The second edition in a series that explores and acknowledges
my artistic influences over the years highlighting those that have played a
part in my career, today’s edition Sarah Bailey- caricaturist. I first met
Sarah back in 1994 when I was 14 at the Royal Welsh Show (once an annual family
trip for us) I saw a large crowd of people, curious as to what was going on I
went over to look and there was a woman sitting in a chair drawing caricatures.
I was fascinated to see someone drawing people in seconds and being paid for
it! This was Sarah, I was enthralled by the speed she worked at and how great
the likenesses were. I hung around for a while, trying to pluck up the courage
to introduce myself (contrary to popular belief I’m rather shy) and tell her
how I too was an inspiring cartoonist. I soon ‘latched on’ to her and spent the week standing in the wings and watching her work
not only studying how she captured facial details, the materials she used but
also her wit and her rapport with the public. She was very patient with this 14
year old lad that loomed over her, asking questions – and when the show was
over we kept in touch. After returning home I worked on likenesses and when I
went back to school I used my teachers as test subjects (a great tip for any
budding cartoonist because teachers think you’re taking notes!) and this is an
important point in my career as people’s likenesses continues to be a major
factor in my work. As I left school and
enrolled in art college I continued to write to Sarah who in turn continued to
guide me, also teaching me of the importance of self promotion. During my college
years I worked as a quick fire cartoonist at events and parks and without a
doubt it was Sarah’s practices that I errr... ‘Borrowed’. I’m happy to say that we are still in contact
and she’s still creating quality caricatures in her studio but who is she?
What’s her story?
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| Sarah Bailey- Caricaturist, 1994. |
As previously stated Sarah is a caricaturist that hails from
Coventry who proudly boasts, "Twenty years of caricature and never been
sued!" who has long been into drawing in fact she told me that she wasn’t,
“long out of diapers” when she started and that it was more of a, “compulsion
to draw rather than a simple hobby”. Her
drawing surfaces included standard paper, pavements, walls... anything that
happened to be near her crayon! She became particularly interested in faces and
all the different expressions, angles, beards, glasses + varying permutations
and would spend many a happy hours
doodling people, without them realising in restaurants, shopping
precincts, classrooms (in turn
improving the speed of her drawings,
something that would prove to be vital in her profession) and apparently she would
get into trouble when teachers
discovered that she had in fact been doodling them instead of writing notes on
the Battle of Hastings! She attended a girls school, which was horrible by all
accounts as during her final years the art teacher who had taken a dislike to her did everything she could to undermine her
confidence instead nurturing her talents. Yet despite this she attended Art
College in Nuneaton which proved to be great experience for her because they
had encouraging lecturers there she told me, “ I didn't shine particularly but
I did enjoy learning new skills and trying new mediums including sculpture, photography, pottery,
fashion etc” and once she had acquired a diploma in art she decided to “lay
down my drawing tools to expand the mind a little!” and went on to higher
education, achieving degrees in English ,drama, psychology and media studies. However
the drawing tools didn't lie idle for too long, she found herself doodling her fellow students and
lecturers ( she found it easier to concentrate on a lecture while drawing) “It
was like a nervous tic that I couldn't control, Luckily, my disorder was appreciated by the people
around me”. She did a bit of busking
during the holidays, drawing caricatures in Torquay and Stratford then temped
for a few months to pay off her college debts before setting herself up as a
full time caricaturist in 1990, travelling the country attending the craft
fair/agricultural show circuit, drawing quick caricatures from life and offering
coloured caricatures through the post from photos before hiring herself out as
party entertainment at weddings, barmitzvahs, private parties and corporate
events and she’s never looked back. entertaining guests and providing
them with a unique memento of that occasion.
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| Sarah Bailey- Caricaturist & Arfon Jones- Protégé, 1994. |
When asked about what she remembered about the time we met
back in 1994 she answered, “While I was at a welsh agricultural show I met a
cute young kid named Arfon who stood glued
to my side for 4 days chatting and observing me at work. He was bright
and entertaining + useful -translating the Welsh heckles into English! I saw in
him the same seeds of art enthusiasm that I had had as a youngster- but he had
far more talent!” (Her words not mine!) Either way I thank her, for the kind
words and inspiration, wisdom and guidance over the years. Be sure to check out
her site and see her work for yourself, you can also find her on Facebook and YouTube or better yet hire her for your
event! Tell her Arfon sent you!
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Sarah's portraits of me over the years.
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© Arfon Jones 2018. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.
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