2012 Olympics

It just so happens that we live not far from the location of the Olympic stadium and the venue for the mountain biking event. It all happens in 2012 and will of course be the topic of conversation for the whole wide world!

The picture shown here is of Hadleigh Castle, which is the backdrop for the mountain biking competition. It is only 15 minutes by car from where I live!

The Olympics always are a major sporting event and here in the UK, preparations are under way!

Photography

A hobby that I love is photography! I have always enjoyed taking pictures since I was a child. Today with the DSLR camera's and technologies, taking photographs has become great fun! It is much easier to take photos and the results are immediate. Coming up in 2012 I have a few trips abroad and I hope to catch highlights of these with my camera and have photos to share with you!

I hope you like my photo!

iPad caricature

A fun try out with my iPad using the ArtStudio App, just having fun playing around...

ArtStudio is a really nice drawing App and is similar in many ways to Photoshop in that it has layers and other functions that make it easy to use, especially if you already use photoshop!

If you have an iPad and way to draw, then I can recommend the ArtStudio App to you!

Festive fun!

My family and I trust you have had a great Christmas and are enjoying the holidays! We are having a wonderful time and I treated my wife with tickets to fly to Tampa so we can visit our friends in Sarasota. We fly out in two weeks time and are very excited! We feel do blessed that a career in drawing caricatures gives us so much!

It can be hard work drawing and entertaining at weddings and events, I always give my all to ensure guests have a great experience while I am drawing!

My customers needs are priority for me and working to ensure I meet and exceed their expectations is my goal.

I think it is paying off as I am very busy and have many customers who found out about my caricature services from others who I had drawn at a wedding or event.

Recommendations like this are great and I always enjoy booking a referral 'gig' into my diary.

I call events 'gigs' as I feel that I am performing when I am drawing the fun caricatures!

So often I receive rounds of applause from guests who really enjoy the fun of it all! I always feel humbled that people show their appreciation in this way!

Here's to another great year in 2012!

Merry Christmas!

On behalf of my myself and my family, we would like to Wish YOU all a Very Merry Christmas!

You can also join me on Facebook too by clicking here and please do click the 'Like' button!

Wedding fun!

Yesterday I was talking about weddings and how caricatures can provide such great fun for all the guests!

Well here is a genuine photo shot at a wedding I was drawing at with the response shown in these lovely smiling faces to my caricature!

Providing laughter and enjoyment to guests at a wedding is so very important to me and is all part of what I do when I draw caricatures.

It is a privilege to see this reaction take place at the weddings I draw at and I still wonder at how marvellous  it is to think that because of what I did, people are laughing and sometimes to a state of happy tears, along with some screams of joy form some people who think what I have drawn is just amazing!

I have my last wedding of 2011 tomorrow on Christmas Eve and I am really looking forward to being there with the bride and groom and providing what I hope will be more laughter and fun for everyone!

Wedding Caricature

An example of my live caricature work drawn at a wedding!

I draw in my own unique style and it is well received by people, which is really great as I love making people smile and laugh at what I have drawn! It is all about having fun with guests at events and helping them to have a great time by making them laugh and smile!

Not only weddings but also corporate events use my services in many different ways.

From entertaining clients and customers to attracting people to an exhibition stand, many businesses of all sizes have used me in such a way to help them celebrate and promote their searches and products!

I love the work I am involved in and will often travel to help meet my customers needs! So from Essex to Devon, from Cheshire to Sussex, you can be sure I can be there for your event!

It is always a pleasure to draw for a client on more than one occasion and when I am asked to come back for another event, I am humbled that my services are valued and in demand!

If your looking for a caricature artist for your event, no matter what that may be, then look no further, I can help you!

Florida

It's four weeks since the ISCA convention took place at St.Pete's beach! I really do miss the friends I have in the organisation and of course the great weather in Florida! One really good thing about Florida is the many interesting subjects to take photographs of and the wonderful light that helps make shooting pictures so much fun! Photography is my hobby and I just love such opportunities to take photos when in Florida! We will be back in Orlando in July 2012 for a family vacation and we can't wait to be back!

Caricature fun

A caricature that I drew last night at an event for the directors of a golf club, it was a fun night and they enjoyed the caricatures! In all I was able to draw 25 in total in just over two hours.

Fishy Christmas

Merry Christmas from the fish!

Fish cartoon fun

As you may know, I enjoy drawing cartoon fish! I don't know why exactly, I just do! This is another one that I created on my iPad in ArtStudio and I'm thinking that I need to put them all together sometime soon, to create a full picture of fish!

So this time next week it will be Christmas Day! I hope you are getting excited, just like I am and that you will have a great holiday season!

Christmas time

Everyone is busy this weekend shopping for Christmas but I managed to get mine done over a week ago, so I can focus on today's wedding that I am entertaining at tonight! The ugly mug in the photo is yours truly in Harrods with the Harrods bear! Let me wish you the very best of luck if your venturing out this weekend to do your shopping!

I agree with Nick

Again in politics we see a mix of confusion by our political leaders and yet once more we have the Labour leader agreeing with the leader of the Liberal Democrats and saying clearly on camera, "I agree with Nick"!

So if you also agree with Nick why not show your support with one of these great products that have "I agree with Nick' printed on them!

Click here to visit the I agree with Nick website

Enjoy and have fun!

Sketch as much as you can

Getting better as drawing and art is something we all strive to do and I am constantly wanting to improve my own skills as I see so much wrong in my work. It is a healthy sign when an artist has a desire to constantly improve and I guess in truth, a real artist feels that they never achieve their final goal but the journey is where the magic and fun happens. Sure along the way there will be some frustrations and even one or two mountains that seem impossible to climb, but, it is all a part of growing as an artist and improving in the ability to draw.

One of the easiest and best ways is to sketch as much as you can, everyday if possible and then some!

Constant drawing and sketching will go towards helping you get better. Read books on art, watch television programmes on art, there are so many more now available to view, visit galleries and if possible join an association or an online community where you can 'hang out' with others and soak up the energy.

Above is a quick sketch I did in Photoshop with my Wacom Intous and I'm not completely happy with it but the idea is there and it was fun putting together!

It is sketches like this that help you move along and develop more as an artist.

As I said, I have a long way to go myself but I am really enjoying the journey and would not swap it for the world!

Happy sketching!

On my desk

Currently on my desk I am reading ImagineFX magazine. I have a subscription to the magazine and njoy reading it each month. It is themed on Fantasy Art and using digital painting processes to achieve this.

So it covers Photoshop and Painter and has some excellent advice and tutorials about using these programmes! In fact the advice can be used for any kind of art if you are using a digital process!

You can also buy the magazine to view and read on a mobile device, like an iPad!

Check out the ImagineFX website by clicking here!

The Inkling from Wacom

Here is my Inside the Shed video of a simple how to use the Inkling from Wacom! Please post any questions you may have and I will do my very best to answer them here for you! Thanks!