Tim Quinn Cartoon Workshop, PETWORTH FESTIVAL
Leconfield Hall somehow survived a creature invasion Sunday afternoon as dozens of banana-men, stick figures, giants and giant-killers, plus a flotilla of dinghies, suddenly appeared – all on the drawing pads of nearly 20 children and a handful of adults as they – no, we all – responded to the coaxings and inspiration of Marvels Comics illustrator Tim.
He revealed that his basic technical artistry behind brilliantly stylised US-based comic strip heroes such as Spider-Man and X-Men was learnt in the knockabout world of British cult characters such as The Beano’s Bash Street Gang during an early stint at D.C.Thomson’s “fun factory” at Dundee, but admiitedly he’d shown early promise as a two-year-old Liverpool lad by transforming his egg drawing into a hedgehog.
“Everything is easy to draw if you look at it in the right way. Keep practising,” he told the workshoppers as their imaginations and pencils rose to the challenges, including a 60-second outline of the speaker, as ready with humour and enthusiasm as with arty advice.Terry Timblick