Bryn
I have been cartooning full time since 1985 when I decided to leave the army and turn my hobby into a new career. I had no formal training but always enjoyed drawing and was asked to paint a picture that was used as my Regimental Christmas Card in 1983. That was followed by several pictures for the Australian army which were well received and led me to think that I might be able to try painting full time. I resigned my commission in the Royal Green Jackets and came home from teaching jungle warfare in Queensland to a very uncertain future.
Initially, Emma and I set up a small picture framing business in Wiltshire and I began to obtain caricature commissions. The first one was from my former Regiment but it was not long before I had work from Lloyds of London and had produced a cartoon of David Gower, then the captain of the England cricket team.
In 1989 we came up with the idea of the cartoon frame, a high quality walnut frame with cartoons printed on the mount and for the next ten years we developed the range of products. Our frames and clocks were sold through shops all over the world from Hong Kong to California and we even supplied the White House in 1993.
Towards the end of the Nineties I changed the emphasis of the business from frames to other products with more 'cartoony' designs and in 2000 my first book, 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' was published by Swan Hill Press and became a best selling country sports book. Since then it has been followed with seven more books with the latest, Dog Training with Mr Perks was successfully launched on 28th July.
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