About Me
Mark Nesbitt is an award winning Irish Cartoonist and Caricaturist who has worked under the pen name of 'Luke Warm' since 1990 - over 30 years!
He started off as a civil engineer drawing in his spare time and in 1985 was joint winner of a cartoon competition run by the Guardian newspaper and Granada TV. But it was while working on water projects in Botswana that he had his first major break with the weekly publication of his social and political strip 'Fence Sittin' by Luke Warm' which ran for over 2 years in Mmegi newspaper and was the joint winner of the 1991 Botswana Press Trust award.
In 1992 he moved to London, kept on the Luke Warm pen name and over the next ten years built up a body of cartoon and illustration work with the Financial Times, The Irish Times, The Press Association, the Times Higher Education Supplement, The Sunday Business Post and the Evening Standard amongst many others.
He moved to Devon in 2003 and since then, based in his purpose built studio, now mainly works as a caricaturist throughout the south west - in fact even as far south west as the Caribbean for P&O Cruises!
Caricatures by Luke Warm won the 2017 Best Entertainment Award at the South West Wedding Awards. He'd previously won the Best Entertainment Award at the 2009, 2010 & 2011 West Country Wedding Awards and in 2013 won their Judges Choice Award from a field of 138 entrants. He was also shortlisted for both the 2009 & 2010 Service Excellence Awards by the Federation of Small Businesses.
Bio
Biography of award winning Irish Cartoonist & Caricaturist Luke Warm
2003-2021 Mainly commissioned caricatures from photos for corporate and private clients. Also on-the-spot caricaturing at weddings, parties and corporate events from the NEC and London Hotels to Caribbean cruises for P&O.
2008-2021 Conference Cartooning for GSI at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Engage at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, The Science Museum in London, NIHR CLAHRC in London, the British Natural History Consortium (BNHC) in Bristol, The Diabetes Research Network (DRN) at Imperial College London, the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, the Evelina London Children's Hospital and at Public Dialogue Events in Exeter, Birmingham and Glasgow for Exeter University
2003-2006 The Daily Telegraph (cartoonist)
1996-2002 The Irish Times, Dublin (cartoonist - published weekly)
1997-2001 The Financial Times (cartoonist - published weekly)
1995-1998 Times Higher Educational Supplement (cartoonist - published weekly)
1996-2005 Visiting Lecturer at four international cartoon exhibitions, Amnesty International, The Cartoon Arts Trust in London, The Open University, National College of Art and Design (Dublin) & North Devon College.
1996-1999 The Sunday Business Post, Dublin (cartoonist - published weekly)
1997 The Evening Standard (cartoonist - published weekly)
1995-1996 The Press Association, cartoonist - weekly syndication of Punters personal finance cartoon strip to The Birmingham Post, The Manchester Evening News, The Belfast Newsletter, The Shorpshire Star and The Newcastle Journal.
1995 MA (Distinction) in Graphic Design and Visual Communication through Cartooning from the University of Central England in Birmingham, sponsored by the Midland Independent Newspaper group. Researched recent incidents of cartoon censorship worldwide and set up censored cartoon Internet site for Index on Censorship.
1994-1996 Third Sector - Sector Hector cartoon strip published monthly
1992-2002 Freelance cartoonist working under the pen name ‘Luke Warm’ in London with regular cartoon and illustration commissions (including editorial, magazine and supplement covers, photomontage, strips, pocket & spot cartoons) in The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, Magill (Dublin), Business & Finance (Dublin), New Statesman & Society, New Internationalist, Public Policy Review, The Big Issue, Scallywag, The Big Issues (Dublin), The Pike (Dublin)
1990-1992 Mmegi newspaper (Botswana), "Fence Sittin' by Luke Warm" cartoon strip published weekly
1990-1992 Africa South, Zimbabwe, "The Kgotla.. by Ms Noma" carton strip published monthly
1982-1983 Phoenix magazine, Dublin 'And so on..' cartoon strip
1981 The Sunday Tribune, Dublin. Illustrated travel articles written by Tadhg Crowley on a 3 month journey together following the route of Kipling's Kim on the Grand Trunk Road through Pakistan and India.
Awards
Luke Warm has won and been shortlisted for a number of awards for his cartoons and caricatures including
2022 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2020 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2019 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2017 Winner, Best Entertainment Award
2016 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2015 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2013 Winner, Judges Choice Award
2012 Finalist, Best Entertainment Award
2011 Winner, Best Entertainment Award
2010 Winner, Best Entertainment Award
2009 Winner, Best Entertainment Award
2010 Shortlisted for Service Excellence
2009 Shortlisted for Service Excellence
1990 Joint Winner, Botswana Press Trust Cartoon Award for "Fence Sittin' by Luke Warm" cartoon strip which ran weekly for two years in Mmegi newspaper, Botswana.
1985 Joint winner of cartoon competition run by The Guardian newspaper and Granada TV (with the cartoon about the ongoing famine in Sudan and Ethiopia opposite).
