The brains behind a hugely-popular, West Ham-centric comedy animation series is opening his creative doors to all Hammers fans.
Canning Town Len's documentaries and animations have become hugely popular on the web since first launching via social media some two years ago.Some of his most famous caricatures include West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan and David Gold, who have starred in several shorts. And now Len is offering all supporters the opportunity to have themselves immortalised via his drawings.
Canning Town Len's Xmas paean to West Ham's board
To tie in with Father's Day which takes place on 21 June, Len - who draws inspiration from the likes of Reg Smythe and Bob Godfrey - is currently taking commissions from fans (be they West Ham supporters or otherwise) for their own personalised portraits, which will be added to the 100 or so he had already created.
And he told KUMB how the idea of providing personalised artwork came to him after he released his much-praised review of the 1980 FA Cup Final, which features many of those from that successful team, free of charge earlier in the current lockdown period.
"Since I released my documentary 'Everybody’s Second Team', one or two viewers approached me to commission portraits in the style of what they had seen in the animation scenes of the film," he said.
"It was something I was always open to do, as I thought it could be a vehicle to crowdfund a follow-up project.
"Nobody could have predicted the coronavirus lockdown but when it happened, I couldn’t deny fellow West Ham fans the chance to see the film for free while they were stuck at home with no football to watch.
An excerpt from 'Everybody's Second Team'
"It was never intended to be a money-making project, I simply wanted to tell the tale of our FA Cup story from a young fan’s perspective and see if animation could work instead of archive that was incomplete anyhow.
"I realised that I was sacrificing any chance to recoup my expenses, but there was a chance that I could exchange that for some free publicity from the club as it was clear that they would have challenges producing content for the 40th Anniversary of the cup win."
Sadly Len was ignored by West Ham when seeking further exposure for 'Everybody's Second Team' - perhaps unsurprisingly though, given his satirical take on the club's current board members who are not reknowned for taking criticism well.
"Unfortunately, for the second time, my offer to hand over the film to the club for its fans was met with ignorance," he added.
Undeterred however, Len continued with his plans and has since received in excess of 60 private commissions from supporters eager to have their faces added to his growing portfolio.
Len's latest project is open to all
"The best part of our club is the support of the fans - and with this project, the story was no different," mused Len. "When I decided to spend my lockdown time crowdfunding my project retrospectively people jumped at the chance to buy portraits, to support my studio for future projects.
"Fans love to feel included. It turns out I enjoy doing them more than I expected too! So I have introduced a page on my studio’s website to display all the information on the portraits.
"They can email me a photograph and a choice of any background or football shirt they wish. I can then send them my studio’s bank details, then they can expect their portrait in the inbox in about seven days.
"It’s a 1080HD image, so they are free to use them however they wish. The fans love them, and it’s fantastic to help them create memories!"
If you'd like to be immortalised by Canning Town Len, with prices starting at just £35, simply visit his website for further information.
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