny created this cool youtube video created showing a search on google....

Here's mine:

Busy day but fun!

Today was great fun! I was at a wedding fair and met lots of great people, some of who booked my services for their wedding!

We are now in the very busy period for weddings, this coming weekend I have 6 weddings over 5 days!

It means a lot of preparation to get the paper pre printed and my daily schedule arranged so I know where to be on each day!

The weddings are local so I do not have too much driving around!

I will keep you updated!

Question time?

Ok here's something new!

I have a question for you! It relates to the current election here in the UK but applies to us all around the world.

Question: What is the right way forward for the world to produce energy?

Please reply as I am very interested to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Over to you, please reply in the comments....

St George's Day

Today is St George's Day here in England, a national day of pride and celebration.

You can find lots of great information on the official website here

I hope soon to be able to share with you some exciting news, so keep an eye out next week!

It has been a busy week with my family life so I have not had a chance to post any drawings, sorry about that!

The election debate has also been very much in the headlines, as you have seen here as well and my zazzle store is doing very well!

The United Kingdom will go to the polling stations on May 6th to vote and select the next government.

It is anyone's guess how that may result and that makes it very interesting!

I still do not know who I shall vote for. I am looking at the policies of all 3 of the main parties and also watching very closely what they are all saying on the debates and other news programmes. I want to make an informed choice based on what I hear and know about what they would bring to my country if they were to have power in parliament.

As I said earlier, it has made this election in 2010 a very interesting election!

Flickr

You can see my Flickr set for caricatures by clicking here!

Enjoy!

Wedding Open Day

Come and see me this Sunday at the Ye Olde Plough House in Bulphan!

Click on image to view full size

Nick Clegg & why he is leading the race

At the moment many political reporters are saying that the surge for the LibDems in the polls is a flash in the pan and that it shall end soon.

Well I think not.

Why? Simply because the British electorate have more intelligence than both the reporters and journalists, as well as Labour & Conservative, give them credit for.

One explanation is to do with MP's expenses. It is clear many have played the rules to benefit themselves. It has brought shame on the Houses of Parliament. We the public can see that.

So when Nick Clegg said last Thursday that the old politics is not the way forward, he was smart enough to recognise that we the public know and understand that this time around.

Both Labour and Conservative leaders have failed to fully understand this. The public opinion counts.

They have both spent the last week spouting the words that the public decide the result of the election, as if it is going to impress us. This is a new move for them in their approach to reach out and communicate with the public. But guess what, we are not falling for it!

We the public have the power but do not need to be told that by Gordon or David, it is almost insulting to hear them say it on television.

Nick Clegg also is guilty of saying the same words but he has built around him an aura of perception that allows him time, at the moment, to get away with it. He is the golden boy.

This coming Thursday we have the next televised leaders debate and the gloves are off! Each one of them will be fighting to impress and score brownie points in how they come over and behave during the debate.

I do hope Nick can pull it off again, if only to keep the temperature of the election at boiling point and actually make politics interesting for a change!

If I could speak to Nick Clegg, I would say to him to be confident, but humble and believe in the fact that he could become Prime Minister in May! It really could happen as we the public do want change but on our terms!

Labour and the Conservatives have a real fight on their hands now. Only yesterday we saw the Conservative Party Political broadcast rehashed by David Cameron at the last minute, so as to capture the current situation with the LibDem surge in popularity. That tells you something!

Gordon Brown will have a real struggle as he clearly is not a face for television and fails to come over with a bed side manner on television that is warm. He transmits a feeling of awkwardness and a sense that only he knows what is best for us all. He almost, to my mind, gives the appearance that if we don't vote for him, we are foolish.

I have not yet made my mind up about who exactly I am going to vote for. That is not a cope out or a sitting on the fence position. It is how I feel and I believe thousands of other members of the public feel that way too.

One thing is for sure, this is a new and exciting time for the election of a new government!

let's hope that this energy remains after the election!

Remember to click here for some great stuff on my online store!

