Beneath The Surface - Published November 2007
I have always maintained the old adage that everyone has a fascinating story to them. All it takes is to spend some time with someone and get a good flow of conversation going. Ask enough questions. What you discover could amaze you.
I found this to be especially true when I met Bob Hartley. This affable and disarmingly pleasant man will set even the most reserved individual at ease with a ready smile and unpretentious behaviour. What drew me to speaking with him was that I had heard about his serious talent as an illustrator. I was intrigued and asked if he would be kind enough to tell me more about it.
Bob spoke about his interest in all things drawing related, especially caricatures. However, he had other stories to share too. I was more than happy to listen. When he was finished, I have to be honest in stating that I was more than a little humbled, and highly impressed.
Bob was born in West Germany to a British military family. After postings all over Europe, his father was transferred back to the UK where Bob picked up a fondness for art. He credits his mother as a true source of inspiration. "She is an amazing artist. Her paintings could have sold for thousands of pounds but she remained true to herself, and never discussed her art with anyone else," Bob mused. "She would paint on a canvas and once the painting was completed, she would wipe it clean and reuse the same canvas to start on something new. My father and I managed to save a few pieces of her work for ourselves. Line drawings and things like that."
A recently retired detective for the British police, Bob honed his artistic abilities during his thirty years on the force. "I've always loved to draw, ever since I was young. My friends were usually asking me to do caricatures or illustrations as going-away presents or retirement gifts. Or even when something funny happened while we were working.
It was fine at first but then I realised how much of my time it was taking up. So I started charging them for it," he laughs.
Larger caricatures in full colour tend to take Bob around four to five weeks to complete. Small black and white drawings however can be finished within two to three hours depending on the content.
He stresses that he is not a portrait artist by any means but thoroughly enjoys caricature. "Caricature is generally better because you can draw a feature out of someone. A facial or physical trait. It makes it easier. More interesting."
Caricatures are not Bob's only speciality. "Realism, accurate portrayals of machinery and explanatory exploded view of parts. That's actually how I became serious about illustrations.The owner of a UK publication named Rotorworld contacted me and asked me to prepare some interesting graphics. Rotorworld is a magazine for remote control helicopter fans. I'm a fan as well. I had to come up with a detailed drawing that would make it easier for readers to understand the designs of certain parts, to make it less boring.
I showed the people at the magazine some of my other work and I was offered a regular slot as the resident cartoonist. And the rest is history."
His humorous drawings, aptly titled "Giggles by Bob Hartley" are a regular feature in Rotorworld.
We then proceeded onto other topics. I was already aware that Bob had a serious passion for the outdoors and proceeded to ask him if he could spare any "really cool adventure stories", at the risk of sounding like a complete novice.
This is a man who is an admitted mountaineer and has scaled some seriously daunting peaks. Bjel Toubkal of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, Denali or Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mont Blanc in France and of course Mount Kinabalu, which he has climbed thirteen times.
He speaks with warm tones about the 2002 Mont Blanc expedition in which he was a cameraman and support team member for his best friend, renowned mountaineer Tony Ward.
The latter had lost the use of both his kidneys several years prior and viewed this challenge as a way to raise funds and awareness for kidney research, treatment and organ donation.
"Tony needed a dialysis pack change every four hours but he managed to set a world record for the highest dialysis exchange at 4,000 metres above sea level. It was a climb that would normally take three days. It took us two weeks," remembers Bob. " Sir Ranulph Fiennes was really great and helped us by forwarding the video footage we had recorded. It appeared on British television."
Sir Fiennes is the first man to complete land treks to both the North and South Pole as well as The Antarctic. He is widely regarded as one of the best explorers in the world.
The world record for the highest dialysis transfer has since been reset by none other than Tony Ward himself during his 2004 climb of Mount Toubcal in North Africa. That record currently sits at 4150 metres above sea level.
After pressing on for more stories, I found out just how serious Bob's love for nature is. He classifies himself as an "extreme canoeist" and was among the first group to ever paddle down Brunei's Sungai Temburong. While still in the UK he also set up and ran Kaboa for 6 years - a dedicated jungle training course which teaches expedition leaders to be rainforest aware. From this facility alone, he personally trained 250 leaders. Hence his nickname, Jungle Bob.
Bob has organised 13 trips for the World Challenge Expeditions, a programme that educates young adults through travel and by exploring a different range of countries around the world. "That is how I came to Sabah in the first place," states Bob, "And that's how I met my wife".
Sue Chong-Hartley has a strong affinity for the jungle and this evident through her own reminiscing of forest trips and fantastic skills behind the camera. This talented yet modest lenswoman exhibits serious flair for animal and insect photography, arachnids being her favourite subject. A flip through her portfolio will have you agreeing that her work is serious gallery worthy material, to say the least.
