Drawing: Nicole Car in Carmen

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Nicole Car

“It’s every opera singers dream of singing at Covent Garden,” said the hotly-tipped Australian Nicole Car when she arrived in London and made her Royal Opera House debut late last year in two high-profile roles, playing Micaela in Bizet’s Spanish tragedy CARMEN and the lead, Tatyana in EUGENE ONEGIN.

Her response to performing on to the iconic stage for the first time? “Kind of cool.” An understatement that belied the rave reviews. Nicole never reads reviews during the run, but she could tell by the sustained applause on opening night that she was more than cool. George Hall in his Guardian review of her portrayal of ‘opera’s good girl’ Micaela wrote, “Australian debutant Nicole Car was the evening’s most complete performance… her luminous soprano proves ideal for Bizet’s soaring lines and she acts with intelligence and immediacy.”

The Sydney Morning Herald headlined aa article about Nicole with, ‘The Opera Diva you’ve never heard of, but soon will,” and she signed her name on this drawing I did of her as Micaela.

Drawing: Kris Kristofferson at the Union Chapel

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Kris Kristofferson

I was really pleased to get this drawing back I drew of the absolute legend, Kris Kristofferson – singer, songwriter, musician, actor, Rhodes Scholar, army vet and all round good guy. Winner of the numerous Grammys, a Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar nominated, the seventy-nine year old played his only London gig on his early 2016 tour at the Union Chapel in Islington last Thursday evening. I did hover about, mid-afternoon with the hope of getting it signed in person, but time was against me so left it with a nice lady in the office who said she would make sure Kris got it. The Union Chapel working church and an award-winning venue they call ‘the amazing space’. It was in good hands.

Back in 1991 when Kris was part of the country music supergroup, ‘The Highwaymen‘ along with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash they performed in New Zealand’s capital Wellington. I happened to ‘stumble’ upon Johnny and Kris in a cafe… and I just so happened to have a caricature of the group on my personage, which they were both happy to sign and take back to their nearby hotel to get Willie and Waylon to do the same… as the legend goes.

His 90 minute acoustic set at the Chapel covered 30 songs. Reviews used the words ‘magnetising’, ‘sumptuous’ and ‘timeless’. One of my all-time favourite lines is from his hit which opened the evening, ” Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”. It’s seems to be Kris’ guiding mantra. On his tombstone he wants three lines from Leonard Cohen’s ‘Bird On The Wire’ inscribed,
“Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in the choir
I have tried in my way to be free.”

If you’re free and in Dublin, Kris is playing the Olympia for the next three nights.

Drawing: Brian May

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Brian May

When I found out that virtuoso guitarist Brian May was one of the special guests at AN EVENING WITH RUSS BALLARD at the intimate Leicester Square Theatre this week, I immediately did this simple line drawing in the hope it may be graphed. The theatre is located on Leicester place, a small lane that separates Chinatown from the famous Square. With limited vehicular access, so Brian was walking. With his distinctive Einstein hairstyle, one wouldn’t need to be a rocket scientist to spot him. I positioned myself on the corner and waited.

Not only is Brian the 2nd greatest guitarist of all time according to a ‘Guitar World’ reader’s poll, but he’s also an astrophysicist, graduating with a PhD from Imperial College. Probably explains the Einstein hair. His doctorate, which was put on hold after Queen’s rise to fame in the 1970’s, was finally completed in 2007. His thesis was the study of reflected light from the interplanetary dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the solar system. Simples!

My drawing included his unique home-built electric guitar called the ‘Red Special’ which he designed at 16. It’s made of wood from a 18th Century fireplace. The tremolo’s arm is constructed from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knobs at the ends are from a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorcycle. No expense spared for Queen’s lead guitarist and mega-hits composer.And speaking of coin, Brian does not use the use the usual plastic pic..oh no…he uses a coin, a sixpence, instead. I have different reasons for carrying coins.

The Einstein of Rock eventually strolled to the venue late in the afternoon, only interrupted as he turned the corner by moi. Brian is always very friendly and accommodating. He also liked the drawing, which was a bonus and was happy to sign and dedicate for me.

RIP David Bowie

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Ziggy1 My one and only time I saw the ‘Starman’ in concert was in Wellington, New Zealand in 2004 as part of his A REALITY TOUR. This was my review.

Bowie

Drawing: The Tiger Lilies: Lulu – A Murder Ballard

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The Tiger Lillies

The cult cabaret trio, The Tiger Lillies performed their latest stage piece, LULU – A MURDER BALLAD at the Royal Opera House this month. With their trademark demon / clown face paint; composer, singer and accordionist Martyn Jacques, bass player Adrian Stout and percussionist Jonas Gollard presented the ‘brilliantly twisted’ song cycle distillation of Frank Wedekind’s dangerous, unpredictable and tragic heroine, Lulu played by Laura Caldow. Described as part grand guignol, part seedy vaudeville and part grunge cabaret the trio are part of a centuries-long tradition of art that challenges social and cultural conventions.

In his four-star review for The Stage, Neil Norman wrote, “Martyn Jacques’ trio are jaunty, post-punk night crawlers, renegade musicians who cleave to the after-dark melodrama of sex,death and the macabre”.

I left this sketch of Martyn and Laura at the ROH last week and they kindly signed and returned it for me.

Drawing: Charlotte Church

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Charlotte Church

It’s Sunday, Church time… Charlotte that is. Her debut film Under Milk Wood was having it’s London premiere at the bohemian Rio Cinema in Hackney. The Kevin Allen helmed adaption of Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play and presumably a ‘remodelling’ of the 1972 Burton-Taylor film marked the Welsh singer’s first foray into film acting and she was scheduled to appear along with the lead, fellow Welsh person Rhys Ifans. It’s a peculiar story (a bit like this one) about a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called Llareggub (read it backwards).

