Former Professional cartoonist Mike Watson has used his artistic skills to capture a taste of the activities taking place at the U3A where he is a member.
Mike, now in his 80s is currently Vice Chairman of Lyndhurst & District U3A in Hampshire, having been chairman previously.
Mike says, “Having left the army in 1961 I joined Phillips – a Dutch electronics company as a Technical Author and Illustrator. During the following 30 years, my spare time was taken up as a freelance cartoonist. I was published in various magazines and newspapers around the world and in publications such as Punch.
“I began to work as a self-taught wildlife artist, making hand carved and painted life-like studies of British birds which I still love doing today – exhibiting in galleries and large agricultural and county shows.
“When Lyndhurst & District U3A launched in 2014 and I became the Chairman, it rekindled my enjoyment of cartooning, taking my inspiration from the wide range of Interest Group activities including the Creative Writing group which I am part of”.
You can find more about Lyndhurst and District U3A https://u3asites.org.uk/lyndhurst/home
Are there any more U3A cartoonists and illustrators out there? We’d love to hear from you – you can submit an article at www.sources.u3a.org.uk