Not to be left behind, Bob too is an avid photographer but quickly lets on with a grin that "Mrs. Hartley has a far better eye for photography than I do."
I found this to be especially true when I met Bob Hartley. This affable and disarmingly pleasant man will set even the most reserved individual at ease with a ready smile and unpretentious behaviour. What drew me to speaking with him was that I had heard about his serious talent as an illustrator. I was intrigued and asked if he would be kind enough to tell me more about it.
Bob spoke about his interest in all things drawing related, especially caricatures. However, he had other stories to share too. I was more than happy to listen. When he was finished, I have to be honest in stating that I was more than a little humbled, and highly impressed.
Bob was born in West Germany to a British military family. After postings all over Europe, his father was transferred back to the UK where Bob picked up a fondness for art. He credits his mother as a true source of inspiration. "She is an amazing artist. Her paintings could have sold for thousands of pounds but she remained true to herself, and never discussed her art with anyone else," Bob mused. "She would paint on a canvas and once the painting was completed, she would wipe it clean and reuse the same canvas to start on something new. My father and I managed to save a few pieces of her work for ourselves. Line drawings and things like that."
A recently retired detective for the British police, Bob honed his artistic abilities during his thirty years on the force. "I've always loved to draw, ever since I was young. My friends were usually asking me to do caricatures or illustrations as going-away presents or retirement gifts. Or even when something funny happened while we were working.
It was fine at first but then I realised how much of my time it was taking up. So I started charging them for it," he laughs.
Larger caricatures in full colour tend to take Bob around four to five weeks to complete. Small black and white drawings however can be finished within two to three hours depending on the content.
He stresses that he is not a portrait artist by any means but thoroughly enjoys caricature. "Caricature is generally better because you can draw a feature out of someone. A facial or physical trait. It makes it easier. More interesting."
Caricatures are not Bob's only speciality. "Realism, accurate portrayals of machinery and explanatory exploded view of parts. That's actually how I became serious about illustrations.The owner of a UK publication named Rotorworld contacted me and asked me to prepare some interesting graphics. Rotorworld is a magazine for remote control helicopter fans. I'm a fan as well. I had to come up with a detailed drawing that would make it easier for readers to understand the designs of certain parts, to make it less boring.
I showed the people at the magazine some of my other work and I was offered a regular slot as the resident cartoonist. And the rest is history."
His humorous drawings, aptly titled "Giggles by Bob Hartley" are a regular feature in Rotorworld.
We then proceeded onto other topics. I was already aware that Bob had a serious passion for the outdoors and proceeded to ask him if he could spare any "really cool adventure stories", at the risk of sounding like a complete novice.
This is a man who is an admitted mountaineer and has scaled some seriously daunting peaks. Bjel Toubkal of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, Denali or Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mont Blanc in France and of course Mount Kinabalu, which he has climbed thirteen times.
He speaks with warm tones about the 2002 Mont Blanc expedition in which he was a cameraman and support team member for his best friend, renowned mountaineer Tony Ward.
The latter had lost the use of both his kidneys several years prior and viewed this challenge as a way to raise funds and awareness for kidney research, treatment and organ donation.
"Tony needed a dialysis pack change every four hours but he managed to set a world record for the highest dialysis exchange at 4,000 metres above sea level. It was a climb that would normally take three days. It took us two weeks," remembers Bob. " Sir Ranulph Fiennes was really great and helped us by forwarding the video footage we had recorded. It appeared on British television."
Sir Fiennes is the first man to complete land treks to both the North and South Pole as well as The Antarctic. He is widely regarded as one of the best explorers in the world.
The world record for the highest dialysis transfer has since been reset by none other than Tony Ward himself during his 2004 climb of Mount Toubcal in North Africa. That record currently sits at 4150 metres above sea level.
After pressing on for more stories, I found out just how serious Bob's love for nature is. He classifies himself as an "extreme canoeist" and was among the first group to ever paddle down Brunei's Sungai Temburong. While still in the UK he also set up and ran Kaboa for 6 years - a dedicated jungle training course which teaches expedition leaders to be rainforest aware. From this facility alone, he personally trained 250 leaders. Hence his nickname, Jungle Bob.
Bob has organised 13 trips for the World Challenge Expeditions, a programme that educates young adults through travel and by exploring a different range of countries around the world. "That is how I came to Sabah in the first place," states Bob, "And that's how I met my wife".
Sue Chong-Hartley has a strong affinity for the jungle and this evident through her own reminiscing of forest trips and fantastic skills behind the camera. This talented yet modest lenswoman exhibits serious flair for animal and insect photography, arachnids being her favourite subject. A flip through her portfolio will have you agreeing that her work is serious gallery worthy material, to say the least.
Not to be left behind, Bob too is an avid photographer but quickly lets on with a grin that "Mrs. Hartley has a far better eye for photography than I do."
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