Praise Indeed!

This is from an email I got from a bride yesterday:
"Thank you so much for your fantastic caricatures of our guests on our wedding day... You were a huge hit...people are still talking about you. at least 2 sets of guests have asked for your contact details to get in touch with you regarding future weddings – No better praise than that! So I hope you will be hearing from them soon. Thank you again for helping to make our day so special."

Aw shucks!

Click for information on my wedding entertainment services.

More Caricatures from the Weekend

As promised here are some more caricatures from the weekend.

Cheap Star Wars Costume

My suggestion for a mate that needs a space costume for a party in hurry. Sometimes I'm so lame I amaze myself.

Skype Etiquette?

I have a little button on my website and blog so that clients can contact me directly using Skype. Click, ring, ring, I'd like to enquire about your caricature prices. But I frequently get contact requests or chats from random people, not just in Ireland, but all over the world. I don't necessarily mind (yet!) but it got me thinking: you'd never just pick up the phone and randomly ring someone from the phone book, would you? And isn't VOIP supposed to be computer-based telephony?
Here's my thinking on it- the whole social networking phenomenon (Bebo, Myspace etc) is so ingrained into the culture of computer usage that applications like Skype fall into that bracket by default. By the same token that you can browse and add friends at random on networking sites, Skype users are doing the same thing. Which begs the question, what is considered proper Skype etiquette? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

The Young Doctors!

A little later than intended, here are some of the caricatures I did of the doctors of the future at the Trinity Medical Ball in the Leopardstown Pavilion last Friday night. It was great craic, the organising committee hid golden tickets under loads of seats, and the winners got a caricature from me! I'll have some of the caricatures from the Gresham Christmas Party (yep, in January!) up later.

Clear, Stat! it's the Trinity Medical Ball!

I'm entertaining the doctors of tomorrow, tonight, in the Leopardstown Pavillion for the Trinity College Medical Ball. Should be fun! I'll be posting the results on Monday. I hope there won't be any future plastic surgeons there, I'd hate for my caricatures to be a bad influence.

On Sunday night I'll be in the Portmarnock Golf Club for a private function. Maybe I should bring my clubs as well as my pens. Why I haven't played golf since...

... the Ryder Cup!

UPDATE: Images from the Trinity Medical Ball can be seen here!

New Shop on Allan Cavanagh Arts

I've just put up a new integrated shop on my website, Allan Cavanagh Arts. It's part of the Amazon Associates programme and all transactions take place through the Amazon website so it's totally secure. I put together the kind of things I'd love other people to read, such as this Calvin and Hobbes box-set (I've been a fan of this strip since I was a kid, and Bill Watterson's art was no small influence in my chosen career). Take a look and let me know what you think!

Stagecraft Ireland for all your juggling needs!

Have to give a plug to me old muckers in Stagecraft Ireland. They've just launched their new website, and provide a range of corporate entertainment and education packages:

"Stagecraft Ireland provide a range of entertainment services for corporate events, night clubs, parties, festivals, childrens' events, etc. We run workshops aimed at fostering teamwork and problem-solving, invaluable for any organisation or circus, dance and percussion which are always great fun for kids.

Stagecraft shows can be theatrical, spectacular, fun, zany, atmospheric, comical, spooky, whatever you need! We design productions to suit all kinds of audiences and ages.

Ultraviolet light shows, interactive walkabout/stilt/unicycle characters, fire performances, cabaret style circus productions, workshops. Guaranteed to impress!"

I worked with these guys frequently last year at the Ryder Cup and the RDS Horse Show and they mesmerised their audiences. Stagecraft Ireland's contact details can be found here.

Calling all Chelsea fans...!

Just a reminder that my artwork is available on a range of t-shirts here. So if you've seen something you like on the website, just let me know and I'll create the product of your choice with the artwork on it. For details of pricing and delivery, just contact me. The above caricature of José Mourinho is particularly fetching, as you can see below:
Drop me a line and let me know what you think!

Don't forget the Wedding Photographer!

As I mentioned previously, many people are using January to catch up on preparations for their weddings (and to anyone who's got engaged this month- congratulations!).
If you're looking for a wedding photographer I can personally recommend Vanessa Jordan. That's her work above, and if you like that you should check out her website here. Vanessa is very friendly and highly professional and many brides have commented on how she puts them at ease from the moment she arrives.
So take a moment to view her portfolio! You can also contact Vanessa on 087 6609 083.

SPAN cartoons and about the Project

I've put all the SPAN cartoons together here. It's a good way of showing what I can do for documenting conferences and meetings.

SPAN (Strategic Planning Action Network - Réseau de Programmation Stratégique Active) is a “North-West Europe” Interreg III B inter-regional cooperation project. Eight partners from four regions in four European Union Member States are involved in SPAN.

The project has an overall budget of EUR 4 million, 60% of which is funded by ERDF, through the Interreg III B Community Initiative.

SPAN aims to develop innovative approaches to strategic planning for the benefit of all the partner regions and test them under actual conditions. The stress is placed on the participation of civil society in the planning of territorial interventions at regional, infra-regional and local levels. The project also aims to shed new light on relations between urban and rural areas, relations which could be put to better use in the future.

Sneak peek at this week's Double Vision...

This week's cartoon is about a very hot topic in Galway at the moment: the exodus of City Council refuse customers to the private firm The City Bin Co. You can read the full article in the Connacht Tribune on Friday, and online the same day in Charlie Adley's Double Vision. The above is my take on it. Ooooo, controversial!

My Generosity Knows No Bounds....

