New and Recent Work by Oliver Preston

New and Recent Work 9th - 14th June, 2014

The Threadneedle Space The Mall Galleries, London SW1

All works are for sale from 10am on the 9th June

The Mall Galleries The Mall, London SW1 +44(0) 1666 502638 oliverpreston@btinternet.com See oliverpreston.com / info@beverstonpress.com for information and to buy original cartoons

For the past seven years I have been exhibiting and selling my skiing cartoons at an annual exhibition in Switzerland, but recently it occurred to me that I had not had a proper one man show in London since the Fine Arts Society, back in 1999. That was shortly after I had become a full-time cartoonist, having left the rigours of The City, bond trading, early morning commutes and the cacophony of the dealing room. It has been a long journey since then, twelve books, setting up the publishing company Beverston Press, and working from my studio in the Cotswolds near my wife and young children. At the same time I have been active in the founding, and running, of The Cartoon Museum in London, where as a sideline I can indulge my passion for the British cartoon art form. It is a lucky man who can work in a profession that he loves. Since 1995, The Field Magazine has been very supportive, and many of these cartoons were first published in its glossy pages. It is a fine magazine, with a long heritage, and I am fortunate my cartoons and illustrations complement its town and country themes. I am not angry enough to be a political cartoonist, preferring to draw in the Punch style of humorous art, although the need for drawing strip cartoons has led to me drawing Your Grace for The Field, and other strips. I am also very grateful to the Mall Galleries, home of the Federation of British Artists, for agreeing to host an exhibition of my work in the Threadneedle Space. It’s walls are usually decorated with oils and watercolours, marine art and miniatures, and I hope that the subversive arrival of cartoons on its hallowed walls will not disquieten the visitors. Certainly my house master from school, who wished me to pursue a career in fine art, would have approved. As a cartoonist, I am an amateur, in the best sense - I am someone who loves to draw. I have never attended art school (except for a one week stint at the Heatherly School of Art), nor have I studied life drawing. What you

see is what you get, a style developed by an innate love for the art of the cartoon, a well-spent childhood digesting drawings and jokes in Punch, and the books of Thelwell, H M Bateman, Tintin and Asterix. I have always drawn inspiration from British cartoonists, their subtle humour and fine lines, but without any formal training, I suppose I have developed a style that is very much my own. When I start a drawing, I go straight in and quickly establish the layout of the joke, the angle of the view and the most important bit - to get the joke across in the most effective way, and in the shortest space of time to the onlooker. From then on I love the details, the social observation and the characters, and very often, I will insert fashions, or furniture that I have ‘clocked’, that have registered in my head during my recent travels. I find it hard to resist inserting a dog into a cartoon - in the past a yellow labrador with affection for my last dog, Otto, and nowadays, Baloo the black labrador that snoozes in the corner of my studio, when he is not nudging my arm or spilling my inks. You may know the people in these cartoons. Last year, at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace, a tweeded Scot came up to me and said, “You obviously know the same people as I do” , he went on, “ all my friends are in your cartoons.” I hope you enjoy the show.

OLIVER PRESTON is exhibiting his “New and Recent Work” at the Threadneedle Space, THE MALL GALLERIES, London SW1, from Monday 9th June to Saturday 14th June 2014. Opening times: 10 am -5.00pm. Admission free. Originals will be for sale from 10 am on 9th June at The Mall Galleries or at oliverpreston.com Oliver Preston Cartoons Beverston Press Limited Park Farm Studios, Beverston, Tetbury, Glos GL8 8TT TEL: 0044 (0)1666 502638 FAX: 0044 (0)1666 505905 VATNo. 979 9460 37 Company Regd. No. 7031853

Wind Power | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine

Small Shoot | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

White Pheasant | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

“...and don’t all cheer if I hit one.” 270mm x 350mm | �1800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“I know you’re in there.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“How the French captured South Ken.” | 400mm x 580mm | �4,800

Supermodel | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Jock | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Same Bird | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine

“I’m afraid you’re a bit out of our league. Maybe you should go to our Chelsea meetings.” | 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 Publ.The Field Magazine | Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“This is nothing. You should see her playing Bridge.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“...and what’s wrong with me becoming more and more like my mother everyday?” | 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 Publ.The Field Magazine | Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“We’d like to UP our insurance. The grandchildren are coming to stay.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“If it’s that important to you, why don’t you get it yourself” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011) How to be asked again (Quiller, 2009)

“ Ah yes, that’s my husband. I recognise my shopping.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

Younger Brother | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Granny | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Philip Racing | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

“The birds are better on Bond Street.” | 400mm x 580mm | �4,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine

“The real attraction with this chalet is that it’s ski in - ski out.” 500mm x 340mm �2,500

Too old for it | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Goldmans | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Third marriage | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine

“I don’t think you’ve met. They’re terribly horsey.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“You’ve got to be joking.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“Great news, darling. Somebody’s taken the cottage.” 400mm x 280mm | �2,500 | Publ. The Field Magazine Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

“It’s all downhill after lunch.” 210 x 300 | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Hitting the Slopes (Beverston Press, 2008)

“Alp!” “What’s Zermatter?” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 Hitting the Slopes (Beverston Press, 2008)

“Who does your snow” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Fondu and Furs (Beverston Press, 2011)

“Ecole de Ski.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Hitting the Slopes (Beverston Press, 2008)

Tractors | 390mm x 230mm | �550 | Publ. Cotswold Life Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Taking Umbrage | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Rudolf’s Big Entrance 400mm x 280mm | �1,800 | Publ.Christmas Card Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

This way Up at the Zoo 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

This Way Up at the Wake 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“Well, there must be a mistake. I can’t be playing Bridge EIGHT days this week.” 150mm x 150mm | �500

“I never knew Bridge was so dangerous. Last week it was Colonel Mustard in the dining room with the lead piping.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“Very nice, darling. Did you keep the receipt?” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“ I’m going to have to hurry you. It won’t be on the market for long.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

The Ringtone Waltz 120mm x 150mm | �300 Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“What an amazing coincidence, it’s a taxi company. Would anyone like a lift home?” | 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 Publ.The Field Magazine | Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

“I shouldn’t look so smug if I were you. Its at YOUR house next year.” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Rich Pickings (Beverston Press, 2013)

Mind the gap 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 Hitting the Slopes (Beverston Press, 2008)

“Do you think anyone will notice that I’m wearing the same thing as last night?” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800

Love bombed by a Lab 150mm x 150mm �300

Plan C | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine | Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

Will you carry me? | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine

Partridge Day | 390mm x 130mm | �500 | Publ. The Field Magazine

No.1 Car Park 320mm x 210 mm | ďż˝1,800 | Publ. The Field Magazine Out of Town (Beverston Press, 2010)

“Would you like to know what they would have been worth as a pair?” 200mm x 270mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)

“We seem to have forgotten our corkscrew. Can we borrow your butler?” 270mm x 350mm | �1,800 | Publ.The Field Magazine Another Log on the Fire (Beverston Press, 2011)