Stephen Khamis

Stephen Khamis was born in Hackney in 1964 and first became aware of his talent when his teachers drew to his attention that his ability to reproduce images from memory and sight were vastly superior to that of his classmates.

He was just five years old. Later his teachers would encourage him to become a teacher in his own right and has since taught at High Brooks, Tunbridge Wells and also given private lessons.

Stephen soon developed his own style recreating images from wildlife and discovered that drawing Mickey Mouse, Dcotor Who, and other contemporary icons made him popular with classmates and teachers alike, regularly being asked for examples of his work. It was good business! Stephen would never go short of sweets or pocket money again. As he developed his skill he merged his two passions, art and athletics - especially boxing, and became an established amateur boxer and sporting artist while still in his teens.

His influences were Leroy Newman, Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, Albrecht Durer, Leonardo Davinci and Michelangelo to name but a few.

TV and Movie icons that Stephen has paid tribute to include Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Marylin Monroe, Norman Wisdom, Charlie Chaplin and characters from 'Only Fools and Horses'.

In the world of music he has created one of his most popular works – Elvis, and has created images for Adam Faith, The Beatles, Sir Cliff Richard, Status Quo, to name but a few.

Popular contemporary artists that Stephen admires are Jayne Brewster Beard, Alexandra Bastien and Jonathan Newey.

Stephen has worked with such sporting icons as Don King, Barry McGuigan, Chris Eubanks, Barry Hearn, Mickey Duff, Terry Lawless etc., and met and drawn numerous sporting giants including his personal favorite, Mohamed Ali.

Stephen was recently awarded a contract by the family of Hollywood Icon, Tony Curtis to recreate images from his screen triumphs. He has a deal in place with Global Calendars for 2012.