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Written by Mike Lamble
In painting this portrait of Erika in the the way the Renaissance Masters would have approached it more or less so far without a hitch, this reminded me of the Titanic’s disastrous encounter with an iceberg, what I can hear you say! obscure it may be, stay with me dear readers you will get it in the end.
From the crows nest in the distance the iceberg didn’t look that big avoiding action was taken it appeared the ship had just scrapped by, Erika so far is progressing to my satisfaction, does she represent the Titanic in my little story you may ask? I hope not but the potential is certainly there, its all to do with the iceberg what’s hidden from view and time, any clearer? We often only see what’s on the surface of peoples lives the public face as humans we often do draw conclusions which are erroneous and judgemental the tip of an iceberg as it were.
What on earth has this got to do with my portrait of Erika? My students see me paint or draw from week to week often comment I make it look so easy, that’s the surface, it what’s hidden beneath that surface that counts, the years of struggle to survive in the early days as an illustrator trying to earn a living, after giving up the security and income of being studio manager at Saatchi and Saatchi in the UK, but I just had to draw and paint, the all night struggle to meet a deadline only to be told it’s not good enough we will have to find someone else who’s better and more experienced, the weekends practicing when your mates are going out having a good time, must keep studying this technique “how did he do it? now go away and practice it until you get it, that’s what the market wants.”
The times my guts were ripped out just like the (Titanic) out at the fear of having my work rejected when a kindly art director was prepared to give this new kid on the block a go “but you can’t charge us what Ken Fowler charges he’s so good”
I would take on any kind of work to keep me going as a freelance, pasting ads up with glue in any art studio that would have me because I was cheap, then go home and practice a technique the art director wanted for his latest ad campaign, Ken could do that picture in a day meet the deadline and have a life, Mike said ” I can do that” take three days and nights with hardly any sleep meet the deadline and have no life! I had to grow a hide as thick as an Elephant but had to keep going my work was my life it’s about the job I would tell myself not you, slowly at first I noticed clients would come back to me with the easy jobs, Ken got the glamorous ones with fantastic money, I didn’t care I was in, if I kept on doing the right thing I didn’t care about the money the art directors would lend me originals of Kens work I would take them home study how he did it then copy them, as I got better so the quality of work got better that’s all that mattered to me my whole motivation was to be the best, as time went on I superseded Ken and developed my own styles from what I had learned from other artists/ illustrators that many art directors admired and commissioned.

I still remember as though it was yesterday as one Titanic survivor lamented bits of ice scrapping through the open porthole window and gabbing at a few shards as it spilled onto the carpet. For me the shards of ice was the British Rail (as it was then)  painting/illustration starting Friday morning delivering Saturday lunchtime to meet the deadline without a break not eating just drinking cups of tea to keep me going, I had to do if i wanted the job, they loved it many more commissions followed, was it worth it “you bet ya it was”………………. now do you get it?

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