So last weekend StoryHands took part in the Alternative Press Spring Fair. It was great to meet a lot of artists and small publishers, as well as some music fans who were around for the attached music festival, and some visitors and families that had come to browse the wares.
With musicians playing in an empty sunken swimming pool inside, we were drawing live portraits in a caravan outside. What a great venue for portraits, already set with comfy seats facing each other. On the outside of the van, members of the public were invited to paint beards onto lino prints of Heisenberg’s bald head in the appropriately named ‘breaking beard’ installation.
This was our first event including the work of our two newest members Emma and Antonia, and Emma’s ubercute tote bags and Antonia’s vivid fashion prints certainly caught a lot of positive attention, along with June’s stunning Tiger and Rabbit print, and Martyn’s classic Weird Fish Factopedia books. I also debuted some of my Real TV Wisdom drawings in a small lo fi zine which elicited a few wry chuckles.
The portrait drawing was a success as ever when we finally got started. Here I can be seen waiting hopefully for punters.
Predictably once we started drawing we had to turn away customers as those that said ‘maybe later’ on the way in to the fair returned later to find us already fully booked. So let that be a lesson – if you want to be drawn at a future StoryHands event, make sure you get in early!
