Scandal in New Jersey!

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will cross THAT bridge when he comes to it…

Here's a link to my Vine of this #pencilsketch #politicalcartoon from start to finish:

https://vine.co/v/hLpKqizPDgA

WIP for this week's Caricaturama

My friend Court Jones won last week's CS3K with his Daniel Day Lewis, so he got to choose this week's subject, Norman Rockwell, whom I've long admired. I've spent about two hours so far sketching and painting this WIP:

I hope I'll have to time to finish it, busy gig weekend on the horizon! 

Last fall, in Washington DC, I visited a large exhibition of Rockwell paintings and sketches owned by Mssrs. Lucas and Spielberg. Seeing them up close was amazing. They are on a grand scale, but still feel cozy and intimate; his vision of Americana is still cherished by many. I certainly can see the appeal of that, but for me the attraction is that he was a figurative painter. Some of his faces border on caricature, of a very gentle sort, which is where (IMHO) my work leans on the scale of exaggeration.

ISCA monthly competition..Nelson Mandela

Cropping can have a definite effect on the success of a piece. I had done a quick Ebony pencil sketch of Mandela's head and shoulders, which I scanned into Photoshop. Then I did some painting, but something wasn't working for me...til I cropped it tightly to emphasize his serene gaze:

Here you can see the preliminary stages.

The pencil sketch on the right had some problems (mainly his eye positioning and cheek widths) which I fixed on the next step. Generally, nowadays my under-sketch just needs to be 'in the ballpark' and I do the refining as I go along. When I was a kid, along with many other aspiring artists, I'd rush to get to the fun stuff---the details-- before making sure the foundations of the drawing were solid. Guess I still have a little of that mindset!

Update 4-1-11: My Mandela took second place in a field of twelve entries! The other winners were Euan McTavish and Jan Opdebeeck. The judge was 2009 Golden Nosey winner Glenn Ferguson, who offered this feedback:
2nd Place: Emily Anthony! The likeness on this was perhaps the best overall, and it hobbles the fence between caricature and portraiture, it really "feels" like Mandella, which is what I always preach to beginning caricaturists. The mouth for me is the strongest point, and I like the cropping you did in the end. My only critique is that it feels a little like a floating head. I'd love to see a hint of a neck or shoulders underneath him.

Caricaturama 3000- James Cromwell

I have (happily) been swamped with commissions that I am working on, so my Caricaturama output has diminished to just quickie pencil sketches: this week's subject was James Cromwell of Babe and The Green Mile fame.

What a nose!!

Still dithering with Mr. Jones

David Bowie's real last name was Jones. I'd say 'Bowie' is much more memorable...as if his chameleon-like appearance and singing/songwriting weren't enough (they are, of course).
I decided to have a go at putting him in a green suit as seen in this video: Under Pressure
However, after seeing the revamped drawing ( done in PS) compared with my previous leather-jacketed entry, I didn't like it as much. And some FB friends agreed...
Here's some different stages for comparison.

Sometimes an artist's judgement is better when they have stepped away from a piece and not looked at it for awhile. 

Update: I kept the 4th version here as my entry, and it got one full-fledged vote and a couple of honorable mentions. :-) 

Conan O'Brien in my sketchbook...

My sketchbook is getting filled up lately...I am having fun with the pencil renderings, so I decided to do one of late-night-talk-show-hero Conan O'Brien, who uses fan artwork on the air. Recently, a friend's fantastic digital painting of Conan made it onto the show, and another friend submitted his hilarious take on the red-headed Irishman, so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring too...

RPatz-round 2

Thanks to some excellent critiques from colleagues on the ISCA forum, I made some subtle adjustments with a 6B pencil to my Robert Pattinson sketch...compare to my previous post. And I am still looking for my watercolor pencils!

First drawing of 2011

The ISCA forum is lucky to have a new artist/moderator, Klaas Op De Beeck, take over the monthly drawing contest that has been dormant for awhile. He chose RPatz as the first subject, and so far some of the other entrants (and I concur) have remarked on how difficult he is. People who have symmetrical faces tend to be hard to exaggerate and keep a likeness. My own style is not one of big distortions, but I found him tough as well.
This is my first drawing of 2011, done with a humble 2B pencil. For the next version, I am going to dust off my watercolor pencils, as Klaas suggested we try different media to get out of our  comfort zones.

