Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 17th April 2009.

One: Zapiro in South Africa’s Mail and Guardian on Nelson Mandela’s shoes.

Two: Pete Dredge in the Spectator on smoking confessions.

Three: and finally, Harry Venning’s Clare in the Community in the Guardian on youth slang.

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The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

PCOer John Jensen watches a conversation with Posy Simmonds and Steve Bell and finds them to be cartoon chalk and cheese

Posy Simmonds and Steve Bell, both satirists but so different from each other and both so good, were brought together at Kings Place, London; the Guardian’s new glass and glister home.

Posy Simmonds at work, with not a computer to be seen

On stage in front of a full house in a modern theatre there was some amiable bumbling about. Drawings were not easily found, one was left at home. Posy leaning down to scrape sketches and sketchbooks from the floor. It was all comfortingly, mythically English.

Informally chaired by the Guardian art critic William Feaver, the event brought forth snippets of interest: Steve, for example, claimed he can’t invent characters. He must caricature, and fortunately politicians just present themselves. How does he do it? He Googles a lot, takes photos at party conferences, and of anything of interest anywhere, and the whole lot is piped onto CDs: “I’ll show you my family snaps if you like.”

Posy does invent. Brilliantly, of course. No caricatures. She is meticulous and possesses the sharpest eye for detail and ear for dialogue of any living person. Posy is like one of the nurses she sometimes draws in her strips, smiling and saying, “This won’t hurt a bit”, as the needle slips in deep. Her patients awake stunned to find a whole landscape peopled with characters of the artist’s imagination but who remind us of everybody we have ever met and more than a few we would cross the road to avoid.

Excerpt from Tamara Drewe © Posy Simmonds

She uses no computer. Reference material is is stored in Posy’s retentive memory but, as back up, much is filed away. Posy treasures many clothing catalogues so that if shoes from, say, the 70s are wanted they can be found with a simple indoor search. (Just great if you have the space.)

A miniaturist in drawing production, Steve thrashes and whacks about in his same-size-as-printed space using a sharp pen as the bluntest of instruments. His strip “If …” is drawn in the morning and “the Big One”, his political cartoon, during the afternoon.

Guardian Comment cartoon © Steve Bell

He claimed that that day’s deadline [the event was last Monday, April 6] was 7.30pm and he started work on his big political only by 6.30pm. That was pushing it a bit and I suspect is not entirely typical. However, it may help explain the occasional uneven nature of his work. When inspiration flags (not often) it shows, but when (usually) he is on form you can hear the cries of pain all the way from Whitehall. Posy’s work is leisurely, lucky woman, and probably timeless.

Steve’s voice, unsurprisingly, is resonant – good timbre – particularly when giving a maniacal cackle at something which amuses him. Posy, is quiet even when speaking but is also crystal clear. She is slim, was dressed smartly in a black trouser suit, as cool as you please. Red shoes. I don’t remember the colour of Steve’s shoes but his belly is potting nicely,
thank you.

Two great talents together on top of their form on one fine evening. The Guardian’s Kings Place entrance currently sports an exhibition of Posy’s drawings and strips. Go!

Link: Posy Simmonds speaks about Tamara Drewe

Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 3rd April 2009.

One: Adam Singleton in The Spectator on another exclusive for Jade Goody.

Two: Viz comic contributes to the bankers bonuses debate in Sir Fred Goodwin the Fat Cat (web preview).

Three: Something a little different: Patrick Blower in the Guardian draws some cartoon reportage of the G20 Protests.

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
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An exhibition of political and satirical cartoons goes on display at Bath Central Library from this Wednesday (April 1).

Many of the 50 or so cartoons are rare and will not have been seen before. They include caricatures of Bath during its Georgian heyday by Thomas Rowlandson (creator of Bath Races, above, from 1810) images from Christopher Anstey’s 1766 New Bath Guide and modern cartoons which satirise some of the city’s current woes.

The show, which runs until April 12, has been organised in partnership with the organisation Bath in Time and the Bath Comedy Festival.

It takes place at Bath Library, The Podium, Northgate Street, Bath BA1 5AN. Opening times are: Monday 9.30am – 6pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9.30am – 7pm; Friday and Saturday 9.30am – 5pm; Sunday 1 – 4pm. (Closed Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday.)

Prints will be available to buy from the library. Many images are from the Bath In Time archive which can be viewed at www.bathintime.co.uk

More exhibition news:

An exhibition of Posy Simmonds’ original artwork from the 1970s to the 1990s will be held at the new offices of Guardian News & Media, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London. It will run from this Friday (April 3) until June 4. The gallery is open daily from 10am – 6 pm and admission is free.

And…in later news despatches…

Cartoonists Kate Charlesworth & David Shenton exhibit ‘Drawn Out & Painted Pink’ at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art (GoMA) from April 9th – June 7th 2009 Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow 0141 229 1996. Opening Times: Please check Gallery of Modern Art, current at time of posting: Mon – Sat 10am – 5pm; Sun 11am – 5pm

The nominations for the Press Gazette’s British Press Awards have been announced. The event takes place on Tuesday 31 March. There are seven people in the running for Cartoonist of the Year, and they are as follows:

Steve Bell, The Guardian
Dave Brown, The Independent
Michael Heath, The Mail on Sunday
Stan “Mac” McMurtry, Daily Mail
Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph
Chris Riddell, The Observer
Peter Schrank, The Independent on Sunday

The British Press Awards have been running for more than 30 years. This year’s ceremony is being held at the Grosvenor Hotel and will be hosted by Channel 4’s Jon Snow.

Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 27th February 2009.

One: Peter Brookes in The Times on Mandelson’s delusions of grandeur

Two: Kipper Williams in The Guardian on more plunging shares

Three: P.C. Vey in Readers Digest (US) on troubled time for bankers, one of 10 Ways to Laugh at the Recession

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Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 20th February 2009.

One: Fran Orford in Private Eye on paying top whack

Two: Paul Thomas in the Express on job security

Three: and Steve Bell in the Guardian on that underwater bonk.

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According to Perpetua, a Ronald Searle blog, there may be an original Ronald Searle St. Trinians illustration for sale on eBay. Admittedly, there is a lack of provenance, and the buyer freely admits it may be merely ‘attributed to Ronald Searle’ or even just ‘after Ronald Searle’. Even with a lack of proof that it’s not a fake, it’s already reached over £300 on the auction website.

In other news, according to the Hollywood Reporter website, there appear to be plans afoot to make an animated feature of Posy Simmonds‘ Tamara Drewe graphic novel, originally serialised in the Guardian newspaper. Details are sketchy at this stage, but it looks like the BBC have commissioned Ruby Films to produce the feature supported by the UK Film Council. There will be more details on Bloghorn as soon as we hear about it.

The reader’s editor at The Guardian news organisation writes in response to critical correspondence about some of cartoonist Steve Bell’s editorial cartoons.

We spotted this great work this week …

One: Kal in The Economist on Obama’s hand of friendship to Iran

Two: Peter Schrank in The Independent on Supergordon and the IMF

Three: Martin Rowson in The Guardian on the BBC and the DEC

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
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