mark bardsley caricaturist & Illustrator
MARK BARDSLEY
Caricatures & Illustration
caricature detail, people, pets and cars badger detail from wildlife article Canadian Mounty detail from caricature Mini car detail from illustration face detail from basoonist caricature face and animals detail from caricature


Email: bardsley.illustration@virgin.net
phone 01938 500506

HOME PAGE CONTENTS:
HOW TO COMMISSION A CARICATURE
CARICATURE PRICES
HIRE ME TO CARTOON AT YOUR WEDDING
SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
CONTACT DETAILS

IMAGE GALLERIES
CARICATURE GALLERY
PET PORTRAIT GALLERY

COMMERCIAL ILLUSTRATION
PRINTS FOR SALE


A BIT ABOUT ME
I've been a freelance illustrator since the mid 1980s and am now based in Mid Wales.
Illustration projects have included a number of children's books, one of my favourites being
a Welsh translation of the popular Betsy Byars children's title,
"The Eighteenth Emergency".
My work has also encompassed commercial publicity material, magazine feature articles
and privately commissioned caricatures along with many teaching workshops
and live cartooning appearances.

cover of welsh translation of the eighteenth emergency by Betsy Byars, illustrated throughout cover illustration for one of Pat Neill's Delyth the Dragon stories, illustrated throughout cover illustration for a welsh childrens book, Hufen ia Helene by Rhian Pierce Jones, about an ice cream seller, illustrated throughout cover illustration for From Little Acorns by terry lamport, illustrated throughout mouse and bumble bee illustration for Chester Living magazine illustrated wildlife article for Chester Living magazine

HOW TO COMMISSION A CARICATURE
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A caricature is a cartoon portrait, not an exact likeness but one that exaggerates distinctive features for
humorous effect. My take on Autumn watch below, gives you an idea of what to expect.
caricature depicting the cast of autumn watch
I caricature people and animals. Prices obviously vary according to how complex you want your image to be.
Keep working your way down this page and you will see a variety of examples and how much something similar
would cost. I have to reserve a little bit of leeway until I know what you want as no two jobs are ever quite
the same (thats the appeal of commissioning an original work.)
Working from your photographs
The first step is to find clear photographs of your subject, preferably with eyes open and smiling or laughing.
You can post these to me or email them (which is a lot easier and saves losing hard copies).
If you have email I am happy to send you a pencil outline of the likeness on request before it is complete.

reference photo of two female caricature subjects pencil caricature of two girls used as a party invitation
You can be anywhere, doing what you like,
full colour pencil and wash of office girl dressed as a medieval wench working an old printing press full colour pencil and wash of basset hound and staffordshire bull terrier showing photo reference
wearing what you like, in any era, with your best friend,
full colour pencil and wash of young couple with pets and vehicles showing reference photos
and with the things you love around you!

As you can see in the above examples, the reference photos are nice and clear and in the last one you can see a
couple of the additional photos that were worked from so that the company van and the pet dog could be included.
Bear in mind that the above photos were reduced for this display. The originals are much larger.

CARICATURE PRICES
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As you scroll down through the next section you will see examples of caricatures
with prices for A3 and A4 sizes below them. It's difficult to come up with prices for every variation
but these tend to be typical and will hopefully illustrate possibilities.

Pencil drawings are done on good quality heavy weight 220gsm cartridge paper.
Pencil and water colour pieces are on heavy weight slightly textured 300gsm water colour paper.

POSTAGE CHARGES FOR CARICATURES
UK Postage for A4 pieces is £6 and £8 for A3. Please enquire for overseas.
All work is sent in strengthened packaging via Special Delivery which provides full insurance.

I require full payment in advance for private caricature commissions and accept cash, cheque or pay pal payments.

You are commissioning an original from a professional illustrator.
I do not use computer rendering to produce images!
It's all carefully done by hand with pencils, paint brushes and a trained eye.

