Jonathan Cusick, Pete Dredge, John Roberts and Helen Pointer ‘drawing the crowds’.
Rupert Besley writes:
The sun shone on the righteous – and on the cartoonists in Shrewsbury. It was a bumper gathering in the town this last weekend, with visitors and participants drawn from far and wide. Few more so than festival regular Dean Alston from Down Under, whose ace Big Board, along with a Noel Ford classic, was among the first things to greet arrivals in The Square. Close by worked guest cartoonists from the States, Maria Scrivan and Ken Krimstein, while further input to the international flavour of the day came from the strong deputation of Belgians, all involved in the European Cartoon Centre at Kruishoutem near Ghent.
Big boards by Australia’s Dean Alston and the UK’s Noel Ford.
US cartoonists Maria Scrivan and Ken Krimstein with their big boards.
Cartoon by Nikola Hendrickx from Belgium and Nikola in action.
The private view of the ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ exhibition at The Bear Steps Gallery.
This was the 15th Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival and the theme of Transport was a fertile and perfect choice. The galleries (Bear Steps, Theatre Severn & V.A.N, plus Wendy Shea exhibition at Participate) gave proof, if ever needed, of what can be done from kicking around a good subject and, back in The Square, heads spun towards the reassuring sight of Air Flight Marshall at the check-in desk for budget airline Icarus Air.
The GORGEOUS Glenn Marshall at the Icarus Air check-in desk.
Roger Penwill fronts the Drawma while Noel Ford, Wilbur Dawbarn and Royston Robertson take to the boards accompanied by The Surreal Accordionist.
You can count on Shrews for good live music from beneath the Market Hall and so it proved throughout. Mid-afternoon came the Drawma, with mellow accordion softening the oohs and aarrghs of those there for quick-drawn gags and terrible puns.
Caricaturists Alex Hughes suitably in tropical attire for the unseasonal heatwave.
Elsewhere in The Square, the line-up of top caricaturists was kept hard at it all day (Hughes, Roberts, Pointer, Cusick, Leatherbarrow, Dredge & Ryder, with Christelle Jones at Bear Steps). Meanwhile, other Big Boards got filled by the likes of (with apologies to anyone inadvertently missed) Clive & Amy Goddard, Steve Best, Royston Robertson, Wil Dawbarn, Ross Thomson, Ger Whyman, Hunt Emerson, Rich Skipworth, John Landers, The Surreal McCoy, Jeremy Banx, Roger Penwill, Nikola Hendrickx & present writer, not forgetting fine graphic contributions too from Zoom Rockman and Patrick Holden.
PCO Chair-human Clive Goddard with PCO’s Treasurer-human Amy Amani-Goddard.
Steve Best applying blue.
Maria Scrivan ‘likes’ Royston Robertson’s twitter cartoon.
Gerard Whyman hogs some limelight.
The top of Rich Skipworth.
The Surreal McCoy and her surreal cartoon.
Jeremy Banx creates Noah’s limo.
Semi-big boards by John Landers and Roger Penwill.
Ross Thomson & Hunt Emerson drawing and colouring in.
Dean Alston and Wilbur Dawbarn doing some more drawing and colouring in.
Rupert Besley on a familiar scene from a cartoonists daily life.
Zoom of Crouch End draws Clive of India.
Helen Pointer’s ‘Introduction to Caricature’ workshop.
The cartoon workshops are an important part of the festival – this year tackling caricature, movement in drawings, an automobile barn dance plus Stop Motion animation (Barry the Shrew) and some fun paper planes (from Biggles Rudling). Festival patrons Alex Lester and Martin Wainwright came up trumps in their support of the Festival, the former using his radio interview skills to host the panel of cartoonists in conversation at the Wightman Theatre on the Friday evening. The latter was able to apply some of his editing experience to the list of rules drawn up for the Air Cartooning contest that rounded off the following evening. And, on the Sunday morning, while bikers gathered in their droves on the outskirts of the town, festival participants were treated to a fascinating tour of Historic Shrewsbury.
Rupert Besley wins the inaugural ‘Air Cartooning’ Cartoon Off ® Noel Ford
Thanks and full credit to all responsible, beginning with organisers Sarah Knapp, Bill McCabe, Tim King, Roger Penwill, Noel Ford, and Jonathan Cusick, along with all the volunteer helpers, and not forgetting the many participants (including visitors) who made the whole thing so successful.