...Well, it's not many people that have their own currency drawn up for their birthday, is it? That's the great thing about caricatures- they make great last minute birthday presents! Considering I only found out it was my friend's birthday about two hours before I saw her, that's not bad going! I thought it looked quite good, despite the rush (and in case you were wondering, she works in a bank).
Oh, and Happy Birthday Karena!

More Conference Cartoons

And just for good measure, here are a few more from the SPAN Conversations hosted by the Southside Partnership in Dublin:


If you would like to make an enquiry about having me at your meeting/conference, contact me here.

SPAN Again!

This is one of the older ones, but it went down especially well- I think many of the delegates at the meeting identified with it!

Wedding Entertainment: 2007 filling fast!

It must be the New Year's resolutions kicking in, but I have been inundated with enquiries for wedding caricatures this month, from my live, on the spot caricatures, to caricatures for the stationary and even my stag and hen t-shirts!

If you have an enquiry you'd like to make, once you've sorted the flowers, hotel, band, guest list, church etc (or even before!) just drop me a line for a prompt reply.

Even More Cartoons from the SPAN Conversations

Here are more cartoons from the recent SPAN Conversations, hosted by the Southside Partnership. The meeting was held in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square.

For further information on how I can help document your conference or meeting, click here.




More soon!

SPAN CONVERSATIONS Project Update

Here are some of the images from the SPAN meetings I posted about earlier. These are from the initial meetings in 2003/2004. My role in these meetings was to capture the themes and issues of the meetings, which were otherwise quite dominated by "Eurospeak"! This cartoons will feed into the reports that the Southside Partnership will draw up for the project's conclusion.





Looking at this last one, I wonder am I the first person to feature cow-pats on an official EU website?!

Moooooooore to follow!

Double Vision is now Live!

Double Vision, the article by Charlie Adley that I illustrate, is now online! We've started a blog, updated every Friday, where you can read the latest musings from Charlie's satirical gland (apparently located three vertebrae down and slightly to the left). The article is published in the Connacht Tribune and City Tribune, and regularly features such local luminaries as Pádraig Conneely and Keith Finnegan (above).
The comments section allows us to interact with our readers in a whole new way, so we look forward to hearing from you!

Smoking Ban

Smoking cartoon t-shirts now available!

UPDATE: If you'd like to help me push this smoking cartoon to the top spot in Google image searches PLEASE CLICK HERE!

This image is one of the most viewed on my website, for some reason. I think many people are looking for ways to stop smoking at this time of year. There are also a few countries that are on the verge of introducing smoking bans. I personally thought the smoking ban was great as I used to work frequently in nightclubs throughout the country as a stilt performer with the lads and lasses in the Grooveyard, and would spend most of Sunday trying to wheeze my way back to health only to do it all over again the next weekend. I've heard from a number of smokers that they've developed the habit of going outside for a smoke in their own homes!

A Certain Nostalgia for College...

Clever, clever video. I believe I was in the fridge.

Sneak peek at this Friday's cartoon...

Yes, my cartoons for Double Vision are pretty obscure, and I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Friday (or Thursday evening if you're a county edition reader!) for the article that puts this in context! The Connacht Tribune now offers a digital downloadable edition of the city and county editions, delivered straight to your computer. It's a great way of keeping in touch with home if you're a Galwegian abroad. Charlie regularly gets emails from as far afield as Australia commenting on Double Vision, so we know the Connacht diaspora can be a homesick lot!

Making Galway a Wireless City

I just met Sean Loewen, who's on a mission to make Galway one big free wireless internet hotspot. Sean is technical director of izone, a company providing wireless access solutions. They are currently giving free hardware to broadband enabled businesses in Galway which in turn allows customers to access the internet while in range. Coffee shops or hairdressers for example might allow customers internet access, at no cost to themselves, using the hardware. I think forward thinking businesses will be quick to latch on to the idea.
If you're interested in finding out more you can contact Sean at 1850 818080 or email sean[at]izone[dot]ie.

Concern Youth Fora

In March I'll be facilitating the Concern Development Education Youth Fora on Child Labour. These are a series of workshops with transition year students from across Ireland. Child Labour is discussed using a variety of media, including drama, art, creative writing and puppetry.
The Fora have been running for the past two years and demand for places has lead to an increase in the number of workshops happening. This year they are taking place in Dublin, Galway, Cork and Wexford throughout March. If you are a student or teacher and would like to find out more, contact Lizzy Noone in Concern on (01) 417 7740 and check out the website www.stopchildlabour.net. I'll have more info when dates are confirmed.

Double Vision from the Connacht Tribune

Here's the latest cartoon from Double Vision, the article by Charlie Adley that I illustrate for the Connacht Tribune. Charlie and I will hopefully be launching a dedicated blog for this soon, and I'll have a link up here for it then. Charlie is wry, dry, and a damn good read of a Friday.

SPAN CONVERSATIONS Project

photo: Dave Keegan

Before Christmas I was asked to record the themes and discussions of the Southside City Partnership's SPAN Conversations meeting in the Stilorgan Park Hotel. This is a European Project run by the Partnership in conjunction with the Geography Department of NUI, Maynooth and looks at identifying key areas of social disadvantage and the causes of them in the Dun Laoighaire/ Rathdown area. To my shame I've only got one cartoon from the meeting (I forgot my camera!) but I have another session with them this month and I'll get them then. This is one followed by work in a similar vein from previous conferences:




And I'll leave you with some images from the meeting:

photo: Dave Keegan

(You can see my work around the room in the background above)

photos: Dave Keegan

More soon!