What’s New

Antonio Bosano, Pencil Portrait Artist

When I informed my wife at the tail end of 2011 that I was going to build the world’s largest pencil portrait website, I got precisely the reaction I would expect from a person who knows me as well as she does. No hint of trepidation—no obvious “How long will that take you?” Nothing really—beyond “Oh that’s good.” She knows I never lose interest in projects.

Mind you, one thing has changed. When people ask after me, she now replies “He’s under construction!”

A BRIEF WORD ON GENDER NEUTRALITY.

As anyone who follows entertainment news has become aware over the last decade and a half, most thespians of the female persuasion now refer to themselves as actors, not actresses. Journalists and other non-actors, to varying degrees, are getting to grips with the gender-neutral program. On the one hand this change in usage is informed by the egalitarian impulse that has pushed aside “stewardess” for “flight attendant” and, less successfully, “waitress” for the ungainly “waitperson” or ambience-free “server.”

Well, one of the great delights of having a website is the freedom to ignore such political correctness – or is it nonsense?!!! You decide, but here at this address, a woman is an actress.

Coming Soon

June 2020

Brenda De Banzie

New Portraits

May 2020

Laurence Olivier – revised portrait
Jane Merrow – revised portrait
Yvonne Mitchell
Anton Diffring
Shirley Bassey
Taina Elg

April 2020

Max Von Sydow
Gladys Knight
Peter Lorre
Lily James
Lily James in colour

March 2020

February 2020

Martin Peters

January 2020

December 2019

Hans Zimmer

November 2019

October 2019

September 2019

Oliver Reed and Aida the elephant

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

Barry Foster

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

December 2018

Vera Miles – Revised Portrait
Andrew Gold
Georgie Fame

November 2018

Sofia Helin
Kirk Douglas – revised portrait
Guy Pearce

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

July 2018

Amy Adams
Cliff Richard – Revised Portrait
Cillian Murphy

June 2018

May 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018

January 2018

December 2017

December 2012

My kindle book John Lennon—Reflections on a life is now available for download.

Updated Commentaries

Iman Abdulmajid
Adele
Muhammad Ali
Ursula Andress
Julie Andrews
Chet Atkins
Burt Bacharach
Stanley Baker
Gary Barlow
John Barry
Alan Bates
The Beatles
David Beckham *
Tony Bennett
George Benson
Chuck Berry [new]
George Best
Beyonce
Honor Blackman
Dirk Bogarde (updated 23/07/14)
Humphrey Bogart (updated 7/9/13)
Hugh Bonneville
David Bowie
Marlon Brando
Yul Brynner
Michael Bublé
Richard Burton (updated 14/4/13)
Kate Bush (updated 19/10/14)
Michael Caine
Glen Campbell
Claudia Cardinale
Helena Bonham-Carter
Johnny Cash (updated 27/5/13)
Gabrielle Chanel (updated 13/2/14)
Ray Charles
Cher
Eric Clapton (updated 03/10/13)
Jim Clark [new]
John Cleese [new]
Winston Churchill (updated 29/1/13)
George Clooney
Brian Clough
Eddie Cochran
David Coleman
Sean Connery
Harry H Corbett (updated 9/3/14)
Chris Cornell
Daniel Craig [expanded]
Joan Crawford
Sheryl Crow [new]
Tom Cruise
Benedict Cumberbatch
Tony Curtis
Timothy Dalton
Bette Davis
Sammy Davis Jnr
Miles Davis
James Dean
Simon Dee
Diana, Princess of Wales [new] (updated 14/4/13)
Sandy Denny
Michelle Dockery
Michael Douglas
Bob Dylan (updated 4/3/13)
Shirley Eaton
Duke Ellington
Clint Eastwood
Jose Feliciano
Bryan Ferry
Shirley Anne Field
Albert Finney (updated 15/1/14)
Errol Flynn
Harrison Ford
Clark Gable
Lady GaGa (updated 19/10/14)
Greta Garbo
Ava Gardner [new]
Art Garfunkel
Marvin Gaye (updated 8/3/13)
Eunice Gayson
Mel Gibson
Karen Gillan
Philip Glenister
Gloria Grahame
Hugh Grant
Pete Ham
Naomie Harris
Richard Harris (updated 18/3/13)
George Harrison
Debbie Harry (updated 29/3/15)
Tippi Hedren
William Hartnell
Jack Hawkins
Audrey Hepburn
Bernard Herrmann
Alfred Hitchcock (updated 7/5/13)
Buddy Holly
Trevor Howard
Sir Geoff Hurst
Lauren Hutton
Michael Jackson (updated 27/4/13)
Mick Jagger (updated 26/1/14)
Sid James (updated 29/3/13)
David Janssen
David Jason
Billy Joel (updated 21/3/15)
Elton John (updated 10/06/14)
Richard Johnson
Angelina Jolie
Brian Jones
Tom Jones (updated 3/3/15)
Carolyn Jones (updated 2/6/13)
Kim Kardashian
Carol Kaye
Grace Kelly (updated 12/2/13)
Jacqueline Kennedy
Dr Martin Luther King [new]
Heddy Lamarr
Burt Lancaster (updated 3/3/14)
George Lazenby
Peggy Lee (updated 17/3/13)
Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau
John Lennon
Gina Lollobrigida
Julie London
Joanna Lumley
Patrick Macnee (updated 15/3/15)
Madonna (updated 15/3/15)
Dorothy Malone
Imelda May
Paul McCartney [new] (updated 7/11/13)
Nelson Mandela
Steve McQueen [new] (updated 2/3/13)
Freddie Mercury
John Le Mesurier
Kate Middleton
Vera Miles
John Mills
Kylie Minogue
Helen Mirren
Robert Mitchum
Matt Monro
Marilyn Monroe [new]
Bobby Moore
Roger Moore [revised and expanded]
Kenneth More
Morecambe & Wise [new]
Van Morrison
Janet Munro
Andy Murray
Graham Nash
Paul Newman
Jack Nicholson
Harry Nilsson (updated 27/7/13)
Leonard Nimoy
David Niven (updated 09/6/13)
Kim Novak [new]
Laurence Olivier (updated 21/10/14)
Roy Orbison
Clive Owen
Lucianna Paluzzi
Pele
Carl Perkins
Eva Peron
Maia Perschy
Michelle Pfeffer
Brad Pitt
Sidney Poitier (updated 17/3/13)
Christopher Plummer (updated 10/9/13)
Billy Preston (updated 16/9/13)
Basil Rathbone
Robert Redford
Oliver Reed
Cliff Richard
Keith Richards
Diana Rigg
Yvonne Romain
JK Rowling
Eve Marie Saint
Lalo Schifrin
Ayrton Senna
Rufus Sewell
Robert Shaw
Jean Shrimpton
Paul Simon (updated 17/3/14)
Jean Simmons
Frank Sinatra [new]
Dame Maggie Smith
Romy Sneider
Dusty Springfield [new]
Terence Stamp
Ringo Starr
Jeanette Sterke
James Stewart
Sting
Mark Strong
Gilbert O’Sullivan
Taylor Swift
Elizabeth Taylor (updated 16/4/13)
Mick Taylor
Rod Taylor
Gene Tierney
Terry Thomas
The Trotters
Aidan Turner
Tina Turner
Robert Vaughn [new]
Marc Warren
Paul Weller
The Who
Brian Wilson
Amy Winehouse [revised and expanded]
Norman Wisdom
Stevie Wonder
Natalie Wood
Ronnie Wood (updated 31/10/13)
Bill Wyman
Loretta Young