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Story by Phillipe Boucheron. Working on behalf of Macdonalds Hotels, Compleat Angler hotel brochure.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that ‘cold calling’ doesn’t work. One day in July a man called at the Compleat Angler with some paintings of Swan Upping that he had done. He came from nearby Windsor and knew that the hotel made a feature of this annual event, when traditionally the Queen’s Watermen caught and nicked the beaks of all the swans on the Thames to show that they were the property of the Sovereign. Today they are simply ringed and counted. He thought that the hotel might be able to display a few for guests to buy. Instead of being sent off with a flea in his ear he landed a commission to produce a painting of the hotel to be used as the cover for this magazine. That artist is Denis Blandford and this is his story. Meet Denis Blandford Denis Blandford always knew he could draw. From the moment his father handed out paper and pencils, to keep him and his brother quiet, Denis was as happy as a sand-boy. He won prizes for his work at primary school and by the time he was ten he was already on the road to becoming an accomplished artist, winning an important Brooke Bond prize for his work. In those days his muse was Rolf Harris, the Australian comedian who has himself gone on to become accepted as a fine artist, even being invited to paint a portrait of the Queen. However Denis would be the first to admit that he is no scholar. When his careers master asked him what he wanted to do he told him that he rather fancied being a cartoonist, only to be told that there was no such career path. This did not deter the lad, who having failed to find a job near his home in Windsor, trudged the streets of London and after three hard months finally got a job. He was taken on as a paste up artist by a publisher producing technical and scientific magazines. Soon he was also producing cartoons for staff leaving- cards and even, from time to time, for some of the magazines. Within two years he became head of the department and then, in due course, thought that perhaps he needed some formal training. Skill & Enthusiasm But the lack of O land A levels was to prove a barrier that stopped an obviously talented lad from being accepted by either the Chelsea or Central School of Art. There was never any doubt about his skill and enthusiasm, or his undoubted potential, it was just that the system insisted on academic qualifications before he could be trained in what was so obviously his vocation. It was even suggested to him that he should sit an external A level in the history of art, that anyone can get, and that would get him into an art college. But the rebel in Denis refused. If it’s that easy, he reasoned, then they should have let me in on the quality of my work that they say they so much admired! Cartoons for Princess Anne Then one day Denis saw an advertisement in a local paper for a cartoonist and he was on to it right away. The job was with the training division of computer company ICL, and he stayed there for nearly 20 years creating cartoons and, as he put it, being very well paid for doing what he thoroughly enjoyed. In due course the training division was spun off into a separate business called Peritas, which also worked for external companies, although many of them were ICL customers. It was during this period that he created Camelot’s first folder and worked on an award winning multi-media training programme for the Scottish Prison Service which led to two of his original cartoons being presented to Princess Anne. During all this time Denis continued developing his fine art skills with portraits of both people and pets as well as urban and rural landscapes. When pressure at work became too much Denis would take himself off to jump out of aeroplanes – complete with parachutes of course. For some three and half years he skydived, mostly free-fall parachuting. This gave him a tremendous adrenalin rush and made him feel master of his own destiny. Only he could decide when and if to pull the ripcord; and, of course, he always did. Wake Up Call For the next seven years he worked at Glaxo as a graphic-designer where he continued developing artwork for training and other applications, but this time on an international scene working with colleagues across Europe and the ‘States. However changes in corporate strategy resulted in him being made redundant. ‘You know’, he said, ‘This was just the wake-up call I needed.’ He decided to earn his living as an artist, whenever possible painting in oils – which he describes as a far more fulfilling and robust medium that can be easily repaired if it gets knocked about. At the same time he created his own website. – www.dennisblandford.co.uk There is no doubt that from his earliest days Denis Blandford has very much been his own man. In his quiet way he doesn’t let the world grind him down, but gets on his feet and fights back. This is demonstrated by his three month-long trudge around London to get his first job, free-fall sky diving as a relief from stress, and now by creating a new career when most would be queuing up at the Labour Exchange. 01344 455158 |
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