Greetings Sussex, and
welcome to my website, i
maĶ make it
orl on my one! I'm the London caricaturist known as
Mr Sketchum; my 'ordinary'
name is Alfie Deliss - but go on then - feel free to call me Mr
Sketchum!
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I'm the man at
the party with a clipboard (but not
supervising the taxi queue), drawing
smiles from guests (literally) by sketching
amusingly appealing caricatures at parties and events, and handing
out them out free as I go along.
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All I
need is pens, paper, and just the hint of a smile
(I can work with fake) to
mix'n'mingle during drinks, table-hop over dinners
(not literally), and if best, allocate a good spot
where guests come over to sit for me.
Partygoers
get involved "in the spotlight" as the subjects, as sardonic
commentators, and as spectators, eyes on stalks
watching the likenesses take shape, and
a few convivial repartee-assisted penstrokes later
are rewarded with their caricatures - unique souvenirs of the occasion -
which they helped create!
"That's the
best...cara...caractcha I've ever
had...out of all the caractchas I've
had!" Jamie Redknapp,
Wentworth Golf Club
I'm
fortunate to get the opportunity to foster good
humour and introduce a bit of playful creativity
into often fascinating surroundings.
Guests
like to give their
verdicts on how good or bad my cartoon portraits are (I
don't mind! *he says*), and congratulate one
another if they've come out appealingly, or do the
opposite - rib each other over who looks a bit peculiar -
which in a funny old way really brings people together.
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"Not bad! You should
think about doing it for a living!!"
Johnny Ball, genial
mathematical showman & television
Legend,Grosvenor
House
Fridays, weekends &
peak dates get booked up fast!
From my London HQ's
nerve centre, I've
zigzagged back and forth to bookings all across
Old
Blighty
professionally since 1999.
Have leaky
Thermos™, expired Railcard and a (sometimes strained!)
sense of humour, will travel: I'm no stranger to
county-to-county trekking. As Network Rail might
mutter:
"Everyone
loved your "works of art". We were really impressed with the
jaw-dropping likenesses, long after you'd gone they were making the rounds to howls of laughter.
Hilarious!"
Geoff & Lucy,
Brighton
"Thanks for last night
Alfie, Kim was touched to be given
such a great memento of her ten years
with the team at Hilton. Everyone had
fun & thought it was a brilliant
idea."
Alexandra Dumoulin,
Hilton Group
Most of my
caricatures are of "singletons", but
naturally at parties sometimes couples & groups wish to be immortalised together. As long as I
can be sure of not getting too tied up with one set of guests I'm glad to
oblige.
If you like I can preprint graphics and/or
a message of your choice onto
each sheet of
paper I use ~ to mark the occasion, distinguish a brand, convey the
ethos of a campaign, or simply to add a stylish personal touch.
I draw on
super-heavy A4 laser paper, and present each
caricature inside a free clear splash-proof
top'n'side-opening plastic document folder,
which can be securely rolled up and
rubberbanded.
"Give
her a body like Baywatch ~ and a face like Crimewatch!!"
Anonymous
(heartily bellowed at me from the other end
of the room by a fellow at a Warburtons Bakery event)
I'm
there to please not to punish - in fact with
some people,
no matter what I draw the real thing is always
funnier! In all sreiousness though,
the
truth is by nature I favour ladies, where
I
tend to capture appealing, genuine likenesses
that are fun, but often quite kind.
It's
the chaps who supply me with the comedy raw
material - simply by being naturally
amusing!
"What you see
through your
glasses isn't reality dude."
Written (anonymously) in my sketchbook while I was away
Making
use of pinpoint accuracy to establish the
resemblance, then only as much broad-brush
exaggeration as is needed for emphasis or
effect, my caricatures straddle the line between realism & farce.
Picking up on and highlighting the unique
personality, attitudes and subtle, fleeting
facial expressions that are emblematic of a
person, I create
likenesses
so very convincing they look
more like the subjects than the subjects!!
~ My
"live" caricatures suit any occasion...although,
thinking about it, I've not worked at a séance -
yet...
Here are the three types of event that I sketch at the
most: ~
Providing
wedding receptions with wedding
favours/keepsakes/goodies and a good sprinkling
of original humour, I adapt to your schedule ~ I
tend to mingle during drinks after the ceremony,
work my way around the wedding breakfast tables,
and also entertain the party later on, when
everyone fancies a giggle.
"Even superb photographs
don’t capture the sides to you that Mr Sketchum's
wedding
caricatures do!"
"Hi
Alfie
~
Me
and
Al
can't
thank
you
enough!
You
are
brilliant
and
your
sketches
are
Hilare!
Every
single
guest
loved
your
work
and
thanks
too
for
squeezing
my
two
little
pest
sisters
in
after
your
finish
time!
Thanks
again
so
much
~
Tanya
and
Alan
:-)"
Big
parties mean I can spread myself about and
methodically get a general buzz going. Smaller
gatherings are a treat, as they're good-natured
affairs where I'm amongst family, close friends
and colleagues who'll get on famously wihout me
anyway - but of course with a brilliant
caricaturist like me there they have an absolute
riot.
Business people love to
let off steam and in fact can be systematically
efficient at having fun. As well as providing
laughs, talking points, and unique freebies
(branded if that's useful),
I also function as a marketing tool
by helping clients create events which
simultaneously entertain, generate awareness of
their services, and reflect well on their
organisations.
"For
just a few seconds, could you please stop flaring your
nostrils at me?!" Mr Sketchum,
nose to the
grindstone
"How
sweet! I put my face in your hands!"
~ Andrew Logan
I
took my first booking
to sketch at a
madcap
"Bachelor
and Spinster Ball"
whilst still studying at
Chelsea College
of Art.
Despite the
disorientating mêlée
of carousing Débs
and their potted Delights,
sketching was good fun
and soon, *ahem*, my personality rose to the
fore and shone through.
Now, armed with nearly two
decades of full-time experience
as
a "live" (not as in not dead, although I'm not)
caricature artist & entertainer for hire, delightfully
wicked sketches, and an
incredibly pleasant, modest personality, I've
ascended to being a
Grandmaster
at the dizzying
heights of the
Art of...getting out of the way of waiters.
"Find a job you love and you'll never have to
work again."