Neil Young

The Glastonbury festival finished yesterday. I camped out for 3 days watching every second of it. Well, when I say 'camped out', I mean sitting in an armchair in front of the BBC tv coverage, surrounded by survival rations of lager and curry.

I swore never to go in person ever again after the time when it RAINED and I caught trench foot.

However, I will admit to feeling rather envious of the people there as I watched curmudgeonly old Canadian Neil Young belting out the classics.

What has this to do with cartoons? Not much, but I felt like having another go at doing a caricature- here it is...

Where ideas come from

One of the questions most asked of a cartoonist is- 'where do you get your ideas from?'

Well, I've just recently outsourced my ideas thinking to a company in Karachi, but just before I did that I thought of the following gag that is in this week's Private Eye magazine.

Any connection between this and the following sign, which is found on the grass outside Windsor Castle, is purely coincidental (maybe).

Well- i suppose they have to be careful- i mean, how secure can a castle be....?

Rise Of The Machines

Trying to track down Rolf involved a lot of wandering around the Wimbledon grounds. After a while I got the impression that we were on the set of the latest Terminator movie- and this time the android's human guise was that of a terrifyingly efficient tennis machine- the east european ladies. There appeared to be a limitless supply of them.

I'm sure they don't care what I think- what with their youth, globe-trotting lifestyle, and riches probably only equal to that of a British member of parliament.

I can't tell what it is yet

Horse racing last week, and this week tennis. Yesterday was a day out at Wimbledon. I have no idea about tennis, so the only person I recognised was Rolf Harris.

I've never really done caricatures, so please excuse this rather quick and slapdash effort...

Royal Ascot

Day at the races

This week I've sent a new lot of cartoons off on the merry-go-round of the submission trail, so, with no new decent ideas to draw, it was a day off yesterday watching the horse racing, up the road at Royal Ascot.

Simon Cowell was up in the gods in a private box. People saw him and started cheering (such is the state of British society). From his lofty position he waved at the plebs. It was all eerily reminiscent of a political rally in the old Eastern Bloc, as the glorious leader basked in his cult of personality.

Or maybe it was just people having a nice day out- i shouldn't take things so seriously.

Drawing again

Typical- just as the sun comes out I seem to have got the drawing bug back again, so I'm indoors scribbling away. I suppose I could try and convince myself that I'll do the drawing this evening, so I can take advantage of what is no doubt the one day of the British summer- however, I must be disciplined!

I have noticed that my face takes on the expressions of the characters i'm drawing. Thankfully the only witness to this gurning is next door's cat.

If at first you don't succeed...

...then you are probably a cartoonist.
Haven't drawn much new stuff recently- mostly because all the mags I submit to seem to return the rejected gags at the same time. So, it's been a week of trying to work out who hasn't had what gag, and sending them off on their merry way in the slow waltz that is the submission cycle.
Maybe I should explain that a bit more for the uninitiated-
As a gag caroonist you draw your cartoons, and then, when you have 5 or more you send them as a batch to Magazine Number One...you wait for the yay or nay...you hear nothing...you have many self doubts...bills come in...you wait...the post arrives (more pizza flyers)...you wait...and then, eventually, you get the reply from the ed.
Yep, the one you thought was rubbish, and you only sent to make up the numbers, got accepted- but all the other ones (in your mind the ultimate in killer wit and satire) get rejected.
So- you package that lot up again and send to Magazine Number Two...and you wait...etc.
Of course, proper cartoonists will have by now drawn a whole new lot to send to Magazine Number One.
That's if you're a proper cartoonist- I however seem to have watched 'Loose Women' on ITV for 5 days in a row instead.
Ho hum.

If a picture paints a thousand words...

...should it be in colour or black and white?
This cartoon is in the current (as of writing) issue of Prospect magazine- and due to the nature of the setting was originally in monochrome.

The magazine asked if I could colour it in- i had my doubts due to the limited options for colour in a polar scene (and a Newcastle shirt), but my artistic scruples were won over by the higher rates they pay for a splash of colour. In the end I think it came out OK, athough I think the lass has overdone the fake tan

This cartoon also throws up the perennial struggle of the caption- i couldn't decide if my original "Geordies!" would be better.

Of course, this won't make any sense to anyone outside the UK...

A matter of taste

There was a brief discussion on one of the cartoon discussion boards the other day about the etiquette of cartoons- for e.g. should one mock the blind?

I'd forgotten I'd had this one accepted by Reader's Digest(UK)- it's in the current mag.

I think it was inspired after a trip to Kew Gardens- i should point out that their sensory gardens are not like this- they are very nice and soft and cuddly.