The Art of Observation: Dave Walker Reflects on His New Book and Two Decades of Cartooning

We speak to Dave Walker about 21 years of creating cartoons for the Church Times and his new book, The PCC Strikes Back.

Dave Walker is a freelance cartoonist specialising in church and cycling-themed cartoons. He started drawing cartoons when he should have been concentrating on theological lectures at college. Dave lives in Essex, where he is on the steering group for a Methodist chapel, The Fishermen's Chapel in Leigh-on-Sea.

Hi, Dave. Would you tell us about your new book. Why the PCC (Parochial Church Councils) and do you have a favourite cartoon or one that nicely sums up the collection?

It’s a collection of cartoons originally drawn for the Church Times. They’re largely about the minutiae of church life. But there’s some more issue-based ones in there too. A member of staff at Canterbury Press came up with the idea. And brilliant it is too. If you hunt around you’ll find PCCs (Parochial Church Councils) in the book, so the title does fit.

A favourite might be one titled ‘Young People’, which talks about issues such as same-sex marriage and climate change. It’s probably better seen than explained!

This year you will have been creating cartoons for the Church Times for 21 years. What inspires you to continue cartooning?

It’s been a huge privilege to draw cartoons for the Church Times for over twenty years. I think very highly of the paper and the people who produce it, and I know readers (well - some of them at least) enjoy my work, so I suppose that’s what inspires me to continue. But also (and this is actually true) I can’t really do anything else.

You have a unique and very charming style of illustration, can you tell us more about your creative process? How do you turn an observation into a finished cartoon?

If I had a reliable formula for creating a cartoon I’d be a more relaxed person... Topics come from all kinds of places, things I notice, what people say online, my past experiences, etc. Keeping a notebook for ideas is essential for me - not just about church things but for all my other projects too. There’s a lot of mulling things over, going for a walk or sitting in my favourite café. Eventually I put pen to iPad and see which concept might work as this week’s drawing. My wife, or perhaps a member of staff at the café, or a passer-by, invariably has to look at a half-finished attempt while I explain how terrible it is. But somehow a completed version eventually emerges.

We would love for you to continue cartooning for another 21 years and beyond. Are there any church situations or general topics you haven’t tackled yet, but would like to?

It often feels to me that I must, by now, have covered every church situation imaginable, but even if that is the case there’s always scope for a different angle. I’d like to do more topical work because there’s a lot that I’d like to say, though I find that far more challenging than drawings about everyday situations. But that’s my current aim.

A lot of people find reassurance in the way you tackle important issues within the church and outside of it. Do you think humour can help navigate change or conflict?

I think being able to laugh at ourselves is a good thing, generally. As to whether my cartoons actually help in any way - no, I wouldn’t have thought so. But it's always my hope that they give clergy and others a bit of a morale boost, which can’t be a bad thing.

Finally, what do you hope people come away with after reading your books/viewing your cartoons?

Essentially I’m hoping that their day is improved just a little bit. I’ve got lots of books of work by my favourite cartoonists, and for me looking through those books is one of my favourite activities. And if, just very occasionally, one of my diagrams causes someone to stop and think, then that would be good too.

 Dave Walker's new book, The PCC Strikes Back is available here.