We can report that the cartoon exhibition organised by the PCO for this year’s Henley Royal Regatta was a big success.

Many revellers mentioned how much they enjoyed the themed cartoons, which where shown alongside a more traditional display of rowing paintings and prints. Around a third of the cartoons on show were sold.

Clive Goddard, who was instrumental in organising the event, tells us that he hopes the PCO will be able to do the same thing at Henley next year.

The organisation is also hoping to bring themed exhibitions to other key events in next year’s social calendar: perhaps tennis cartoons for Wimbledon, floral cartoons for the Chelsea Flower Show, or music cartoons for the Proms.

If you are involved with an event and think a themed cartoon exhibition would be a great addition, get in touch with the PCO here

Summer is here and our thoughts turn to holidays, so the latest issue of Foghorn, the magazine of the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation, looks at the behaviour of the British abroad. The cover is by the PCO’s Robert Duncan. The magazine is available to subscribers for the annual price of £20 for six full colour issues.

What’s inside?

Roger Penwill on on a travel adventure worthy of Samuel Beckett.
Rupert Besley on the holidays of his youth, when anything foreign was the subject of deep mistrust.
Clive Goddard on America, and how it is really rather big.
Clive Collins on the freelancer’s fear of taking time off.
And you’ll find a full page of cartoons by Andrew Birch.

Plus lots more: the Critic, the Foghorn Guide, the Potting Shed … and several straining suitcases packed with funny cartoons about what we did on our holidays.

You can read older issues of Foghorn online here, right up to our most recent issue.

Read more about lots of magic cartoons – and the people who make them appear.

After several years as the plucky underdog, the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation’s team, this year rebranded as Team Bloghorn, has finally emerged victorious from the annual Battle of the Cartoonists.

Our team came joint first with Private Eye in the Big Draw event in which four teams completed a large banner on the theme of “Now We Are Ten”, celebrating a decade of The Campaign for Drawing. They faced stiff competition from teams from The Sun and The Independent.

A banner year: The Bloghorn team was made up of, left to right, Andy Bunday, Clive Goddard, captain Pete Dredge, holding the cup, who oversaw proceedings, and Nathan Ariss

Work in progress: Clive and Pete get drawing. Click here, to see the full, completed banner

In a post-match interview, Pete told the Bloghorn: “Justice and victory at last for the PCO’s Battle of the Cartoonists’ team, albeit jointly with the Eye (Shurely shome mistake – Ed). What seemed like a clear-cut decision was mysteriously drawn out into a “cheer-off” head-to-head. And even then our clearly louder decibel reading was insufficient for us to be declared outright winners. A big draw indeed!”

Joint winners: The Private Eye team, left to right, Simon Pearsall, Richard Jolley and Ken Pyne, also a PCO member, with MC Andrew Marr, who is a patron of the PCO

But the event is not just about the glory of winning. PCO members Tim Harries, and Cathy Simpson were on hand to run drawing workshops for children and adults at the event, which took place at the Idea Generation gallery in Shoreditch, London.

Drawn to it: Cathy Simpson hosted a workshop for children

The workshoppers were ably assisted by The Surreal McCoy. All photographs here are by Gerard Whyman, who was on hand as the official PCO photographer.

Clive Goddard, Andy Bunday and Nathan Ariss will be representing the PCO in the form of Team Bloghorn at this year’s Big Draw Battle of the Cartoonists challenge on Saturday 12th September, 2-5pm at the Idea Generation Gallery, 11 Chance Street, London E2 7JB (map).

Team Bloghorn is understood to be up against Dave Brown’s Independent and Andy Davey’s The Sun teams with, possibly, Private Eye too.

The Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation previously competed in the Battle of the Cartoonists in 2008 and 2007

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.

Most cartoonists have wondered how they can bypass traditional publication and get their work direct to a paying audience, particularly if they have ever seen rejected drawings and jokes appreciated by the general public.

PCOer Clive Goddard has joined forces with cartoon-merchandise producer Steve Willis to come up with an ingenious solution: a cartoon market stall.

They brushed up on their cheeky stallholder banter and took a spot at Oxford Castle Market this weekend, selling cartoon T-shirts, cards, mugs, key-rings, books, original art and other merchandise. Steve told the Bloghorn: “We certainly felt it was worth continuing. We’ll be at Oxford Castle Market on Saturdays for the foreseeable future.”

The pair are now set to offer free space, for a commission, to a caricaturist sitting adjacent to the stall, as there are always plenty of tourists seeing the sights of Oxford passing by.

Bloghorn wonders how long it can be before we see a cartoon market stall on EastEnders. It would cheer up Albert Square no end.

For the week ending 1st May 2009, we have a Shrewsbury Big Boards Special, a selection of some of the giant cartoons seen at this year’s festival.

One: Steve “Bestie” Best on CO2 emissions

Two: Jacky Fleming’s Mrs Darwin

Three: Kipper Williams looks at a mayfly’s day

Four: Clive Goddard on human resources

Five: Dave Brown’s Frankengordon

Six: Denis Dowland’s not so busy bee

Normal service will be resumed next week.

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The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

Shrewsbury’s venerable Bear Steps Gallery this year houses the Boffination exhibition. The venue is packed to its ancient rafters with high quality jokes on the subject of science and nature which the festival cartoonists will be only too pleased to flog to you for home display.