Derek Gray biography
I was born in 1968. The crowning glory of my early artistic life was winning a local art competition when I was 7 or 8, with a picture of a Dalek made from macaroni and split peas. How could I not become an artist? So in 1986 I left home and went to Grays School of Art in Aberdeen. I graduated in 1990 with an honours degree in Printmaking and now pursue a freelance art career.To earn a living I’ve found it necessary to have many fingers in many pies, and so I draw storyboards, illustrations, comic strips, cartoons and caricatures. As an illustrator, caricaturist and cartoonist I have worked for a wide spectrum of clients including The Guardian, The Sunday Herald, BBC, The Red Cross, Scottish Enterprise, RSPB, Scottish Power, First Group, SMG, Diageo, Visibility Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.
Comic strips are an abiding love. The Scottish Cartoon Art Studio (of which I am one of the artists) has written and drawn the (to date) four issues of “Cock Tales” , a governmental sexual health resource for gay men. I have also drawn some “Desperate Dan” strips for D.C. Thompson, and “Air Warriors”, a swashbuckling adventure comic published as two 64-page volumes in the USA by Fantaco. This last comic book was written by my friend Noel Hannan. We intend to publish a print-on-demand single volume edition in the near future.
My main work is as a storyboard artist. Some of the feature films I have worked on are “Hallam Foe", “Magicians”, “Ratcatcher”, “Young Adam”, “American Cousins” and “The Flying Scotsman”. TV work includes “Rebus – Mortal Causes”, short films for the BBC and C4, and many many commercials for the likes of Irn Bru, Frosties, Mars, Adidas, Panasonic, Tennents and Coors.
In 1999 I joined the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio as one of the founding members. The Studio, set up by Chris Sommerville, is a group of freelance cartoonists and caricaturists and over the years we have been going from strength to strength. The summer of 2006 saw our greatest achievement yet! The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh hosted “Fizzers”, an extensive exhibition of our caricatures. Mercat Press published the accompanying book, called “Fizzers: Famous Scottish Faces Caricatured”, which featured 104 of the exhibition pieces. It is available in the shops (£9.99 ISBN: 1-84183-094-1) or on-line at http://www.mercat.birlinn.co.uk/book/details/Fizzers-9781841830940/.
Other exhibitions I have participated in are: Dessin de Presse et Humour - St. Just le Martel (2002)as part of the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio; Days of Scotland – Croatia (1996); Exchange Exhibition – Corbeil Essonnes (1993); Cross Selections – Kirkintilloch (1992); Bradford Print Biennale – Bradford (1990) (re-sited to RCA London 1991); The New Generation – Glasgow (1990).
I am married, have two daughters and live in Milton of Campsie, a small town to the north of Glasgow at the foot of the Campsie Fells.