Vison On and Take Hart

This month I finally got to meet one of my heroes, the artist, broadcaster and double BAFTA winning Tony Hart.

He wrote and presented the childrens' weekly television programmes such as Vision On, Take Hart and Hartbeat from 1952-2002 on which he demonstated how to draw, paint and create different forms of craft. He also designed the Blue Peter logo, still in use today.

As a child I was inspired by his easy going style style and straightforward step-by-step methods that made artistic creativity fun and imediately do-able. I never did send any of my pictures to the Gallery (to be shown on the programme), one of the few things I always regreted (not writing to 'Jim'll Fix it' was another), so finally meeting the man and seeing the studio where he thought up all his techniques was a great honour.

Tony was also kind enough to write the forward for my new book which details how everyone can begin and progress on their creative journey. It'll be out very soon. Visit Tony's website here. Here's a clip from the first episode of Take Hart from 1977.