Artist Annie Tempest on bringing her Tottering By Gently cartoon strip into licensing

To kick us off Annie, can you give us a quick summary of your career to date – and your route into the world of art ?
Well, it won’t be so brief as I’ve been at it for 40 odd years!

Ha!
I started out teaching myself to draw at 24 whilst a medical secretary. I naturally put funny remarks below all my attempts – even still lives had cartoon worms emerging from them… Then people started commissioning birthday cards from me – and I became more and more interested in improving and doing more as a cartoonist.

I started getting the odd spot on newspapers and magazines, and had great success with my first book collection. From there I joined the Daily Express and soon after the Daily Mail for seven years. When I started a family, I could only manage a weekly cartoon, so in 1993 I started Tottering by Gently – which has run every week since then and is now in its 32nd year.

Amazing. And what was the spark that lit the creative flame for this cartoon series?
When I realised the Yuppies were ‘over’, I decided to create a cartoon with longevity… A sort of different class of Giles family. It was not too difficult – having grown up in a stately home in North Yorkshire – to base it all on my family and dogs. So that’s what I did, and even my children were in it; Freddy and Daisy who are Lord and Lady Tottering’s grandchildren – even though I am now Daffy myself!

“It belongs in every family home on all sorts of products – just to remind us to gently laugh at life.”

Given the cartoon strip runs every week in Country Life, how do you find inspiration for it? You must be a great observer of life!
Yes. I am and always have been a people watcher. Body language is such a rich source of what’s really going on behind the chatter.

Has your art style changed over the years. Is it a challenge to keep things consistent from a design perspective?
Oh, yes. It has certainly evolved, but if you see a very early cartoon of mine you would know instantly it was by me. Daffy appeared previously as Athena in The Yuppies – at least facially.

You have recently announced that Karen Addison will be representing Tottering By Gently in the licensing market – and you have some licensees already. Can you tell us a bit more about your ambitions for licensing?
Tottering is quintessentially British. People have ‘grown up with it’. It has been running so long and it has been exhibited all over the world. It’s understood because of the humanity that we share, regardless of race or creed. I laugh with people, not at them – and it’s never crude or political, suiting all ages. So, it belongs in every family home on all sorts of products, just to remind us to gently laugh at life.

I welcome all ideas and know that Karen Addison will be sensitive to the brand’s core identity of clean, observational humour. I’m sure if there are ‘gaps’, Karen will have the contacts to fill them with fun.

Consumer-wise, who do you see as your target market? Is there a ‘typical’ Tottering By Gently consumer?
When I do outside country events, I am always staggered at the breadth of the demographic who love it. Animal lovers, grandparents, parents, kids. Humans!

“I am always staggered at the breadth of the demographic who love it.”

Have you been influenced by any other artists, illustrators and authors?
I would highlight Thelwell, Bateman, Osbert Lancaster and Pont as my influences.

A lot of our readers are artists and illustrators starting out on their design journey. What advice would you give them in regard to developing their career and portfolio of work?
Be good at ‘luck management’. All artists are on a journey, but you can’t wait ‘until I’m really good’ to get started. You must put yourself forward and take risks. I started way too early really, but I learnt on the job, worked really hard to achieve my dreams and continuously work to improve my techniques. If you love what you do, chances are others will too.

Finally, can you share one Tottering by Gently cartoon with us that you think captures the essence of the series well?
I think the image of Daffy weighing herself upside down with the caption “A woman’s ability to see facts from whichever angle suits her best” is one of my favourites – but, of course, the wordless cartoon is the holy grail and for that I choose: “Mars and Venus mow the lawn”.

Brilliant. Thanks Annie.