Monday 10 January 2011

Children can be sooooooo cruel...

Way back in December 2010 (isn't it funny that even though we're only in January, last year seems like a lifetime ago...) Lorenzo and I joined forces with fellow creators, Dave Shelton, Neill Cameron and Kate Brown to bring a day of DFC fun to Banbury School in Oxford.

We co-hosted a comic workshop with Dave and during Q & A session at the end one plucky boy asked if I would draw something. Presuming he had misheard which Etherington is responsible for the incredible art that brings my tales to life, I asked if he meant Lorenzo. No, he replied. You.

Ah, I thought. Here we go again.

It was during the Monkey Nuts book tour that I first revealed that I cannot draw. Or rather, that I have the merest grasp of the skills needed to bring a comic to life. Children, it transpires, like to watch adults fail. So I was made to draw a dog. It didn't go well but it got a lot of laughs.

This time I was asked to draw Lorenzo. The portrait got a LOT of laughs but what I didn't realise was that some sneaky teacher had a camera. The lovely composition below, currently fielded on the Banbury School website, bares the fruits of my embarrassment for all to appreciate.


















The pic was only posted at a small size so apologies for the quality. However, as this is likely to be the only time you get to see ME with a marker in my hand, I thought I should share. And yes, that is supposed to be my dear brother in all his quiffed and bespectacled glory. Sorry, bro.

If you would like to book us to host a Comic Creating Workshop at your Primary School, simply send a mail to thetheringtonbrothers@hotmail.co.uk. But whatever you do ... please don't ask me to draw!

Robin