Caricaturama 3000-Jennifer Aniston

I only had time for a quick pencil sketch this week, but there are some really hilarious more fully-rendered entries (since she is so big-chinned and manly-looking---perfect fodder for caricature artists!) Check them out at Caricaturama Showdown 3000.

It's been thirty years...

and he is still very much missed.

I found out the next morning when my mother told me before school (10th grade). Having discovered and worshipped the Beatles (particularly John) since seventh grade, I was crushed...and so was the rest of the world. RIP, Mr. Lennon.

Graphite pencil in sketchbook, about 4' by 4".

This week's Caricaturama 3000 entry...Michael Cera

Another quickie pencil sketch (with touches of Micron pen and PS CS3) for this week's challenge, Michael Cera. Although I'm not much of a movie buff, I actually did see Superbad and thought it was uncomfortably hilarious. I wonder what Sixteen Candles (my era's teenage coming-of-age movie and one of my favorites) would be like if it had been made in 2007...
Check out Caricaturama Showdown 3000, this young actor ( he also starred in Juno) is another difficult likeness, as was Seinfeld last week.

Caricaturama 3000-this week it's Jerry Seinfeld

The subject of the week is Mr. Puffy Shirt himself.

Many of the other artists on Caricaturama are going for Jerry's older, stand-up self, but I preferred to immortalize his whiny attitude ("but I don't wanna be a pirate") in this quick Ebony pencil sketch.

This week's Caricaturama 3000 entry...Gerard Depardieu

This guy's features lend themselves to all sorts of wild interpretations. I was struck by the disparate sizes of his huge nose and small mouth/ teeth. Click here: Caricaturama Showdown 3000 to see more!

Once again, Ebony pencil.

This week's Caricaturama 3000 entry...Tracy Morgan

The Facebook group Caricaturama Showdown 3000 is getting LOTS of entries for each week's celebrity, who is chosen by the winner for the following week. Here was my quick sketch ( under an hour) in Ebony pencil.

Doodling the downtime away...

Before I got busy at the hockey tournament, I did some people-watching...and doodling. These unaware subjects stood still long enough for me to get a likeness...and I completed the shading at odd moments during the event.

8 1/2 x 11, HB pencil.

Happy Birthday, Brian Epstein

It's not Sept 19th yet, but that day's celebrity birthday for the ISCA "Let's Draw' forum belongs to Mr. Brian Epstein, late manager of the Beatles. Without him, the world perhaps wouldn't have become aware of the lads in quite the way it did.
I had a go at him last night with just HB, 2B and 6B graphite pencils, and tried to capture the wistfulness beneath his smile.

Final version of Hitchcock scene for NCN competition

Finished up my pencil drawing for this month's online NCN-forum competition, and decided to display it the way I actually saw this old movie: on a vintage television set, a long long time ago. Click to see larger image.
Of course, the television, curtains and background were done digitally. I just treated myself to an early Christmas gift by buying an updated version of Photoshop--which is now installed and ready to go!

NCN Nov/Dec sketch contest WIP

It seems like I have been too busy to participate in these online sketch contests lately, but when I saw that the current one was "draw a Hitchcock scene" (being moderated by Vin Altamore) and that the deadline was Dec 15th, I decided to enter. The only Hitchcock movie I have ever seen is Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, and Dame Judith Anderson. Good flick though, as it won Best Picture for that year.

This is a work-in-progress....using my old friend the pencil.

Happy Hallowe'en 2008!

Graphite + Photoshop.
Neeeeeeeigh-eeeeiiiigh!

May NCN sketch contest entry...

This month's victim is Marilyn Manson. Quite a different face than last month's Matt Damon! Judge Jan Opdebeeck's usual rule applied: no digital media. So I drew one version in pencil and another in marler.
BTW, the last several contests have been won by my friend Paul Moyse. Find his blog in my links list...he is a rising star in the caricature world.