Page 17 - David Burr Rooftops Winter/Spring 2021/2022

‘ wanted to draw cartoons in either the film or publishing industry and serendipidty may have played its part when - after a detour working in a glassworks - he spotted a Walt Disney comic and set his sights on working for the world famous studio. “I wrote to them and they gave me a job as an art assistant, so off I went to London. I was homesick so went home to Yorkshire at weekends - but I loved it and learnt so much
“Artwork used to come in mostly from America, and I was having to cut it up and paste it on boards, and do artwork to fill in spaces. At the same time I picked up cartoon work as a freelance and made good money doing strips for titles like Wham! and Buster.”
That homesickness was to be brushed aside when a craving to cross the Atlantic and work in America was adjusted to Canada since “they were having an immigration drive and would pay your fare.”He says:
Initially he was employed by a company producing children’s picture books and worked for two other businesses as art director. Climbing the career ladder brought luxury apartments and a very comfortable lifestyle - all very handy since Barrie and his wife Eileen now had young children and decisions had to be made about their future.
“Certain things combined at that time; where the children should be schooled and brought up, plus my mother back in England was ill and I could see my job was moving towards lots of adminstrative duties and things like ‘projected sales figures’. ”
On returning to England, Essex became Barrie’s new home and he and two friends set up a studio and agency. One of them, who was from Scotland, had contacts with Dundee-based D C Thomson which led to “ghosting” work on the Dandy and Beano - drawing strips when the regular artist was on holiday.
“For the last 50 years I have been lucky enough to bring to life some of the most iconic cartoon characters from the world of comics. I have had the pleasure of working on favourites such as Dennis the Menace, Roger the Dodger, Cuddles and Dimples and Banana Man.”
Latterly this Newton based artist (his home and studio are close to the green and golf course, while the Saracens Head pub is only yards away) has been running workshops and doing personalised cartoons to give as gifts.
Ghosting the work of D C Thomson’s yesteryear artists is a skill in itself so I wonder if Barrie likes doing caricatures.
“I like creating and adapting characters in my comic strips so while I admire people who can do good caricatures it doesn’t really interest me as much as the work I usually do.”
He adds that drawing someone’s likeness, and exaggerating it for comic effect, can upset the person portrayed and he prefers his work to be more about fun than ridicule.
Arthritis in his hands, while not hindering his skills with fine details, means he can’t do vigorous rubbing out (Eileen helps with that). But the
Laughter lines: Top: Dennis and his canine pal Gnasher have fun at a royal wedding. Above: Barrie centres this zany waterside scene around Sudbury’s Mill Hotel and mill stream
production line of weekly comic strips plus work on specials, annuals and games isn’t stopping anytime soon.
During my visit Barrie shows me a print out of instructions for a comic strip and already he is imagining how it will play out on paper. After these storylines arrive he has about a week to illustrate them. He likes today’s clean felttip pens rather than the dipping pens artists used to use.
He is coping with the new computerised age too. Back-up comes from Sudbury-based son Jason, (a graphic designer, proving that artistic talent runs in the family), who helps him with some of the more technical details of scanning and processing artwork electronically.
So, to name check one of the characters he so lovingly recreates - it’s not yet Roger and out for Barrie.
n More information at www.barrie appleby.com
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