LibDem surge!

Yes in todays new we read that the LibDems have surged forward in the polls and are now at the same level as the Labour Party. In the Sun newspaper poll, it shows the LibDems ahead of Labour! That is a first!
leaders debate last week.

If you support the LibDems or maybe just don't like the Labour party, ten you can get some VERY COOL stuff from my online store at www.zazzle.co.uk/sjhearn the designs there are exclusive and prices start form just a few pounds upwards for a variety of products!

As for me, where do I stand in the political choice for the soon to be election?

Well traditionally I have stood with the conservative party but at the moment I have not made up my mind as I waiting to see what else comes out of the debates and campaign trail over the next two weeks.

I am sure someone from one of the parties will make a gaff and hit the headline news!

Politics is getting interesting!

Click here to visit my store

Wedding Fair season

Yes it is that time of year where Wedding Fairs are taking place at many venues. Today I am at a local venue here in Basildon for a wedding fair, at Cromwell Manor

Next week I shall be at another, still fairly local in Bulpham at the Ye Olde Plough House

Click on the image to view full size

Please come along if you can and say 'Hi' and also receive a FREE caricature drawn on the day!

A funny thing

It's a funny old thing when it comes to copyright. The picture above is of me over a year ago drawing at a wedding in Chelmsford Essex. It was an afternoon while the photographs were being taken but as you can see here, the photographer took some shots of myself as I was drawing.

I cannot recall giving permission in regards to copyright. You see, this picture is on his website as an example of his work. I have no problem with photographers putting pictures of me in the wedding album, if that is what the bride and groom have requested but often, a photographer will use such a photo as their portfolio. Now I don;t mind so much but I never get asked if it is OK with me.

The funny thing is that last night at a wedding the photographer who shot the pictures above, was there as the wedding photographer. He told me that he has received a lot of good feedback on the photo's that have myself in them and people ask him how they can contact me. So that is a really nice thing to know.

But even last night he was taking a lot of photo's and never asked about my permission for use.

Well there's not much I can really do and in one way, it is good marketing and promotion for myself.

I do wish though, that they would ask!

Nick Clegg & The Leaders Debate

Nick Clegg, the leader of the British liberal party or LibDems as they are known, stole the show last night on the very first British televised political debate, entitled the 'Leaders Debate'.

He was composed and conducted himself in an excellent manner, showing that your presence on the media is very important.

All Gordon Brown could keep saying, was that he "...agreed with Nick" and all David Cameron could do was to copy Nick's gestures and body language!

I have now made available a range of products on my Zazzle store that are fun and also perfect for any supporters of Nick Clegg.

Tee shirts and pin badges are selling well and now is the chance to get yours!

Click here to visit the store and place your order!

Carlos Tevez of Manchester City FC

Carlos Tevez the football (Soccer) player who is currently playing for Man City!

Click on the image to view full size

Come and See me live!

This Sunday I shall be exhibiting my services at the Cromwell Manor Wedding Fayre!

If your in the Basildon and surrounding areas, why not pop along and come and see me and get a FREE caricature!

Click here for their website

Cars?

Today I have been out with my daughter looking to buy a car as she past her driving test back in January this year.

This is her first car and we have just got back with a result!

We have purchased a Ford KA2 from a local reputable garage and she picks up the car tomorrow!

I am so pleased for her as she now has independence that will help with her social life, as young ladies like to go out on the town, but also she can search for employment almost anywhere. She finishes college soon and will be trying to secure a job.

Some art at last!

A wedding invitation for a loverly couple who have me booked for their 2011 wedding! As you can guess, they are animal lovers and own a number of dogs, rabbit and a horse! The guy is into motorcycles in a big way too!

UPDATE with changes requested by client:

A new mobile/cell phone!

I now have a new phone!

My contract was up for renewal and part of a pay monthly deal, with T-Mobile, was staying on the same value of contract but over 24 months instead of 18 months, with a FREE phone thrown in, FREE internet connection and a choice of an extra add on, I chose the FREE calls to landlines!

