Drawing: Carlos Moyà

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carlos-moya

The tall bandana-wearing Spanish tennis ace Carlos Moya won the French open in 1998 and was a semi-finalist at the US Open in 1998. In March the following year he climbed to No.1 in the world rankings. He also reached the Australian open final in 1997, losing to Pete Sampras. In 2004 he was part of the Spanish Davis Cup-winning team, securing victory with a win over Andy Roddick for a 3-2 scoreline.

In a fifteen year career Carlos won 20 titles and just to include a miscellaneous fact for the ardent statisticians, served 4,416 aces. A nagging foot injury ended his career in 2010 and he now runs the SD Tennis Academy in Madrid and plays on the ATP Champions Tour. He is also coaches Milos Raonic, who reached the final of Wimbledon this year, where I caught up with him after a practice session While Carlos  played tennis with a potent right hand he writes left-handed and demonstrated that with his graph on my drawing.

Drawing: Joesph Fiennes

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Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Alberic Twiselton-Wykeham-Fiennes simply signs Joe Fiennes. Just as well. He signed two sketches for me earlier this year while playing T E Laurence in Terrance Rattigan’s bio-drama ROSS at the Chichester Festival Theatre. The first was him in the Laurance of Arabia role and the second was this montage from two productions in which he played the title. Joe’s first professional stage appearance was in the West End in THE WOMAN IN BLACK in 1993, followed by A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY opposite Helen Mirren and John Hurt, which I was lucky enough to see. Joe has also appeared in some high profile films, including ELIZABETH and the Bard himself in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, for which he earned BAFTA and SAG Best Actor nominations.

In September 2005 he played George Dillion in EPITAPH FOR GEORGE DILLON at the Comedy Theatre  and Cyrano in CYRANO DE BERGERAC at Chichester in 2009 which are both depicted in my drawing.

Drawing: Ellie Taylor

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Ellie Taylor

By her own admission British comedian Ellie Taylor started in comedy quite late. The thirty something comic was in her late 20’s when, after seeing a friend perform a five-minute stand-up routine, became a contestant on the ITV talent-reality show SHOW ME THE FUNNY, reaching the semi-finals. Asked why she chose comedy over her marketing day job, she replied, “arrogance, neediness and boredom.” She told BIG ISSUE, “I want to be a professional show off.

Her 2014 Edinburgh Fringe debut show ELLIEMENTARY played to packed crowds at The Laughing Horse. Although Ellie points out it was her ‘debut hour show’. She did do a half-hour gig the previous year, but this was her full, proper debut. You get the picture. She followed that success with a national tour in the spring of 2015. Ellie continued to make an impact on the small screen, hosting BBC Three’s SNOG MARRY AVOID? and has also appeared on MOCK THE WEEK and 8 OUT OF 10 CATS. She described the daunting task of working with some of UK’s great comedians as an excellent way to “shit oneself discreetly.”

This drawing of Ellie is based on her publicity pic for ELLIEMENTARY. She was doing a one night stand-up at London’s Comedy Store in early July before taking her INFIDELITY  show to this year’s EdFringe. I passed by earlier in the day when the venue was closed, but luckily a staff member was have a siggy break outside the front door, which was a siggy break for me because he said he would pass it on and he obviously did.

Drawing: Ksenia Ovsyanick, Principal with the Berlin State Ballet

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Ksenia Ovsyanick

Minsk-born ballerina Ksenia Ovsyanick was awarded a scholarship to study at the English Royal Ballet School in London after performing at the 2005 Prix de Lausanne. After graduating three years later she joined the company, becoming a Soloist in 2014. This year she left the ENB to become a Principal with the Berlin Staatsballett which starts its 2016/17 season this weekend.

One of the highlights of her time at the English Ballet was performing the title role in the World Premiere of FIREBIRD at the London Coliseum in March 2012 as part of the BEYOND BALLET RUSSES programme. This sketch is based on that role with Ksenia wearing the distinctive headdress and winged harness. She signed it for me at the ENB before leaving for Germany.

Drawing: Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

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Jamie Parker

British actor and singer Jamie Parker plays the title role in J K Rowling’s eighth instalment of the boy wizard’s adventures, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD PARTS 1 AND 2. It’s set nineteen years after the events of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Harry is no longer a boy. He’s middle-aged with a family and working for the Ministry of Magic as the stressed-out Head of Magical Law Enforcement. His son Albus follows in his footsteps at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The two-part play written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany based on an original story by them and J K Rowling, took the West End by storm this year, opening at the Palace Theatre on 30 July and smashing all box-office records.

Thirty-six year old Jamie, who performed  in Alan Bennett’s THE HISTORY BOYS on Broadway and London said that POTTER was ‘a gig of a lifetime’. I caught up with him at the stage door a couple of weeks back as he was arriving for a Saturday matinee and he signed this sketch.