pencil caricature of one person,white background, disc jockey holding a compact disc
Pencil portrait
Head and shoulders
White background
£38 A4 size
£48 A3 size
pencil caricatureof two people,white background, bride and groom
Pencil portrait of two people
Head and shoulders
White background
£52 A4 size
£65 A3 size
pencil caricatureof one person,white background, bassoonist
Pencil portrait
Complete character
White background
£45 A4 size
£58 A3 size
pencil caricature single likeness on a white background, sound engineer with caricatures of Dave Walliams and Matt Lucas in the background
Pencil portrait
One main character
Extra background detail
£90 A4 size
£118 A3 size
pencil caricatureof two people, white background, nurse with hyperdermic and restrained husband
Pencil portrait
Two main characters
White background
£62 A4 size
£78 A3 size
pencil caricatureof two people,white background, mechanic and wife in landrover
Pencil portrait
Two main characters
Extra background detail
£124 A4 size
£156 A3 size
pencil caricatureof one person, white background, gent in bermuda shorts on hols
Water colour & pencil
Complete character
White background
£58 A4 size
£75 A3 size
pencil caricature, single likeness on a white background, driver with lorry in background
Water colour & pencil
Complete character
Extra background detail.
£115 A4 size
£148 A3 size
black & white pencil caricatureof two people,white background, bride and groom
Water colour & pencil
Two characters
White background
£78 A4 size
£98 A3 size
black & white pencil and wash caricatureof two people,white background, newlyweds at an eisteddfod
Water colour & pencil
Two characters
Extra background detail
£156 A4 size
£196 A3 size
full colour caricature of one person,white background telephone engineer on skis with guitar
Water colour & pencil
Complete character
Colour on white background.
£85 A4 size
£110 A3 size
full colour, one main character with extra detail, shepherdess on quadbike with dogs on board driving through town
Water colour & pencil
Complete character
Coloured, extra background detail
£168 A4 size
£198 A3 size
full colour caricature of bride and groom, white background
Water colour & pencil
Two main characters
Colour on white background
£118 A4 size
£152 A3 size
full colour caricature of two people and background detail Canadian mounty & alsatian, rescuing wife in snowy mountains
Water colour & pencil
Two main characters.
Coloured, extra background detail
£236 A4 size
£300 A3 size


HIRE ME TO CARTOON AT YOUR WEDDING
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Full colour caricature of bride and groom
Full colour caricature of bride and groom

If you would like your wedding reception to feature live caricaturing,
You can hire me to draw for you in person producing on the spot caricatures and cartoons for you.

My wedding package includes up to 4 hours live caricaturing and a full colour A3 portrait of bride and
groom like the example shown above. Most people have this done before the wedding
so that the result can be displayed at the reception or used on wedding stationery.

My appearance at your wedding also includes my personal assistant who organises the sitters and runs
a laptop and scanner so that all the images are put on one CD for you at the end of the
session. So you still have printable copies after guests have taken their caricatures home.
Each caricature takes about ten minutes, so in a four hour session I can
usually manage around 25 portraits. If we run out of time and there are still guests
wanting caricatures I can take digital photographs to work from after the event.

Additional caricatures cost £20+£6 p&p each and must be paid for at the event. I am able to
draw couples together and family groups. All images are produced on good quality
A4 cartridge paper and protective envelopes are provided.

I am happy to travel uk wide and travel expenses are
based on 30p per mile.If you google map my post code (SY22 5LU)
to your venue and double it, you'll get the total mileage.
A selection of portraits produced live at weddings.
pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of two people, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, one person, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of two people, white background pencil caricatureof two people,head and shoulders, white background
Should there be insufficient opportunity for live drawing at your event, I can of course,
attend to take photographs, produce caricatures in the studio and send them on to you.
My standard fee pays for 25 likenesses and additional drawings are charged as extra.
pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of four people, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of one person, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of three people, white background
My wedding package fee is £600+travel expenses and over-night accommodation (if necessary).
I require a £300 payment in advance to secure your booking which also serves as
payment for your main portrait and acts as a cancellation fee.
If you cancel the event I will still be happy to produce an A3 colour portrait
of two people for you, so you don't really lose out even then.
Should I not be able to attend I reserve the right to retain the initial payment if
your main portrait has been completed.
pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of four people, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of one person, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of two people, white background pencil caricature, head & shoulders, of one person, white background
Please feel free to Email or Phone to discuss your Arrangements.

PHONE 01938 500506
MOBILE 0771 953 8478
Email: bardsley.illustration@virgin.net

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SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
If you would like me to conduct a workshop in your school
please feel free to contact me to discuss the ideal session structure. Sessions are suitable for Key Stage 2 upward.
I am a qualified teacher with current CRB clearance and have taught and conducted workshops with classes
ranging from KS 2 to Art Foundation Studies and Adult evening classes. I can conduct a standard introduction
to illustration and caricaturing or tailor a session for a specific project or syllabus tie-in.

Previous workshops have included design support for local history projects,
illustrating stories, caricaturing for student profile boards,
caricaturing and the art of drawing faces, the art of being an illustrator and wildlife illustration.

Black & white ink line illustration chemistry lecture depicting the very wonderful professor AJ Williams of Aberystwyth university
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Mark Bardsley! CONTACT DETAILS

My Address for correspondence is;
MARK BARDSLEY
TYN YR WTRA
GLASCWM
LLANFYLLIN
POWYS SY22 5LU
PHONE 01938 500506
MOBILE 0771 953 8478

Email: bardsley.illustration@virgin.net