Thanks also to Mika Schick for the excellent photographs.
More detail on the festival: Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival
Latest Blog
by Glenn Marshall
PCO Cartoon Review of 2018
January 2, 2019 in Comment, General, News
Cartoon © Steve Bright
As is tradition, here is our review of the year featuring cartoons by PCO members and when I say tradition I mean we did it for the first time last year.
The Brighty cartoon above was done to introduce last year but is sadly still very true for the end of 2018.
If you can’t bear any more mentions of Brexit or Trump you’re advised to look away now!
Cartoon © Dave Brown
After the terrible Florida school shootings towards the beginning of the year Trump’s well considered proposal was to arm teachers. This was Dave Brown’s response in his ‘Rogue’s Gallery’ drawing for The Independent.
Cartoon © Mike Turner
Salisbury received a tourism boost in March when visited by two Russian holiday makers. Here’s a cartoon of Mike Turner’s on the Novichok nightmare.
Cartoon © Graeme Bandeira
March also saw the relativity sad news of Stephen Hawking’s death. Graeme Bandeira paid cartoon tribute to him in The Yorkshire Post. Our quarks are with Stephen’s family.
Cartoon © Sarah Boyce
In April the Home Office become Rudd-erless after the Windrush scandal erupted. This by Sarah Boyce published in Private Eye.
Cartoon © Nathan Ariss
Nathan Ariss had signalled Amber Rudd’s departure in Private Eye too.
Cartoon © Steve Bell
In June we had the start of the Donald/Kim love-in as they met in Singapore. That moment captured here by Steve Bell in The Guardian.
Cartoon © Martin Rowson
Then in July The Donald asked his administration to invite his other love interest Vlad Putin to the White House. The moment foretold here by Martin Rowson also in The Guardian. Of course the person Trump loves more than anyone else is Trump himself.
Cartoon © Steve Jones
The nation went into shock in July when England actually preformed well AND won a penalty shoot out in the World Cup!!! This was a favourite football tournament themed cartoon by Jonesy (used in Private Eye).
Cartoon © Tat Effby
There’s been much in the news this year about climate change and plastic in the oceans. Here’s a fine cartoon I’ve recycled on the subject by Tat Effby.
Cartoon © The Surreal McCoy
The Surreal McCoy also took to the oceans with this message on #MeToo.
Cartoon © Kipper Williams
In August Theresa May started thinking of life after being PM when she put in a ‘Strictly’ application by throwing some shapes, mostly Isosceles triangles, on her tour to South Africa. This from Kipper Williams in The Spectator.
Cartoon © Jeremy Banx
In September the Dancing Queen announced at the party conference in Birmingham plans for the ‘Festival of Brexit’. This Jeremy Banx cartoon in the Finacial Times became very popular on social media.
Cartoon © Royston Robertson
On the subject of Brexit, and it’s very difficult to get OFF the subject of Brexit, here’s a fine cartoon by Royston Robertson from The New European.
Cartoon © Andy Davey
…and there’s more. Andy Davey’s finely woven tapestry on the Brexit battle within the Conservative party. (Daily Telegpah)
Cartoon © Rob Murray
This Rob Murray Private Eye cartoon perfectly sums up our nation divided.
Cartoon © Wilbur Dawbarn
It’s not only the UK that’s been in turmoil, across in France they’ve had gilets jaunes fever. This Gauling cartoon by Wilbur Dawbarn.
As the year ended Trump closes down the US government to try and force through funding for his election promise to ‘Build A Hamster Wheel’. This just in from our correspondent Clive Goddard.
Illustration © Rebecca Hendin
This illustration by Rebecca Hendin has NOTHING to do with the year (it was drawn for the BBC Culture series ‘Stories That Shaped The World’) but I think it sums up 2018 perfectly…a sort of contemporary Edvard Munchian existential scream.
Cartoon © Brian Adcock
…and in The Guardian new PCO member Brian Adcock digs out his crystal ball to predict what might happen in 2019…yep, more of the same.
Happy? New Year from the PCO
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