Leaving, on a jet plane

Well, the time has come, I am leaving Dubai.

I am moving with my beautiful fiance to slightly colder climes, and are Dublin bound at the middle of February.

I am lucky to have had 5 wonderful years in Dubai, but we both felt it was time to return to reality, and see how we get on making a fresh start in Ireland.

Dubai has been given a bad rep by the worlds media, but you know what, it's not so bad. Yes, it has it's socialites, yes, it has it's falsities, yes, it has it's blanketed media, yes, it is a giant playground in the middle of the desert, and believe me, it is a place of many double standards. But when it's good, my my, it's good. We have many things now, that just would not have been available to us if we had not made that decision to come here, and not to mention the life experiences and cultural eye openers we have been fortunate enough to experience.

For me, I have caricatured for some of the most influential people in the Middle East, some of the most read magazines in the UAE, some of the largest companies in the world, and in some of the most amazing venues I have ever seen. I have been interviewed and caricatured live on TV, had articles in several papers, and caricatured for the royal family, so all around, not so bad.

I really became a caricaturist while I lived here, which without the support of the ISCA and my friends in the caricature community around the world, would have been impossible. I am moving from a country with only 2 or 3 caricaturists (including myself), to Ireland, where some of the worlds best are based. I look forward to turning email friendships into face to face ones, and I look forward to having a real artist community to become involved with.

I have met some fantastic people, and some dear friends, who I will miss greatly.

I will be in Dubai for 2 more weeks, so if you are reading this, and would like a caricature, or for me to attend your event, give me a call, and lets see if we can fit it in before I leave.

So, what lays ahead for us is an exciting prospect, and more will be detailed about this in time to come, but as for caricature, I am at a crossroads. Stick around, and see what happens.