So I opted for the new Samsung Galaxy Portal phone on T-Mobile.

It is fun and funky and runs the Andriod apps/software.

I like it!

It will take me a week or so to get used to all the functions and remember which button to press when I have an incoming call, apologies to anyone I may have cut off when they have tried to call me!

Now, I must remember to take come photo's of the caricatures I draw when at a gig! If I do, I shall post the pictures here of course!

Busy AT THE MOMENT

Busy day to day and later I am in Canary Wharf for a corporate event to draw at!

Plus I have picked up a sore throat and cold from Saturday's wedding after some of the children were coughing over me! It is the only 'dangerous' side to entertaining at weddings!

That meant I had a rough night's sleep last night along with a headache!

Anyway, time to press on...

Last night!

The picture here is from a recent wedding, last night the photographer captured me with the bride and groom and is going to email the picture to me, so as soon as its here I will share it with you.

Last nights wedding was great fun and I received many nice comments about the caricatures with one guy saying he would have paid for his caricature!

Now thats a compliment!

Life is as busy as always at the moment. I have a wedding invitation to get draw and a wedding sign in board to get drawn up soon too. Plus my wife and I have some things going on with the house at the moment that includes a possible studio relocation.

I need to get some sketches drawn that are in my own time and to help play with some new ideas. As soon as I get any done, I shall of course post the drawings here!

My new 'other' blog?

I now have a new blog up and running that is dedicated to business help and support.

I am asked on a regular basis how I have managed to be successful with my business and people like to hear how I achieve this and what it is exactly that I have done.

I am happy to help others and have done so for a long time.

So the blog contains some basic advice on helping business owners to succeed and also will allow me to offer a more in depth service of advice and consultancy on a one to one basis that people can purchase from me for their own business needs.

So please be cure to click here to check it out and if you are a business owner, please bookmark the blog and be sure to become a regular reader as I shall be posting on a regular basis about business related topics!

My new blog will develop and grow and have an ever growing knowledge base for any business owner to tap into!

Please leave a comment as I would love to connect to you through the new blog, I am happy to answer any questions you may have, although I may not have all the answers! But if I can be of help, I will help out as much as I can!

Beach website

My very good friend Kevin Stokes has released an updated layout to his website, click on the image above to view part of the homepage!

The site is called Montara Beach and is the place where Kevin lives. He is passionate about preserving the beaches for public use in terms of cleanliness, hygiene and freedom of access and I support him completely.

Please stop by the Montara Beach website by clicking here

Montara Beach is on the West Coast of the USA, located south of San Francisco in the beautiful state of California.

The Montara Beach is often washed in surf that is great to ride and is simply breath taking to view.

My wife and I shall be visiting there for the first time in November. We are very excited about not only meeting up with Kevin but also to be able to stand on the beach for ourselves and enjoy the beauty of it all!

Kevin builds and maintains the Montara Beach website and does an excellent job, so leave a comment or two when you stop by and visit and let him know you have enjoyed your visit.

Pollution in our sea's is at it highest ever in the history of mankind and you only have to look at what has washed up on the beach to see how bad it is. I saw this in Sri Lanka just a few weeks back, while we were there on vacation. We stayed in a loverly hotel that was situated right on the beach, south of Colombo looking out into the Indian Ocean and on the beach I saw too much pollution that had been washed up. There was even a dead cockerel amongst all the litter and other crap that was washed up!

Let's hope that those in power who have some impact on keeping the sea's clean, can keep working towards making improvements. We all can do our bit and next time you visit a beach, why pick up and general litter or trash and place it in the bin if possible?

The Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta

The Masters Golf Tournament is now under way in Augusta and this year it is proving to be one of, if not the most interesting news worthy events for 2010.

Tiger Woods is back in town and taking part after a 6 month break in his career. We all know what has happened and now he is hoping to show that he can perform to his top level performance as the world's number one golfer.

