for ‘Bebe’s husband  © Peter Gander 2012

Ninarrr-ninarrr Nina

© Peter Gander

Not all ToonTraits are complex portraits. This one, for Nina, a work colleague, centred around her nickname and is done in a clean, simple style.

Scuba diver Ruth

Scuba diver Ruth © Peter Gander

A watercolour original for Ruth’s 40th birthday. She is a keen scuba and literature fan, shown enjoying the best of both worlds! Pen and watercolour on 300gsm Langton Grain Fin paper.

Ian as ‘Chuckie’ from The Rugrats

Ian as Chuckie

Cartoon portraits have come in many forms over the years and this one was for my old boss who some said looked very much like Chuckie from The Rugrats. He is not only short in stature but sports thick glasses and has reddish hair, so the pickings were rich! The portrait sums up the concerns of many men reaching forty I feel - thinning/greying hair, being out of touch with the young, fancying younger women, that kind of thing. I'm glad I'm not drawing my own 50th birthday portrait...

Clive Palmer © Peter Gander

Ah, a man after my own heart. Fly-fishing and beer, what fine bedfellows they are! There’s a few in-jokes in here too as there often are, just don’t ask me to explain them. Digital - hand-drawn linework, coloured in Adobe Photoshop.

The Happy Couple

Kate & hubby wedding day © Peter Gander

I used to work with Kate, shown here, whilst working at Elvis Communications. She was marrying her Italian suitor Paulo and this card was actually a gift from her to him. I can’t remember the relevance of the African details, but am sure it meant much to them! Magic Marker on paper.

Dudley Moore tinkling the ivories

Dudley Moore  © Peter Gander

This classic pen-and-ink original drawing was simply commissioned for a fan of the actor. It does demonstrate nicely for me proof indeed that I can obtain a good likeness as few people will be able to tell that from my other posts of complete strangers! (See also: Chris Tarrant, below).