{"id":1716,"date":"2010-02-19T12:23:27","date_gmt":"2010-02-19T12:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ofah.net\/blog\/?p=1716"},"modified":"2019-09-14T14:55:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-14T13:55:21","slug":"a-gce-in-art-rodney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofah.net\/blog\/a-gce-in-art-rodney\/","title":{"rendered":"A GCE in Art Rodney?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Certainly Steve Lilly has more than a GCE when it comes to art. \u00a0The talented artist has provided many meticulous drawings over the years around the comedy theme. We asked him to describe the process and tell us how he goes about such intricate work.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Rodney<\/a>

Rodney Trotter Portrait<\/p><\/div>\n

I have taken inspiration from the classic comedy shows I grew up on. Even when I\u00a0had<\/em> grown up I couldn\u2019t go to the pub on a Saturday night until Only Fools and Horses<\/a> had been on the tele, it used to be the TV highlight of the week. The characters created by John Sullivan were fantastic to draw as they were already etched into my brain from years of exposure. I could hear catch-phrases and one-liners in my head all the time I was working.<\/p>\n

My first encounter with comedy portraits came when I was commissioned to create a portrait for a caf\u00e9 in Derbyshire. Both of the new owners were mad fans of Dad\u2019s Army and the caf\u00e9 happened to be named Godfrey\u2019s. They kept the name as Godfrey\u2019s and one of their close friends commissioned a portrait of Godfrey and the rest of the Dad\u2019s Army cast as a caf\u00e9 warming present. I enjoyed the job so much I was hooked and began to create a whole series of portraits under the working title of \u201cComedy Classics\u201d. Each portrait is a labour of love and I can take up to 100 hours or more to complete some of the bigger pieces.<\/p>\n

Over the years I have refined my style and now have a set way of working. I use a pretty long winded method to collect my reference material. I watch DVD\u2019s and freeze frame stills on my computer when I get poses or expressions that are relevant to each character. I might take hundreds of images in this way then gradually whittle them down until I get a manageable number of workable images (this method is also a fantastic excuse to re-watch my DVD collection). I then create a number of thumbnail sketches to get the composition for the portrait right. I try to ensure there are not too many dark tones next to each other and it is important to get the expressions of the characters in the right place on the paper. Once I have a composition I am happy with the fun really begins.<\/p>

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