Cheeky cards and cheeky boy

Stuart arrived grinning and with an armful of fresh flowers for me, more fragrant blooms from his garden - delightful pink and red camelias vibrant with spring joyfulness and as I put them in a bowl and found water for them, he was buzzing with excitement. He declined the tea I offered him and looked at me expectantly.....

He'd come to collect his cards now that I'd taken the drawings I'd originally done of him and made them up into the cards he'd asked for. His intention being to take the humour that so appeals to him to make slogans fitting for the intentionally comical  images. He was also delighted to hear that the cards cost less than he expected, so I suspect he'll be asking for another batch to be made up when he's distributed these to his friends!

The two images I've not shown you yet are here, along with the photo I took of him, proudly standing with the first drawing I did of him which I've entitled "Does my bum look big in this".

The first drawing is done to show the silliness of men in long johns. And the fact that the male "bits" have a habit of popping out of the open fly, this was taken to its full advantage  in this image which I've called "Stuart will fall out with anyone".

The second drawing is of Stuart holding a newspaper aloft, with his other hand resting in his lap and has the title of "Stuart holding his favourite organ" - leaving that ambiguous comment to you....

He told me that his friends were already waiting impatiently to see them, and that one friend had asked to see all four of them so that she could "have a good laff" as she put it!!! His eyes twinkled at the thought of the amusement she would have with them. He said that these pictures are exactly what he wanted - they are between a caricature and a proper depiction of him, but for me its the slogans that pull the whole concept together.

I've been delighted to to do them for him, and glad that I was able to bring his ideas to life. And enjoy the fact that his brand of humour can be passed on in this unique  and very personal way.

Stuarts first bum notes

Stuart arrived yesterday full of the joys of Spring and ready to start our first drawing sesssion for this latest project with me. Accompanying him was his usual voluminous bag containing amongst other things, the first of the two props needed for the drawings. But first, time for a cup of tea and general discusssion regarding the placing of the items. It wasn't difficult really - the first one was a hat and there aren't many places to put those.....................LOL

So, the pose decided, the prop decided, the music chosen (Beethovens symphonies 3 and 9 - the latter because I absolutely adore "Ode to joy" and he'd stated he liked "any Beethoven"), so now it's time to draw. He easily took his clothes off as I set up my easel and sharpened my pencils, and again commented that he'd never been naked infront of any woman ever but his wife of 50 years, so I know it was a big thing for him to do, but since it's quite normal for me to see naked bodies I just treated him the same with his clothes off, as I did when they were on which I know made him feel totally at ease.

So, into the pose, wearing the trilby hat he'd brought with him - wearing nothing BUT the hat - standing with his back to me. The title of the pose being "Does my bum look big in this?" which greatly amuses me every time I read it. But then, that was the whole point of what he was aiming at - humour, a bit of naughtiness, and certainly some shock factor. We chatted as I drew and listened to the beautiful music. I usually prefer drawing to raunchy rock but I managed ok with the gentle drawing I was doing, it all fitted together well, somehow.

After a brief break we were ready to do the next drawing, and after some deliberation he decided to do it sitting down, as Stuart wasn't happy standing for another length of time, after standing for the first pose. I'm a quick drawer but he'd still struggled with it a bit so it made sense to make this pose more comfortable for him as I knew it would take a bit longer as it was slightly more complex and there was no point in  making him uncomfortable during it. He'd decided to pose with a musical triangle - partly because he'd played one whilst at school during music lessons, but also because of the joke that was the slogan for this particular drawing - the title being "Stuart - hiding his modesty behind his favourite musical instrument" - and he'd specifically asked that his genitals were framed in the triangle that he was holding. Ok, then, no problem. It meant he had to hold the triangle in a certain position, and I had to sit in a certain position infront of him to get the illusion right, but we did that, and it worked beautifully. To the point that he gasped when he saw the finished drawing, and commented on the frame the triangle made - which made me laugh and retort "But that's what you asked for, and what I've done!" "I know" he said "But I didn't think it would look like THAT!" - but after staring at the picture for a few minutes he stated he was delighted with it, as he also was with the first drawing, so we're well on the way to completing the set for the cards he wants me to make for him.

Designing his own bum notes

One of the joys of drawing someone is that it sometimes leads on to them becoming a friend. They obviously feel that connection, too, and take an interest in what I'm doing and what's new in my life.

Stuart is certainly one of those people and we speak regularly and enjoy the interchange of wordplay and humour. I know he is someone who thoroughly enjoys communicating, as he writes about his extensive knowledge of local history for a local paper and has various friends that he regularly writes to and enjoys the interchange of communication that that entails.

So, when he sent me a letter last week I wasn't surprised to receive it. But other than the news of the recent happenings in his life he also explained that he had an idea for a new set of drawings he wanted to discuss with me. So that was why he popped around this morning, to explain in person.

I was intrigued......

It turns out that he's been thinking .......about designing his own stationery.........well........more like cards really. In the same style of the drawings I did for him a year or so ago. He wants the outside to be blank, but on page three (so to speak, and proably very apt, in this case!!!) for there to be an image......of himself, drawn by me. The image will feature him doing something, but wearing very little in the process. He wants to write his own caption underneath and the slogans may vary depending on his mood, how cheeky he's feeling and how much he wants to be outrageous for the recipient of the card.

We discussed the ideas for the designs, he's got an idea for a set of four of them,  and my favourite was of the back view of him, stark naked except for his socks, with the slogan "Does my bum look big in this?"

The reason for the front of the card to be blank, was for him to write a note for his friend, and then when they open the card they are greeted by his saucy image depicted in pencil, with the suitably saucy comment hand written under it. I think it's a brilliant idea! And will love designing them with him. How very personalised! And fun!!! LOL