Adrian Chiles

13th January 2011, Norwich

Dear Adrian

Loving your work and was hoping you could help me with something.

I am doodling celebrities, sending them the doodles then asking them a) do they like it? And b) who should I doodle next? I then doodle their suggestion, send it and repeat (until someone doesn’t reply or I move house or, I suppose, die).

The winning chain of doodles (ie. With the most links) will win each link a certificate and maybe even a small trophy. You are the first link in this particular chain so the chain will be called the “Adrian Chiles chain”. Last year’s winner and current record holder is Harry Hill’s chain (Harry Hill > Maureen Lipman > Ann Robinson > Jeremy Clarkson) but I’m sure you can beat that.
So do you like my doodle? And, who should I doodle next?

Kind regards

Patrick Spragg

Nigel Slater

Dear Mr Slater

I hope you are well and the last meal that you cooked was a bonanza on the tastebuds.

I have doodled a picture of you (enclosed) and was wondering

a) If you like it and
b) Who you think I should draw next

You are the first celebrity in this particular chain so it will have your name as its title. The record to beat is the Harry Hill chain which has 4 links. Harry Hill > Maureen Lipman > Ann Robinson > Jeremy Clarkson. I’m sure you can show them a thing or two though? Hey? There may even be a certificate or a small trophy in it if you can.

I have enclosed a SSAE.

Thanks, in optimism, for your help.



Patrick Spragg
http://www.celebritydoodlemail.blogspot.com/





Doodle requested by the lovely IntolerantGourmet

Bill Oddie

Dear Mr Oddie

I hope you are well

I have doodled a picture of you (enclosed) and was wondering

a) If you like it and
b) Who you think I should draw next

You are the first celebrity in this particular chain so it will have your name as its title. The record to beat is the Harry Hill chain which has 4 links. Harry Hill > Maureen Lipman > Ann Robinson > Jeremy Clarkson. I’m sure you can show them a thing or two though? Hey? There may even be a certificate or a small trophy in it if you can.

I have enclosed a SSAE. Thanks, in optimism, for your help.

Say hello to the badgers for me.




Patrick Spragg
www.Celebritydoodlemail.blogspot.com

...and so it begins... again... maybe

I have been particularly bad at keeping this going but I did send one to Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame. He rather predictably asked me to doodle Joe next. Watch this space...

The beginning

Last year when I was told by the powers that be I was spending too much time on the internet when I should have been working, I started looking for other ways to kill time. It started with a doodle of John Prescot, jotted down while I was taking a call from a particularly obnoxious man from the north of England who, I assumed, shared John´s toad-like appearance. After processing the call I stared down proudly at my work.






An idea started to formulate in my head. I opened Microsoft Word and, after a cautious scan behind my shoulder for supervisors and bosses, started writing a letter.

[letter to John]

I sent it off c/o H.M. Government and waited. In the following days I sent similar letters and doodles to Harry Hill and Jeremy Beadle. There was no motivation for either, they were just the next celebrities to slip out of my pen.










Harry [the] Hill

[doodle of Jeremy]

A few days / weeks later (I can't remember exactly how long) I received one of the best days of post ever









it says "For Patrick, Watch out!"






Following Harry Hill's recomendation I doodled Maureen Lipman and sent her a letter





















I soon received her reply






and promptly did the same for Ann Robinson

Ann, being Ann, didn't stretch to a reply letter but did annotate the post it note





Again, I did the same for Jeremy Clarkson

[doodle to Jeremy Clarkson]

I never received a reply from the bastard (I never really expected one) but it was then that the celebrity doodle chain was born. This was now the bench mark to beat.

I started several other chains trying to beat this record including doodles of Steve Bell (Guardian cartoonist),














Wayne Rooney



and even a rather surreal spork based sculpture of Damien Hirst























but apart from a "signed" photo of Wayne Rooney, I had no joy.















As my supervisors' tolerance of my internet usage grew back, I spent less time on my little "art project" until finally it was just gathering dust in another folder in the depths of my desk.

Now I'm just coming to the end of an 8 month round the world trip and the project seems to have worked its way to the top of my "things I want to do when I get home" list. I'm going to try and recruit some other doodlers this time to make it more interesting and use this blog as a record of what's going on. Watch this space.