The venue as always is the beautiful golf course at Augusta and you can find out much more by visiting their website here

Tiger has already shown that he can handle himself in front of the press, with his apology to the public for his actions and now also in the manner in which he is conducting himself at Augusta. The guy seems very 'tight' with his presence and time in front of the public and he is already receiving a lot of praise and best wishes from the crowds at Augusta.

It seems that he may well show during this 2010 Masters that he is truly back in the game, both in terms of golf and the adoration from his fans and the public at large.

How will this effect the other players in the tournament I wonder?

Tiger is getting all the press coverage at the moment and some interviews with other golfers are themed around what they think about Tiger returning to the game. Now that must be somewhat frustrating for the other players who would want to talk to the press about their own game and current performance, along with their chances of winning at Augusta but the press are instead, focusing on Tiger Woods. It must be difficult!

So this will prove to be a very interesting weekend for Golf and the press must be loving every second as it will give them everything they ever dreamed off when reporting on such a prestigious event!

Who is going to win, well I like you have no idea but it may be that Tiger can pull it off and really put himself back on the map!

Blogging and your help!

I enjoy blogging everyday but need to ask for your help.

I want to grow the blog so that more people get to know about it and shall want to visit and even become regular readers and visitors.

Thats where you come in. Your help to spread the word, as they say, is very important.

Tonight I attended a meeting for the London Blog Club, where over 40 people who are bloggers or are thinking about blogging, got together to share experience and knowledge with each other, network and learn from each other as well. I did just that. I learned a lot and I also had a chance to share some of my experience and I hopefully encouraged a few others to start blogging!

My commitment here is to blog content that is of quality. I must be honest and mention that it is not entirely easy to do so. There are are many reasons for this, one being the fact that to blog everyday day requires dedication and hard work. I am not complaining, I love blogging everyday as it is a good discipline and habit to get into too.

I know that on occasion the content may not meet my goal and could actually be better, but it is not for the want of trying.

Tonight at the London Blog Club I felt a push of energy to push forward with my blog and to work even harder to keep the content moving in the right direction, toward quality and focus for my readers, which means that you should find the blog interesting. With a reason to return to visit again and again.

So I need your help. Help me grow the pencildreams blog.

One way is to give me feedback of any kind. Post a comment so that I can see what you are saying or thinking about the blog, leave questions and suggestions for anything you may wish to see me blog about here. I really am interested in what you would like to see.

Let me know if I am getting things right as well, so that I can continue those things and develop them.

Tell people about this blog, link to it and or any specific posts both present and past.

I promise I shall be making every effort to improve the content.

I will be posting about art, drawing skills, using photoshop, computing and technology, travel, photography and other areas in my life as well. The blog is not focused on one single theme and I hope that will be a strength to the blog rather than a distraction.

So over to you guy's, please leave a comment below! THANKS!

Come and See me live!

Yes come and see me at these two wedding faryes in Essex and get a free caricature!

Back to it...

Yes its back in the studio come office to get back to work today. Admin stuff to process and that is important as well as a wedding invitation sketch to get drawn.

Then later I hope to catch up with the blog here and get some juicy posts ready for you!

Appreciation

Click on image to view full size

It is always a real joy to receive such wonderful words after I have drawn and entertained at someones wedding.

This was just over a week ago and on that night we had loads of fun with everyone!

As always I know that I am a very lucky guy to be able to make my living, doing something that I love.

The 'job' satisfaction I receive when someone really loves what I have drawn of them is amazing and when you entertain a whole wedding, well it is like walking on air!

Happy Easter

Trust everyone will have a great Sunday, relaxing and enjoying the time to reflect on our Christian heritage.

Peace and love to you all

Up down & around

It's a funny old game as they say and when you are entertaining people, surprising things can happen!

How people react to a situation is always interesting for me.

When being drawn they can often retort that they do not usually like their photograph being taken so this is something they are really unsure about. So why take a chance and sit for me in the first place? The truth be known, we all like the fact that an artist is going to draw us as we are interested what the result will be.

