All about Sensible Pencil A.K.A Chrissy Marshall
All about Sensible Pencil A.K.A Chrissy Marshall
Chrissy, A.K.A Christian, Marshall has been drawing silly pictures since he could hold a pencil. As a rather chubby child, Chrissy would happily sit in front of the T.V with a sketch pad, a pen and a packet of biscuits, for hours on end, picking up tips from Rolf's Cartoon Time. The only ambition this plump little man ever had was to become a cartoonist when he grew up (apart from wanting to be the fifth member of The A Team).
Alas, it was another twenty years before Chrissy's dream could become a reality. In early 1999, after an 18 month excursion around the world, Chrissy found himself in Australia with 16 dollars in the bank, but no work permit or job. There was nothing else for it. After investing his 16 dollars in some paper, charcoal and a plastic deck chair, this brave adventurer took himself off to Circular Quay in Sydney, the site of the famous Opera House and harbour bridge, and set himself up outside. And so it was, that on January 15th, Chrissy Marshall debuted his quick fire caricatures to the world and the Sensible Pencil was born.
The following year, back in Blighty, Chrissy achieved his goal of becoming a full time professional caricature artist. Since that time, he has drawn literary thousands of people, and many famous faces, at events the length and breadth of the country. Chrissy's natural talent for capturing the funny side of a face has taken him to some of Britain's most esteemed venues, including Claridges, The Royal Festival Hall, Anfield and The Houses of Parliament. In 2003, he also revisted Sydney to perform his craft inside the Opera House.
Chrissy studied Art at university in Bath, but apart from his First Class Degree and a few hangovers, he found this to be a complete waste of time. He is also a published author, an accomplished tea maker and proud holder of a gold badge in swimming.
Chrissy now lives at the blunt end of a pencil in Bath, with his lovely missus Lizzie and their two children - Gracie and Angus, not to mention Lemony the very smelly labrador. He also has three brothers and a sister, who all have interesting jobs. One brother, James, is a Master Thatcher, Jonathon is a professional Falconer, eldest brother David is an accomplished Opera Singer, and Mandy is a talented mother of four boys and a dab hand with cake mix. You can find out more about them all here.
