Portrait of Dai Vernon

Portrait of Romany, Diva of Magic

Being Awkward About Exhibitions

The Youtube videos of my pen sketches of magicians and the few details about the exhibition to feature them has led to my receiving various communications, most frequently involving four types; therefore, I thought it best to address them here.

The first is from the people being very kind and paying me compliments about my art. I have tried to answer the emails of as many of you as I can but the point has been reached where all I can sensibly do is say thank you to everyone by using this blog and apologise for not being able to directly contact all of you.

The second is that many people have asked if they can buy some of the portraits featured in the Youtube videos. The answer is a polite no; they have been commissioned and therefore unavailable.

The third is regarding those asking to host an exhibition of my work. These inquiries have been of the kind where someone wishes to host an exhibition of my work on the premise that I only receive any form of payment if any of the artwork sells. The answer to all and any inquiries of that sort is a polite no. My artwork for others is done on a commissioned basis only. I am commissioned to do a project, I complete the project and I get paid. Whether or not someone exhibits the final project is up to them. I will not be involved by that stage. That is what is happening with the Magicians project. I will not be attending any of the venues of the exhibition. Should a client make a profit in selling any of the artwork commissioned then that is fine with me; that is what happens in the art world anyway. (Anyone wishing to commission art work is welcome to contact me but I advise them to be sitting down when they hear the price.)

My reasons for working this way are many but here is one of them which is self-explanatory. Take a look at this picture:

It is a study in pencil of a bronze by Rodin. This was one of thirty such studies of sculptures by Rodin. Note the word ‘was’. I have three left; the other twenty-seven were stolen in an exhibition. Or so I was told by the person hosting the exhibition. It was the only time I said yes to a gallery that exhibits art with a view to selling it on behalf of the artist. After much effort, I made no profit and lost twenty-seven items of financial value. It will remain the only time that I have said yes to a gallery that exhibits art with a view to selling it on behalf of the artist.

Now we move on to the crackpots, the conspiracy theorists, etc. It has reached the stage that I delete all emails and messages of this type without reading them. For those of you wondering what sort of lunacy these emails contain, I can say that the small number that I read when I first started to receive them were of a very imbecilic nature. The subsequent ones that followed were no different. It is very sad that some people have gone to the trouble to learn to read and write and yet have not bothered to learn to think, making the whole process a waste of time.

I hope that covers most people’s inquiries. Sane and sensible people are still welcome to contact me. I cannot guarantee a reply but will try my best in most cases.

Sketch of John Archer

Sketch of Teller

Sketch of Penn Jillette

I might not film many more of these portraits being drawn. Setting up the camera and the fact that the camera is in the way as I draw are slowly me down somewhat. Therefore, I might simply get on with drawing and painting the remaining portraits without the nuisance of filming them. I am about half way through the agreed list and I want to get ahead of schedule so I can get on with editing projects that are in danger of being neglected. I have not fully decided yet.

I have received an email regarding the client's original idea that the videos would be played at an exhibition when the portraits were on display. Although the client is keen, the management of the venues are not. If no venues are interested then I will not bother with any more of these type of videos and just get on with completing the project.

Chris Cross

Amongst all the digital hither and thither of social network sites on the internet, magician Chris Cross and I have exchanged the occasional message. This week I experienced the 'instant messaging' of Facebook when Chris contacted me about my portraits of magicians. He was interested in one of himself as a bonus feature for a DVD. A gentlemen's agreement was arrived at and here is the result. It is not in the same style as the other videos because it is not part of the same project.

For those techies who want to know the how of it, I simply used a scanner to produce digital images as I progressed through the drawing. These were then edited together to create the video. The process is an annoying one because I have to continually interrupt the drawing process; my level of concentration involves starting and not stopping until the picture is finished. Another setback is alignment of images. I was lucky in this video in that it was not too bad. One setback, despite the high resolution of the scanner, was the fading of colour. I marked out Chris' hair as brown and his tie as yellow. His hair appears red in the video and the tie is barely visible until redone near the end of the video.

I do not know the details of when the video will be available on Chris' DVD so keep an eye on his website http://www.chris-cross.co.uk/ for its availability. Also, Chris is on tour in the UK this summer so check his site for details.

Sketch of Tina Lenert

Sketch of James Randi

Sketch of Max Maven

I used natural light when filming this and unfortunately the automatic exposure on the time lapse camera was slow to respond to moments when the sunshine increased. Therefore, the screen goes white several times during the video.

Sketch of Pete Firman

About the Sketches

A number of people on Youtube have asked me about my sketches of magicians. Two questions keep being asked: 'Why Magicians?' and 'Why are some shown in old age?'

There's one answer to both questions. These sketches are for an exhibition which is to be themed. All the sketches are drawn in ink. All the sketches are of magicians that have appeared on British television. Some of the magicians will have two portraits done of their appearance on a 'past' and 'present' basis. Most of the portraits done so far are 'in the present' portraits; the exception is Wayne Dobson whose portrait is a 'in the past' portrait.

One question, only asked by a few people, is 'are reference photos used?' The answer is yes. However, I don't attempt to replicate one photo. I have a small number of photos showing the facial expressions of the person in question, I choose one for the pose and then incorporate whatever 'character' I can see in the facial expressions of all the photos. For example, in the David Berglas portrait, the photos I used showed that he has a 'lazy' eyelid on one eye. Not a flattering detail but if I 'corrected' it in drawing a portrait it would undermine any attempt of presenting a resemblance of Berglas. These things are the 'distinguishing marks' that make each of us recognizable in even the simplest of cartoon drawings. That's where I had a problem with Wayne Dobson's portrait as a young man. His features were very symmetrical and so I had very little to use to increase the individuality of the sketch to highlight that it is Dobson.

Only one person asked me 'why are the sketches being filmed as they are being drawn?' Partly, it's a sort of video diary of the project progressing. Partly, it's for the tentative plan that under each portrait in the exhibition will be a small screen repeatedly showing the portrait being drawn. (Whether the latter will happen I don't know.) And partly, to publicise the project. Not all the videos will appear on Youtube. One has already been held back.

I hope this has been of help. I'm happy to answer any further questions. Please contact me at john.helvin@googlemail.com and replies will be posted here to the most prevalent questions.

Sketch of David Berglas