Helen is a portrait & caricature artist.
She set up ‘DRAWNBYHELEN’ 16 years ago & has since travelled all over the globe with her pen & brush.
She moved on from a high profile job in the NHS to pursue the new, unpredictable, scary & exciting world of art.
“It’s challenging giving up a secure income” She says though Helen has no regrets.

'Drawing Out the Best in Everyone’
Helen talks about & demonstrates the history of portraiture.
Serious & satirical.
Her presentations are both PowerPoint & interactive.
She selects willing members of the audience & draws them in the style of the famous artist. It’s absorbing, spontaneous & memorable. You will learn something, be entertained & you will come back for more of Helen’s talks.
Her art has literally taken her all around the world.
Helen also provides an opportunity for passengers to learn new skills in the art of caricature.
Running workshops on every sea day.
Passengers can also take home a unique souvenir of their cruise. A personalised caricature portrait including the ship & a map of the ships voyage .
Helen has also tried Stand-up Comedy (midnight gigs at the Edinburgh Fringe)
What’s scarier than that!?

Click here to visit Helen's website for more details >> http://www.drawnbyhelen.co.uk

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PRESENTATIONS

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1. Where in the world
A look at the world’s most famous portraits.
An interactive & spontaneous presentation looking at the styles of Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer & Klimt with the assistance of willing members of the audience.
Drawing the best out of a human face & exploring the relationship between artist & model.


2. Drawing Out the Best in You?
My journey from portraits to caricature.
A talk about the difference.
From the impact of the Bayeux Tapestry, the oldest & longest ‘comic strip’ on earth to the graphic satire of Hogarth & the humour of Monet & MAD magazine!

4. Shaken & Stirred
Who’s your favourite Bond?
A lighthearted look at 007 .
One of the longest continually running film series in history.
James Bond was created by Ian Fleming who said
“ He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession”

“Do you expect me to talk………” “No Mr. Bond……….

5. A View from Abroad
A look at London & quirky Britain.
What visitors love about our unique kingdom.
From the Royals to the inventive use of our red telephone boxes. From our pubs to the understated achievement of Joseph Bazelgette & his response to the ‘Great Stink’ of London.

6. The Mythmaker
From Saints to Sinners.
A talk about legendary Canadian portrait photographer
Yousuf Karsh. Described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian genocide survivor who migrated to Canada as a refugee went on to capture the great & the good in stunning monochrome. Celebrities & statesmen alike asked to be ‘Karshed’

7. Be Drawn by Helen
A series of talks about Helen’s life as an international caricature artist involving audience participation.
 Cruise ships are intimate environments , Helen  aims to accelerate your knowledge of your travelling companions. Acting as a catalyst to
friendships with her pen as it
'draws out the best in you'. Entertaining, spontaneous & fun.

8. ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS ’
An entertaining talk of facts & anecdotes that presents an exciting new kind of guide to the festive season. Involving passengers & crew.

PLUS
A Unique Souvenir
of Your Cruise.
Every sea day Helen offers a very special memento of your voyage.
A caricature portrait which includes the ship & a chart of your journey.

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WORKSHOPS - 4 parts or 8

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Join Helen every sea day if you’d like to learn how to draw caricatures.
Each class will have an onboard ‘celebrity’ model & there will be an opportunity to exhibit your portraits .
  
Helen promotes fast learning of a seemingly very difficult task, making everyone realise that they have heaps more talent than they may have first thought. Throughout the workshops there is an emphasis on how to look at the human face, the importance of observation, how to learn from your mistakes & the art of positive thinking !

Workshop 1.
Facial Basics
Shapes and Conflict - Helen discusses the principles of exaggeration, what shapes to look for and why. You'll explore how shape, likeness and exaggeration changes with your point of view.
Draw from three different perspectives: face-on, profile and three-quarter.

Workshop 2.
The ‘onboard’ Celebrity.
Helen discusses the importance of searching for good reference. She'll teach you how to search for, and use, photos or a live subject as an example and research the likeness to aid a final sketch.

Workshop 3.
Timing’s everything -
Helen takes you through a demonstration showing how to use the bigger shapes and ignoring detail. Use only one pen keeping it as big as possible for as long as possible, blocking in the larger areas of value.

Workshop 4.
Light, Shadow & toons
Helen deconstructs a lighting scene and the anatomy of the human face looking at how light behaves in various conditions Choose a photograph.
Identify all the elements of light and shadow, direct light, cast shadow & reflected light.
Then incorporating into a cartoon & comic strip

Workshop 5
‘Less is More’
An Interesting Lived-in Face
Helen demonstrates the judgement of ‘Less is More’
How to observe & capture the age of a subject.
From children to A Face That’s Been Around !
A good time to discuss the Ethics & Pitfalls of caricature art.

Workshop 6.
Good Composition
Helen covers the structure of an illustration & how it affects the telling of a story.
We discuss how the viewer’s eye can be guided by a good composition.
Come up with a topical idea for an illustration.
It can be a self-caricature!

Workshop 7.
A Nice Pair
You’ll be split into pairs
With one of you the artist and one of you the model, you’ll be shown how to look at your partner, the way a caricaturist would. Once one item of the face is drawn, it’s time to swap (the model becomes the artist, and the artist the model) – this continues until every element of the face has been drawn.
Group composition is also demonstrated.

Workshop 8.
Hair, Clothing & Accessories
Helen uses a subject to demonstrate rendering hair, showing which techniques work best at which stage of the process.
Then taking a photo of yourself or someone else wearing something striking & adopting an exaggerated pose. Sketch the resulting folds.

Workshop 9??
Exhibition –
Liaising with the CD if possible to exhibit passenger’s work

No Cruise Experience details provided.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.