Otiz Cannelloni's tributes to his comedy heroes

A stand-up who turned to painting his comedy heroes to get through lockdown has landed his first exhibition.

Otiz Cannelloni will be displaying his oil portraits at Lauderdale House, a Tudor country house in London, under his real name, John Korn.

The comedy magician, below, said he first got into painting a few years ago when he tried to encourage his young son, who did not take to the hobby – but he did.

‘I loved the vivid colours and the thick richness of the paint,’ he said. ‘It continued as a hobby for several years, and then in 2020 we had our first lockdown, and my employment disappeared.’

To pass the time, he created a portrait of Tommy Cooper and said: ‘I was very pleased with the outcome and it got lots of likes and comments when I posted it on Facebook. That was all the encouragement I needed.

‘I continued to paint comedians and comic actors that I admired from the past.  I loved working on the images and they gave my Covid days a focus which helped make everything more bearable.

‘All the comedians I painted have, to some degree, influenced my own comedy. They brought back all kinds of happy memories for me; I hope they do the same for you.’

Those featured in his exhibition, entitled A Comedian’s Comedians, include Oliver Hardy, Barbara Windsor, Marty Feldman, Molly Sugden and Eric Sykes – as well as the Cooper portrait that kicked it all off.

The display opens at Lauderdale House on February 16 and runs until March 14. It’s free to attend and you don’t need a ticket. More details are here.

The property, in Highgate was originally built for Richard Martin,  the Lord Mayor of London, in 1582, and is now an arts and education centre.

Published: 3 Feb 2022