Feeling the heat at yet another sunny Herne Bay Cartoon Festival
August 9, 2018 in General
You might argue that in this record summer the sun was always going to shine on the 2018 Herne Bay Cartoon Festival. But at the time of writing it is chucking it down with rain, so the festival still seems to be somewhat blessed. Perhaps the gods of weather are all fans of funny and clever live cartooning.
Photos © Kasia Kowalska unless otherwise stated

We’ve arrived: The Herne Bay town crier announces this year’s cartoonists
The cartoonists who took part on Sunday (5 August) were: Nathan Ariss, Andrew Birch, Dave Brown, Des Buckley, Chris Burke, Pete Dredge, Clive Goddard, Alex Hallatt, Tim Harries, Alex Hughes, Kathryn Lamb, Glenn Marshall, Lou McKeever, Rob Murray, Royston Robertson, Martin Rowson, Cathy Simpson, Rich Skipworth, The Surreal McCoy and Steve Way.

Watch this space: Alex Hallatt, visiting from New Zealand, begins. Cartoonists battled the heat to produce 6ft big board and peep board cartoons

Nice day for it: Nathan Ariss at work in his board, left. Martin Rowson’s Brexit board appears to be finished. Photo © Fiona Hayes

Saucy stuff: Clive Goddard and Amy Amani-Goddard paint a board that pays tribute to Donald McGill, king of the seaside postcard

Here’s looking at you: Caricatures are always popular, with neverending queues. Alex Hughes and the team worked tirelessly. Photo © Gerard Whyman

Cathy Simpson and Pete Dredge caricaturing on the stage. It was a little cooler there, which may explain the expression on the face of shorts-wearing Pete

Karol Steele and family, who attend every year, are happy customers once more

Strike a pose: Cartoonists Alex Hallatt, Kathryn Lamb, Cathy Simpson, The Surreal McCoy and Lou “Bluelou” McKeever

Different strokes: Rich Skipworth tackles plastic in the oceans while Kathryn Lamb draws a compilation of gag cartoons on #MeToo and #TimesUp

Snakes on a pier: Andrew Birch adds detail to his Perseus and Medusa peep board. Photo © Gerard Whyman

Cover up: Tim Harries finds the weather a bit much. He is from South Wales

A different picture: Steve Way presents his landscape peep board on the controversial World Cup video assistant referee. Photo © Fiona Hayes

Big draw: The public board, for kids young and old, is also a key part of the festival. This year it was run by Lou McKeever. Photo © Gerard Whyman

Lou brought along her remote control Trump hair, which was a big hit

As usual Glenn Marshall painted a backdrop for his own unique art happening. Photo © Gerard Whyman. Then there was a swift costume change …

… to become Mystic Marshall, reader of minds and fortunes. Possibly

Animal magic: The Surreal McCoy takes a look at some endangered species. Photo © Karol Steele

We two: Royston Robertson’s Judy tells Mr Punch that #TimesUp, while Des Buckley wilts in the heat. Photo right © Gerard Whyman

Canute’s you: Chris Burke’s Sir David Attenborough attempts to hold back the wave of plastic in the oceans

Rob Murray took a collage approach to the same topical theme, sticking plastic bottles to his cartoon. Photo © Gerard Whyman

Pointed satire: Finished board by Guardian political cartoonist Martin Rowson

Bigly board: It wouldn’t be Herne Bay Cartoon Festival without a cartoon from the Independent’s Dave Brown

What goes round: As has become traditional, the day ended with a carousel ride. Left to right, big kids Nathan Ariss, Steve Way and Des Buckley
You can see more by visiting @HBCartoonFest on Twitter or Facebook.com/ HBCartoonFest.
Herne Bay Cartoon Festival is sponsored by the Professional Cartoonists Organisation and supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
by Glenn Marshall
Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival photo album
May 6, 2019 in Comment, Events, General, News
The ‘Plan B’ Shrewsbury Square. Photo © Tat Effby.
Glenn Marshall & Jonathan Cusick write:
With Storm Hannah due to roll in threatening rain and high winds the marquee company wouldn’t put up the festival’s gazebo roofing. Fear of airborne ‘para-boarding’ cartoonists made the festival organisers hastily arrange a Plan B for Saturday, which involved us decamping to the local Darwin Shopping Centre (every third business in Shrewsbury seems to contain the word Darwin)
A distant Steve Bell in front of a crowded audience. Photo © Jonathan Cusick.
Before that, on Friday evening Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell returned to the festival and spoke to a packed and enthusiastic crowd at the University Centre. Surveying his use of animals throughout his career, he picked out highlights including the penguin from his ‘If’ strip and ended with a few live drawings including his toilet-headed Trump. After twenty minutes of audience questions he signed copies of his latest book. A real treat for cartoon fans and definitely one of the highlights of the festival.
Saturday morning at John Cusick’s cartoon animal drawing workshop using exhibits from the Shrewsbury Museum collection. Photo © Jonathan Cusick.
Zoom Rockman cartoons stripped bare teaching how to draw his Skanky Pigeon character. Photo © Kate Lennard.
There were also well attended indoor talks by The Surreal McCoy and TWO by Clive Goddard (above) nothing to do with folk wanting to get out of the bad weather. Photo © Alison Patrick.
Meanwhile in the basement level of Darwin Shopping Centre dry and warm cartoonists began creating. Here Shrewsbury based cartoonist Tat Effby took to the big boards like a duck to water. Photo © Clive Goddard.
Luke Crump with one of his incredible ‘doodle style’ creations. Photo © Clive Goddard.
The Surreal McCoy hot-footed over from her ‘Wolf of Baghdad’ talk to fit in a board before hot-footing off again to join the ‘festival music ensemble’. Photo © Clive Goddard.
Jeremy Banx and Noel Ford mid-boards. Photo © Tat Effby.
Tim Harries & Rich Skipworth colouring in. Photos © Tat Effby.
John Landers’ snakes on a plain surface. Photo © Clive Goddard.
Pete Dredge caricaturing Pa Marshall plus Jonathan Cusick really going with the animal theme. Photo © Tat Effby.
The 30 second rehearsal before the launch of The Shrewsbury Cartoon Players and Puppeteers inaugural performance of ‘The Animals Went In Two By Two’. Photo © Tat Effby. The Noah’s Ark was ironically moved indoors even though it would’ve been perfectly suited to the biblical weather conditions.
Royston Robertson featuring in the festival write-up in the Shropshire Star.
The festival produced a book of the ‘Drawn To Be Wild’ exhibition cartoons which is still available here price £9.95 + postage.
Thanks to all the organisers and sponsors for another successful festival that went down a storm.
Tags: Banx, Big boards, cartoon festival, cartoons, Clive Goddard, festival, Glenn Marshall, Jeremy Banx, John Landers, Jonathan Cusick, Luke Crump, Noel Ford, Pete Dredge, Rich Skipworth, Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival, Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival 2019, Shropshire, Shropshire Star, Steve Bell, Tat Effby, The Surreal McCoy, Tim Harries, Wolf of Baghdad, Zoom Rockman 1 Comment »