One of my fondest childhood memories was watching “Vision On”, a british tv children’s show in the late 60′s to mid 70′s. Vision On was designed as a replacement for a monthly series called For the Deaf, and maintained it’s commitment to the deaf community though a fast paced, entirely visual programme. There was very little speaking at all, just a few repeated phrases and an introduction that was accompanied by British Sign Language. I think that was the magic that made it work. The format encouraged young minds to be imaginative. Through-out it’s 12 year run the program gained several awards including the international Prix Jeunesse and the BAFTA Award for Specialised Programmes.
The artist in that show was a man named Tony Hart and he just had a way about him that made you WANT to be creative. He went on to present other children’s shows such as Playbox, Take Hart and Hartbeat. This image took it’s inspiration from one of the Hartbeat shows. It was a challenge image, Tony challenged you to draw right along with him in a series of 2 or three shows. I was only able to see one of the shows but that was enough for spark my imagination. As he sketched the outline for this particular image, he talked. He talked about why he did certain things artistically and he talked about options that made you think, dream, and imagine.
Learn more about Vision on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_On
http://www.its-prof-again.co.uk/
You can read more about Tony Hart on his official webpage here, http://www.tonyhart.co.uk/