People always ask lots of questions of me as well, some are the standard set as I like to refer to them, like, how long have you been doing this or is this your hobby and whats your day job? Now as I have said before, I don't really mind these questions but it can be some what boring after a few hours of being asked the same questions over and over. Once in a while someone will ask a unique question that is original.

I had one last night but for the life of me now, cannot remember what it was!

Oh well, c'est la vie as they say. If it comes back to me later I will let you know.

Then there is the big guy or joker who has to show he has one over me. Why? Well I have a bunch of people watching and waiting and often saying some really nice things about my work as they do so, last night I even received a large round of applause after drawing a guy who is known as a real character in his family, they loved the caricature and were laughing and clapping and you know what, it felt really good to know I had provided some really exciting entertainment for them. But as things like this go on, some people get jealous that I have all the attention and so they start heckle to me.

Strange as it may seem it happens and I have got used to it. Last night there was one guy who started to 'softly' heckle me but in the end turned out to be OK, although I could tell he had been drinking heavily and the situation could have developed in a negative way, but thankfully he was cool and just wanted to put his stamp on the time he was there as the guy who was the joker.

Most events I draw at usually turn out OK with no problems at all but once in a while something happens that either creates a little bit of a problem or is just a memorable moment.

A couple of years ago at a wedding a middle aged couple were waiting inline to be drawn but the gentleman was not happy. I could hear him as they got close, complaining that he did not want to be drawn and he followed that up by heckling me, saying that it was rubbish and a waste of time.

He went on to continue with his heckling as they sat for their turn to be drawn. He then got more personal saying some things that were out of order and a little rude to say the least.

Well I gave him big ears in his drawing and he actually did have big ears but he was disgusted with it and stormed off like a small child. My work was done I thought and he got what he deserved but his wife then asked me for a business card as she wanted to hire me for a party they were going to be hosting at their home later that year. Well, I said no, she could not have a card, as I was in no way going to work for a jerk like her husband. She was amazed at this of course but I stuck to my guns and refused to give her a card or even entertain the prospect of working for her and her husband. She also stormed off!

Well later at the end of the night at that wedding the brides father came over as I was packing away my stuff and thanked me for a great night. He then mentioned that we had one problem and I thought it was my turn to be 'told off' for speaking to that couple earlier, refusing to work for them, but the brides father then went on to mention the couple and actually offered an apology for them being so stupid in how they had treated me with all the heckling! That was a surprise! I said not to worry, it happens from time to time and their is always one jerk at a wedding who tries to be the 'big guy' in front of everyone. We parted shaking hands and with the brides father thanking me for a great night.

Funny how things turn out!

The day He died...

Today is a mix of sadness and joy as we reflect upon the crucifixion of Yeshua.

Someone who gave his very life for humanity both past, present and future.

I do not know if you believe or not but something and someone marked an event in history two thousand years ago that has had a major impact on the world.

I do not know your circumstances and what your situation is right now, but even in a time of deep despair and sorrow, people can look upon today's events from two thousand years ago and know that He has been through that and that He understands and knows first hand what it is like.

I do not wish to impose my own beliefs upon you, but this day is a moment around the world that no one can ignore.

May His grace and love touch you where ever you find yourself today.

Shalom

Help my business!

First let me say, Happy April Fools....(quick whats that going past the window?), but this post is a genuine one and not a gag!

So onwards with today's blog post:

I like to keep ahead in business and try my best to be smart about how to run and market my services to my customers. One way I do this is by using the internet to watch and follow certain people, who are deemed experts in the world of business and marketing, via their websites & blogs.

One such guy who I enjoy watching and learning from is Andrew Lock.

Andrew is a british guy who made the move over to the USA and now runs a successful marketing business. He has some great advice and shares a lot of good tips about marketing your business.

Click here for his website

If your a small business owner I highly recommend you take 20 minutes to check Andrews site out!

Below is his current video presentation on marketing that Andrew has just released, good viewing...



Well now you know how I spend some of my time in between gigs!