The world’s leading silhouette cutter

Soon after leaving Art College, he began his career by working as a street portrait artist in London’s Covent Garden. You would find him in the Piazza every weekend, drawing portraits for tourists. From these humble beginnings his career has developed both nationally and internationally and he found he could cut silhouettes, as well as draw. He has been invited and booked to cut silhouettes of many notable figures of our age, including the late HRH Queen Elizabeth II (three times), King Charles III, President Bill Clinton, President Nelson Mandela and a whole host of actors, artists, performers, celebrities and sporting personalities.
Charles will tell you that all he needs to earn a living is a pair of scissors and a pocketful of paper. This rather belies the extraordinary skill with which he uses his tiny scissors and the unbelievable hand-eye coordination which guides his work. Whether appearing on stage, or mixing with guests at a party, he can cut a convincing likeness in 90 seconds or less.
Silhouettes are an old and oft-forgotten English art. You may know them as the small, black profiles, set in ornate oval frames, to be found in various town and country houses. Silhouettes (or “shades” as they were then known) were at their most popular in the Georgian and Regency periods. They took a back seat when the new art - photography – arrived in the 1850s, with brief periods of revival in the 1900s and 1920s. Today, silhouette cutting remains an almost lost art.
Silhouette-cutting is suitable for all age groups and, as there is no language barrier, it’s wonderfully well received at international and multicultural events too.

We secured Charles’s services late on in planning our event and we are so pleased we did. Charles worked the room well for almost 100 guests, creating his incredible silhouettes and dazzling everyone with his skill. The proof of the final print with all of our guests on was provided quickly afterwards and Charles was even able to add our baby nephew who was too wriggly on the day. Highly recommend!

John Hiliger