Posts from — June 2009

Dave Brown’s take on William Blake’s Newton

Dave Brown’s new exhibition, Rogues’ Gallery: More Misused Masterpieces, is at the Political Cartoon Gallery in London from tomorrow (June 17) until September 19.

It is the second Rogues’ Gallery show and sees Dave Brown once again channelling the spirits of the Old Masters as they guide his paintbrush across the broad canvas of 21st century politics.

A book will accompany the show, which collects 76 images from the long-running series, seen weekly in The Independent.

The Political Cartoon Gallery, at 32 Store Street, London, is open Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11.30am – 5.30pm.

No39. published in June 2009 – cover artwork this month is by Steve Bell.

The Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation of the UK publishes the Foghorn six times a year and you may subscribe to a glossy, printed version for a mere £30 by contacting us at this mail link here.

You can download a recent issue as a pdf file to see what it’s all about from here. Please add anything you want to share about what you find in the comments underneath this post.

Margaret Thatcher caricatured by Charles Griffin

The Cartoon Museum in London has a series of talks coming up by Kenneth Baker, John Minnion and Steve Bell, to tie-in with the exhibition Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!

Margaret Thatcher – A Unique Phenomenon takes place on Tuesday 16th June, 6.30pm – 7.30pm. From 1985 to 1990 Kenneth Baker was a minister in Margaret Thatcher’s administrations. He is a collector and writer on cartoons and co-curator of the exhibition.

Where There is Discord: The Mrs Thatcher Show is on Tuesday 23rd June, 6.30pm – 7.30pm. John Minnion, caricaturist for the New Statesman, has put together a presentation using caricatures and music to tell the story of the Thatcher years.

Maggie – the Monster from the Blue Lagoon? takes place on Wednesday 1st July, 7pm – 8pm. Steve Bell began drawing Margaret Thatcher in “Maggie’s Farm” and later in “If…”. He has been the chief political cartoonist on The Guardian since 1990. He talks about his three decades of drawing Margaret Thatcher.

Admission prices: Adults £5, Conc £4, Friends of the Museum £3.50. Booking is essential, call 020-7580 8155. The exhibition runs until July 26. The Cartoon Museum, at 35 Little Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London is open Tuesday-Saturday 10.30am to 5.30pm and Sundays 12pm to 5.30pm.

Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 12th June 2009.

One: Dan Wasserman in the Boston Globe on job cuts at his own paper

Two: Nick Newman in Private Eye: on the latest resignation.

Three: and Morten Morland of The Times on the travails of PM Gordon Brown.

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
Subscribe to The Foghorn – our print cartoon magazine

The Bloghorn’s artist of the Month for June is Kate Scurfield. We asked her what made her become a cartoonist.

Realising that winding up the staff at school by caricaturing them was highly entertaining, though counterproductive at exam time. They finally bribed me with a prize to stop harassing them. I like cartoons over other forms of art because you can’t cheat by transposing photos as so many artists do.

And how does Kate create her cartoons?

Almost always soft lead & watercolour/Tria pens and colour enhanced in Photoshop if necessary.

The Guardian recently ran this piece on a series of political caricatures of the candidates in the upcoming Iranian presidential elections. The cartoons are (unsurprisingly) anonymous, and are being distributed virally by email and blogs.

Earlier political events in Iran have been covered in cartoon form by Marjane Satrapi in her graphic novel (and later movie) Persepolis. More Bloghorn coverage of Persepolis can be found here.

PCOer Royston Robertson writes:

Anthony Browne has been appointed as the new Children’s Laureate, a post awarded every two years to a children’s writer to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. Here’s the story, with accompanying video clip, on the BBC website.

As a cartoonist, I was pleased by this appointment because Browne, like Quentin Blake, who was the first Children’s Laureate in 1999, illustrates his books as well as writing them. But as a dad, I was even more chuffed, because in our house we love Browne’s books, such as Gorilla and Zoo. He’s one of the country’s best children’s illustrators, his images packed with hidden jokes that you often only see on rereading (did you spot the world map above?)

Just as significantly as the books, Browne has given us “The Shape Game”, which we found out about via the book of the same name, and which he talks about in the BBC clip. The game, which has got us through many a long train journey, involves one person drawing a random shape and the second player using their imagination to turn it into something else, be it an animal, object or whatever flight of fancy you can come up with. It’s incredibly simple, but very rewarding.

Helping mammon soften his image, by Stephen Collins

The Prospect magazine blog continues its Cartoonist of the Month series by firing questions at PCOer Alex Matthews. You can also read interviews on the bog with Nick Downes and Clive Goddard.

Meanwhile, the magazine has also announced a new regular cartoon strip, excerpt above, drawn by Times cartoonist and Cartoon Art Trust award winner Stephen Collins.

Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 5th June 2009.

One: Matt from the Daily Telegraph on Gordon in isolation.

Two: Mick Stevens in the New Yorker on modern publishing.

Three: and finally, Mac in the Daily Mail on picking the new cabinet- “Mrs Perkins. How would you like to be Home Secretary?”

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
Subscribe to The Foghorn – our print cartoon magazine

Bloghorn’s Artist of the Month for June is Kate Scurfield. Kate is well-known for her cartoons on equestrianism, her work can be seen in Polo Times, Horse & Hound, Horse & Rider, Equestrian Trade news and Veterinary Nurses Journal.

She has numerous veterinary Practice and corporate clients which include:- Guards Polo Club, Hurlingham Polo Association, Ascot Racecourse, Ascot Brewery, ValdeVie Polo – Western Cape, Sussex Polo and AdLoos. She has published three ranges of greeting cards for Grays of Shenstone and limited edition personalised greeting cards for The Spinal Injuries Association.

She does live caricaturing at equestrianism events, and is busy expanding her range beyond this to include political satire, TV and sporting celebrities.