Drawing: Sonya Yoncheva

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Sonya Yoncheva

This is the second sketch I drew of Bulgarian opera soprano Sonya Yoncheva. The first one she signed at the Royal Opera House last summer when she performed Violetta in LA TRAVIATA. It was dedicated to me and signed with her shortened ‘Sonya’ sig. This one I mailed to her agent in Switzerland prior to that and it came back last week with a full autograph in silver sharpie no less.

Sonya is returning to Covent Garden this month to replace Anna Netrebko in the title role of Bellini’s masterpiece NORMA. It’s the second time she has replaced the Russian opera star, after stepping into the role of Marguerite in FAUST in 2014. Sonya will also extend her London season playing Antonia in LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN in November.

Drawing: Tracy Austin

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Tracy Austin

At the age of seventeen, Tracy Austin become the youngest female tennis player to win a Grand Slam, beating Chris Evert in the 1979 US Open final. She went on to add two more Slams to her impressive 30 career titles, winning the US Open again in 1981 with a victory over Martina Navratilova and the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles with her brother John a year earlier. In that year she also won the WTA World Tour Finals, becoming  World No.1  and the youngest ever inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992. Tracy was known  as a solid baseliner with a strong forehand and a reliable double-fisted backhand using substantial pace and pinpoint accuracy.

Since retiring in 1994, Tracy has been a tennis commentator with a number of TV networks, including the BBC at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, where I met her outside the media centre and she signed this drawing for me.

Drawing: Dame Vera Lynn

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Dame Vera Lynn

Known as ‘The Forces’ Sweetheart’ during the Second World War, Dame Vera Lynn not only entertained the troops overseas, she kept the spirits up of the British back home, especially during the Blitz. Her songs ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘The White Cliffs Of Dover’ are synonymous with the British wartime. She joined the Entertainment National Service Association and requested to be sent where other concerts parties were not going to, performing in Burma as well as Egypt and India. Her popularity continued after the war, appearing on TV and in films as well as continuing her musical career.

Now in her hundredth year Dame Vera became the oldest living Artist in 2009 to reach No.1 in the British Album Charts with her compilation album ‘We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn.’ In fact she is the only artist to have a chart span reaching from it’s inception in 1952 to the 21st Century. In 2000 she was named the Briton who ‘best exemplified the spirit of the 20th Century.’ She has also been known for her tireless charity work with ex-servicemen and women, disabled children and breast cancer, recognised by the Queen in 1975 with a Dame Commander of the British Empire.

I sent this drawing of Dame Vera to her via her Foundation and she quickly signed and returned it with a very nice letter.

Drawing: Cyndi Lauper

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Cyndi Lauper

Pop culture icon Cyndi Lauper was in London last year to attend the West End premiere of her musical KINKY BOOTS, which opened in August at the Aldephi Theatre. The Broadway hit won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It also won Best Musical Score for Cyndi, who became the first woman to win alone in that category. She also collected the Grammy for the show’s album. At the British Oliviers KINKY BOOTS collected three awards, including Best Musical.

Her thirty-something career nearly wasn’t. In 1977, while singing in the covers band ‘Flyer’ she damaged her vocal cords and was told she would never sing again. But regained her voice with the help of vocal coach Katie Agnesta. Since then the ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ songstress has sold over 50 million albums and 20 million singles, collecting multiple awards and being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also won an Emmy for her guest appearance on MAD ABOUT YOU in 1995. Cyndi is an active advocate for gay and transgender rights. Her song ‘True Colours’ has been recognized as an LGBT anthem.

I left this drawing at the Aldephi, hoping to get it signed, but nothing came back…. until this week. Cyndi was recently back in the UK on her DETOUR Tour which included London’s Hammersmith Apollo.

Drawing: Lead Pencil in Full HB

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Lead Pencil

Now this is a group I had to draw. The comedy sketch trio of Louise Beresford, Maddie Rice and Dave Bibby, collectively known as LEAD PENCIL and specialising in nonsense. As their blurb says, “a comedy sketch show that is literally sketched.”

Realising that life is absurd the group formed in 2012 to deconstruct it with a show that is based on 90’s nostalgia, full of observational sketches, songs and their trademark 2D stylised, colourful cardboard props. Sell-out shows (some may say they were drawing in the crowds, but that would be silly) at the Underbelly in Edinburgh followed and appearances on Comedy Central and BBC Radio 4.

I just had to give them my 4B treatment with a splash of colour. The rendering was dropped into the Leicester Square Theatre at the end of June where they were performing for one night only. It was returned via an unusual route. Nothing came back for a couple of weeks, so I thought they maybe they didn’t get it, didn’t like or simply run out of writing instruments.

Then I received a letter from Transport for London’s Lost Property office saying they may have an item of mine.  As it transpired it was this drawing, signed by Louise, Maddie and Dave with a complimentary note and the stamped envelope I had left with the drawing. It appears that one of them was intending to post it and left it on a bus. Thanks LEAD PENCIL and TfL Lost Property.