Cartoonist's brush strokes give celebrities a makeover

Cartoonist Derek Gray is putting his talents to good use to give celebrities a bit of a makeover at a special '¨exhibition this month.
Cartoonist exhibitionCartoonist exhibition
Cartoonist exhibition

Derek, from Milton of Campsie, is one of five artists from the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio capturing well kent “fizzers” (Glaswegian for faces) such as Elaine C Smith and Andy Murray, in caricature .

The exhibition, ‘Fizzers: 10 Years of Caricature’, opens at Glasgow’s People’s Palace on Wednesday, May 27, and runs until March 2017.

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Elaine and Andy are just two of 120 film stars, musicians, sporting heroes and TV personalities getting the brush strokes.

Others include Adele, Lady Gaga, Bay City Rollers, Rihanna and Bob Dylan, and there will be a special tribute to the late David Bowie.

Derek said: “Sometimes the face suggests an approach and other times it will just be on a personal whim.

“The young and beautiful are generally less interesting to draw.

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“Everyone wants rid of their wrinkles, saggy jowls and baggy eyes but caricaturists want you to keep them.”

As well as showcasing his work at the exhibition, Derek is also in demand for TV adverts and films.

He said: “I’ve storyboarded for the BBC fantasy series Atlantis and before that the most recent version of The 39 Steps, both for the BBC.

“Current TV adverts include the Aldi ads with the British Olympic team, Foxy Bingo, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Celebrity Juice, Boots and the STV news app.”

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Upcoming work includes a horror film called ‘Hush’ and a new six-part Netflix/E4 series called ‘Crazy Face’ which has just started shooting this week, and a ‘Monster High DVD’ due out later this year, animated by the Glasgow-based Axis Animation.

He added: “I also recently drew a few pages of comic strip for training purposes for staff at the Royal Bank of Scotland.”

The exhibition at the People’s Palace is designed to be much more than conventional rows of framed art on the wall.

Studio Co-ordinator Terry Anderson said: “Caricatures are bold and humorous work so visitors shouldn’t expect a straight-laced gallery show.”

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A programme of activities and events inspired by Fizzers will take place alongside the exhibition, including a chance to try your hand at creating a caricature at summer workshops lead by the artists from the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio. Details will be released throughout the run of the exhibition.

The exhibition also offers visitors the opportunity to find out more about the artists and their process.

And people are being urged to share their favourite Fizzers on social media using #fizzers10

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