I drew this sketch of Charlotte, so had a pretty good idea of what she looks like. Loitering with intent outside the theatre, which had no barriers or carpet, security or even people of like-mind. I waited for her to arrive. What I didn’t know was that on Friday she had dyed her hair purple and appeared on a UK TV show saying it was her ‘mermaid’ look for a couple of days until it washed out. I was not looking for purple locks and it was only when I checked with one of the leaving paps who showed me his pics that I realised I had missed her.

The film started, so I thought I would ask a friendly person who looked like someone who would know if Charlotte was staying for the entire film. He didn’t know. “Are you a friend?” he asked. “Not yet,” I quipped. “Where are you from?” he continued. Now there are various ways of answering that. I simply gave him my country of origin, then said I would come back when the movie ended, to which he indicated that they would have no time as he had to rush her away. He did inquire about my purpose. A fair and reasonable question.

Now this is a genetic flaw in my make up – my denial that I am an ‘autograph collector’. It’s difficult admitting that, so the question went unanswered. Clearly I was not making a good impression. I then stationed myself outside the cinema. He and some of the others, who obviously had something to do with the evening’s event left for a local restaurant. The film finished and everyone exited, including Charlotte and her purple hair. No sign of my interrogator. Bonus… so I moved my way through the leaving patrons and asked Charlotte if she wouldn’t mind signing my sketch. She was really nice and liked the drawing. While she was signing it, I asked her about the film. She simply said “It’s cooooool”, like her really.

Drawing: Ed Sheeran

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

ed sheeran

My daughter Andrea is a huge Ed Sheeran fan. She said to me that a signed drawing would be very cool. She lives in New Zealand and got to go to his gig there. I live in London, so she figured I might have a better chance to fulfil her request. Now I have to confess, I’m not an Ed disciple, but I did this very quick profile sketch one day last year because there was a chance to get it signed at an event in London. That passed without success.

Ed’s early career was spent sleeping on friends’ sofas and dreaming of playing the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. He is now one of the most streamed singers on the internet and selling out Wembley Stadium for three nights during his X Tour earlier this year. His debut concert film, Jumpers for Goalposts has just been released, documenting his meteoric rise to fame. The World Premiere was held last night at London’s Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, with Ed attending and playing. This presented me with my second chance and this time lucky. He was great with all the fans… and me, doing the whole line, mostly posing for selfies and the occasional sig which he scribed on the sketch. While waiting, I listened to his music and I have to say it wasn’t half bad. My daughter has taste and now a signed drawing, Royal Mail willing.

Drawing: Nicola Benedetti

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

nicola b

Nicola Benedetti – such a great Scottish name, courtesy of her Italian father (who married her Scottish mother) – was born in West Kilbride in Scotland. The 28 year old is one of the world’s most sought after names when it comes to classical violinists. And she has a most sought after name I wanted on my sketch.

The Times once described her, “it was thrilling to hear and watch Nicola Benedetti in a truly risk taking performance that lived so much in the body and fused the sinews of the violin and the nerve system of the player”. Stirring stuff!

After a few years of waiting at various concert halls around London, but missing Nicky (see I’m now on informal first name abbreviations) every time, I finally went to the Royal Albert Hall where Nicola was playing a one-off performance last month and waited for her arrival. Nothing so I left it with a very obliging gentleman at the stage door who said he would get it to her.

A couple of weeks passed – a lifetime in autograph collecting terms – nothing! Then yesterday, bingo! It arrived!

Drawing: Natalie Clein

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Natalie Clein

The cello is a member of the violin family…a very big member of the violin family. Although not the biggest, it is the instrument that is the reason for celebrated classical cellist Natalie Clein”s biggest pet hate, “When I take my cello on a plane, people always ask why I don’t play the flute.” The Brit Award winner isn’t a flautist, she plays one of the biggest members of the violin family and plays it exceptionally well…’mesmerisingly’ and ‘passionately’ well according to The Times. The said cello is a ‘Simpson’ Guadagnini, made in 1777 by the ‘Leonardo Da Vinci of cello-makers, JB Guadagnini. “I own a small part of it along with 20 other people. It’s like a child, you never really own it, you’re it’s guardian for a while.” she said in a Guardian interview. Speaking of a child, Natalie’s daughter was born last year, so now the large amount of travel makes it more interesting on planes, ‘baby in the front,cello on the back.’

I drew this sketch and left it at the Cadogan Hall in London, where Natalie was performing her latest recording, Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto No 1 with the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra earlier this year.

Drawing: Dame Evelyn Glennie – Percussion Legend

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

evelyn glennie

Grammy-winning Scottish musician Dame Evelyn Glennie is considered the world’s permier solo percussionist. Her eclectic range of styles has been described as ‘exquisite, unique and equal to a musical feast.’ This year she was awarded the Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Music’ in that country. The reason her 30 year career was honoured was because “Evelyn Glennie shows us that the body is a resonance chamber and that we live in a universe of sound.”

To put this into context, Dame Evelyn has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12. This has not inhibited her ability to perform. She regularly plays barefoot during her performances and studio sessions to ‘feel the music’ better and has taught herself to hear with parts of her body other than her ears. Her company’s motto is ‘Teach the World to Listen’ and she published Hearing Lesson to discuss her condition in response to inaccurate reporting in the media. In 2012 Dame Evelyn collaborated with Underworld on the soundtrack to the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games and performed live in the stadium.

The percussion legend returned to Proms this month with a lunchtime concert at London’s Cadogan Hall to celebrate her 50th birthday with a mesmerising musical party. I sent her this montage sketch to celebrate the occasion, which she signed.