The Sunday Times cartoonist Greg "Smithy" Smith celebrates 10 years with book and exhibition Watch how the creative process comes together in order to make an original Greg Smith cartoon. EARNING the hatred of the Premier, finding an unexpected collector in Australia's richest person and covering everything from Schapelle Corby's drug conviction saga to the rise and fall of Kevin Rudd. It's all in a decade's work for The Sunday Times" resident cartoonist Greg "Smithy" Smith. The award-winning WA media icon, who is celebrating 10 years at the paper with the release of his first book, A Decade of Drawing a Fine Line, and exhibition of the same name, said there was a long list of those his drawings had rubbed the wrong way, but Colin Barnett definitely isn't his "biggest fan." "I've heard he hates the way I draw and he says I make him look "grumpy-angry,"" Smithy said. All I can say (is) if the crown fits, you've got to wear it. But Smithy, whose book features more than 400 cartoons focusing on the biggest local and international events in news, politics and sport from throughout his career, said Mr Barnett was the exception to the rule and most politicians took his cartoons on the chin. "You think you've really got up their nose but they're the first ones on the phone wanting a copy," he said. Greg "Smithy" Smith in his studio with one of his finished cartoons. The Sunday Times" cartoonist is releasing a book: "A Decade of Drawing a Fine Line." He recalled receiving one unexpected phone call coming from Gina Rinehart. "I drew a not-very-flattering one of her," he said. I thought she was going to be on the phone abusing me but she wanted a copy. One of Smithy's personal favourites was a cartoon about the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin in 2006, which featured a stingray drowning his sorrows at a bar with the barman asking him, "What the hell were ya thinkin," Ray?." "I just thought Steve spent his life wrestling crocs and other dangerous species, so to meet his demise by a stingray seemed pretty ironic," he said. How would the poor old stingray be feeling when he reflected on what he'd done? The cover of "A Decade of Drawing a Fine Line" by The Sunday Times cartoonist Greg Smith. Smithy, whose retrospective exhibition of cartoons and caricatures opens at The Showcase Gallery on Thursday, said his favourite subjects had been politicians and sportspeople, who had "great craniums for cartoonists." But he doesn't like drawing good-looking people - his subjects need to have character in their expression, teeth, eyebrows, ears or height. He said 10 years at The Sunday Times had flown by. "I keep waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, "Come on, you've got to go get a real job,"" he said. It's been a dream and an absolute pleasure. A Decade of Drawing a Fine Line will be sold at The Showcase Gallery, Northbridge, from Thursday until November 22 or can be ordered at: smithycartoons@bigpond.com Originally published as Pollies have "great craniums for cartoonists"