As he approaches 80, artist Peter Till has sorted through decades of his artwork, organizing a solo exhibition to raise funds for the Shepherds Hill allotments community in Hornsey. His show features original cartoons and artwork, showcasing local landscapes and travel scenes. Till emphasizes the community's spirit through gardening events, yet notes the need for maintenance at the site due to weather-related damage. His artistic journey began with a portfolio that garnered attention from publications, leading to a vibrant career that includes creating Royal Mail stamps.
In high winds a tree fell on our trading shed where we buy in supplies of fertiliser and compost. The whole site needs maintenance, of fences or places where youths break in and have secret parties. There's a fantastic community there, we have a monthly gardeners' question time, and a lunch where people make soup, bread and cakes. It's all very jolly. It's also an enormous inspiration, I'm often wandering around with a sketchbook doing watercolours or on the spot pen and ink drawings.
They bought stuff straight out of my portfolio, and that sort of took over. I had always drawn, my father was a commercial artist, and when I came down from Cambridge I didn't know what I was going to do.
I lived in the YMCA the whole time in New York, filing for major titles. My career has ranged from playing in a band, to making an animated film with fellow artist Ian Emes.
Original cartoons for The Observer, Evening Standard, Sunday Times and New York Times can be seen at his one-man show at Original Gallery at Hornsey Library.
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