Dublin caricature artist Niall O’ Loughlin has said he was “chuffed” by the reaction to his artwork of Charlie Bird and Vicky Phelan on the summit of Croagh Patrick.
The caricature was praised on Twitter by Charlie himself and has been used as an official image on the Climb with Charlie fundraising page, which is raising money for Irish Motor Neurone Disease Ireland and Pieta House.
However, Niall revealed that drawing the well known faces was a bit of a challenge.
“I know both of them, and it’s much more difficult to draw someone when you have a perception of them in your head already. When I sit down to draw someone I’ve never met, I will draw them a hundred times easier than I would if they were a family member or somebody that I’m really familiar with,” he said.
Like many people across Ireland, Niall was deeply moved when he saw Charlie appear on the Late Late Show. The former RTE reporter opened up to Ryan Tubridy about his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis. back in October
Niall decided to sketch the duo after it was revealed Vicky would also be participating in the charitable climb scheduled for April 2.
He says he was unsure how the image would be received when he uploaded it online.
“It’s funny because you can never gauge how the public are going to react. It could have gone down really well but it equally could have been ignored or worse, gone down badly,” Niall says.
Niall has worked fulltime as a caricaturist for 21 years. He previously worked as an animator on the Oscar nominated short film Give up Yer Aul Sins, which re-enacts humorous recordings made in Dublin classrooms in the 1960s. The film was produced by Brown Bag Films and released in 2001.
His first commercial exposure to caricature was when he was employed by Guinness as part of a promotional campaign. He was paid to create free caricatures for customers in pubs across Ireland as they enjoyed pints in their local.
He believes there is a particular appeal about caricature that distinguishes it from other art forms.
“They’re just more fun. I think when you get a caricature done, you’re not seen as taking yourself too seriously. Companies that have people leaving, wedding parties, they all want caricatures. It’s just a lighter way of looking at things,” he says.
He says Charlie personally got in touch with him after he sent him a print of the drawing.
“He messaged me on Christmas Day and it was really nice. I wasn’t expecting it at all, but it was great to get the acknowledgment.”
The Climb with Charlie initiative has gained huge public interest with many well known Irish faces, including Daniel O’ Donnell, Donie O’ Sullivan and former President Mary McAleese, showing their support.
Donations to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) and Pieta House can be made through https://www.climbwithcharlie.ie/
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