Below are comments very kindly submitted by previous clients for the 2022 South West Wedding Awards
Mark was amazing, I hired him to draw Caricatures for the guests as their wedding favours. Everyone loved them.
Superb drawings and performed quickly. Nearly everyone took one away as a memento. So glad we had him at our wedding.
Mark was really personable and having him draw caricatures was a great ice-breaker. The caricatures we’re wonderful and picked up on our guests features without being insulting!
From the first enquiry, Mark was a true professional. His arrival and setup at our event was discreet, he made all of our guests welcome and some now have a unique memento to remember our wedding as a gift. We received a joint drawing, and Mark's patter and calm approach gave us a perfect outcome. If we were based locally, I would use Mark for many more events. Very highly recommended and a shining example to how wedding suppliers should be.
With this being the 'third time lucky' because of covid cancellations throughout 2020 and 2021, when we were looking for someone to entertain our guests at our intimate wedding, we wanted someone who would put our guests as ease and someone why could have fun with. Mark was just that, his caricatures were amazing, he was so friendly and any of our requests were never a problem. I would highly recommend Mark for his professionalism, talent and ultimately customer service and he is truly worthy winner of this award as we couldn't have had our day without him.
Luke Warm provided on the spot caricatures at our wedding on 13 November 2021 at Brymptom House in Yeovil. The guests were thrilled with his input and delighted with their keepsakes from the day. Luke Warm was very professional and courteous and kept the guests entertained while photos etc. were being done. An extremely talented artist who we wouldn't hesitate in recommending to any other couples for their upcoming weddings. Worth every penny and more besides.
Amazing addition to the evening and great person to have their, blend in and make it fun.
Great accurate caricatures, provided wonderful entertainment for a range of guests as part of our evening do. Brilliant talent!
Excellent, enjoyed by all.
Mark demonstrated an extremely professional approach, showing his experience by mingling subtly with guests, which created an ever-growing sense of excitement around what he was doing. We would thoroughly recommend him for any wedding, especially as the collection of our guests' portraits has been a superb addition to our memory book, to help us better remember our day forever more.
Mark was absolutely brilliant. Every picture was amazing and captured our guests and ourselves perfectly. Nothing was too much trouble and he even went the extra mile by producing a picture of 1 of our daughters (a bridesmaid) afterwards as she was unable to see him on the day.
Mark was absolutely amazing at our wedding - the caricatures he produced were out of this world! Well worth the cost and was an utter hit with all of our guests.
On a personal note, Mark was one of the nicest people we had the pleasure of dealing with among our suppliers. He was amazing and would recommend him to anyone for functions.
Mark was great to work with right from the very start. He responded professionally and promptly to our late notice enquiry and was very helpful and clear in what he could offer us.
He arrived at our wedding promptly, was very friendly, and left maybe a little later than booked in order to make sure we didn't miss out on our own caricature (we were running late with photos at the beach!)
Our caricature was absolutely fab, and everyone commented on how much they loved theirs - he noted people's personal lifestyles and hobbies in his work, not just their faces! Mark is a very talented man who has added to our wonderful wedding day memories!
Festivals and Exhibitions
Luke Warm has exhibited at the following
2016 The 13th Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival, UK
2014 The Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom 14th International Editorial Cartoon Competition
2014 CCGB Minicom in Mellieha, Malta
2013 Cootehill International Cartoon Festival, Ireland - probably the 44th largest cartoon festival in the world..
1996-2011 Salon du Dessin de Press et d'Humour de Saint-Just-Le-Martel, France (pictured right)
2009 Fine Art & Music, Cedars Inn, Barnstaple
2007-2008 Politics Pays Back, Kowalsky Gallery, DACS, London
2005-2007 Shewsbury International Cartoon Festival, UK
2002, 2004 Big Grin Cartoon Festival, Nottingham England
2003-2004 Cartooned!, North Devon Festival, England
2002 International Press Cartoons Exhibition, Carquefou, France
1998-2001 National Cartoon Festival, Ayr, Scotland
1999 West Cork Cartoon Weekend, Skibbereen, Ireland
1998 The Great Challenge International Exhibition of Political Cartoons, London
1998 Hung, Drawn and Quatered Cartoon Festival, Birkenhead, England
1998 Cartoon '98, Chelsea Town Hall, London
1995-1997 Guinness International Cartoon Festival, Rathdrum, Ireland
1995 Tulip Cartoon Parade, Lisse, The Netherlands
Associations
Since going professional in 1992, award winning cartoonist and caricaturist Luke Warm is or has been a member of numerous professional cartoon organisations, associations and clubs, including
The British Cartoonist Association (BCA). Membership is by invitation only and limited to 100 UK professionals. Luke Warm has been a member since 2001.
The Professional Cartoonists Organisation (PCO)
The Political Cartoon Society (PCS)
Cartoonists Club of Great Britain (CCGB)
Federation of Cartoonists' Organisations (FECO)
Luke Warm also has a listing on the British Cartoon Archive and Irish Comics Wiki
