As the Yankees beat the Orioles, some fab faces were caricatured...

It was as if the caricature gods sent us ready-made candidates last night in Baltimore!


These two buddies totally enjoyed their caricature experience with me. They heckled each other the whole time as I drew each one, and both exploded in laughter as they saw the results. After I finished, one took pictures on his cell phone to send to friends! That made me feel so good!
The airplane on the top was added when they told me they were air-traffic controllers ;-O

This couple were a hoot. Facial hair is always funny. They were being drawn by me as the next photo shows what my colleague Gary Smith was dealing with on my left...


...crazy vacationing Brits with beer!!! In fact, they were so crazy that all the passersby recognized them as the same-sex kissing couple displayed on the KissCam during the game!!! They certainly got their fifteen minutes of fame in Baltimore!

I asked them why, since it was their first American baseball game, didn't they buy Yankees stuff to take back to London? One of them relied, "the British always back the underdog"---fitting , as the Orioles ARE in last place.

A cute little five-year-old's birthday pool party

On the way to--and from---my gig yesterday, the skies opened and drenched my area once again! But DURING the party, it was a beautiful summer's day, with lots of swimming, eating, and caricatures!




As is usual, I drew all the kids first and then some of the grown-ups.
I'd drawn the birthday girl last month at Kimberton Fair, and it turned out that I had drawn her cousins a long time ago there as well!
This family was such a joy to draw for, they were so warm and friendly that I ended up staying for awhile afterward, and enjoying their company. They also had the best corn-on-the-cob I've had all summer... Thanks for everything! :-)

Caricaturists, contracts, & cancellations

Infrequently, (actually VERY infrequently over the years) I have been in a situation where I've been contracted to do a live caricature gig, which then gets cancelled for whatever reason...this happened to me last night :-(
I was supposed to draw at a company picnic, which was going to be held at a minor league ballpark during a game. Early in the afternoon, I got an email from the agent saying that the client had cancelled (not postponed) due to expected heavy rains coming our way. While I certainly understood the client's need to do this, it's always a bummer when Mother Nature intervenes to the point where no one gets a caricature!
This is where contracts come into play with any kind of professional entertainer whose time is scheduled out to various events. The agent is taking care of the situation for me in this instance, but I thought it was worth bringing up for anyone interested in the business aspect of caricaturing!
Yes, it's not ALL about the drawings :-O
My own personal contract for a live caricature performance states the obvious, of course--- who, when, where, my rate, what kind of party it is, my deposit policy, and my cancellation policy.
I always get a non-refundable deposit to book a party. This lets me know the client is serious, and it also protects me if the event gets cancelled. When I commit to a client, I am then turning down all other inquiries for that time slot. For last night's event, I turned down two or three other offers after I had accepted the agent's booking. If the event cannot be rescheduled to when I am available, the deposit is my payment for holding that time. Luckily, this happens sooooooo rarely, but it still needs to be in black-and-white print so that everyone is on the same page!

Corporate Promo Event..

Sounds pretty dry, but it actually wasn't! Smiles and laughs abounded, as employees made their way to a huge cafeteria/lounge to have a caricature done, by either myself or fellow artists Dan Springer and Rick Welch (both of whom I'd never had the pleasure of working with before). Apparently, this event was also held in eighteen of their other corporate locations today, so LOTS of caricaturists were working their fingers off simultaneously for a common client! (Thank you, recovering economy! :0)






And there are the three "Do you guys have carpal tunnel syndrome yet?" caricaturists afterwards...

Another college event...

...at the same college I drew for last weekend!
This time it was an outdoor barbecue/dance party for all students, not just the freshmen. Some great faces!!!

Company Picnic

Yesterday, I had two outdoor gigs! The first one was a company picnic that featured carnival games, a pork barbecue, and my caricatures. I drew there last year too, so I had smiling faces in line right away, whom I 'd told to get there early this year! :-)

Octagenarians with Caricatures!

They liked 'em! :0)

Birthday digital caricatures--- of my mom and uncle!

Mom is turning 80 today, and this is the sign-in for her party. Two years ago, my Uncle Charlie (Mom's brother) turned 80, and I didn't do a digital for his birthday...so he's gettting one today, too!

Lotsa fun for incoming college freshmen!

This afternoon, I drew at an event so crowded, happy and hectic, I barely had time for photos--and had to cut my line a third of the way into it!

The occasion was a "Super Saturday" for incoming college freshman to a local university. Almost immediately after I started to draw, there was a line around thirty people long! They all were immensely enjoying (meaning I got applause and screams from the LINE!!!) what came out of my marker for each student. After a little while, I counted people off and closed my line, because I didn't want students waiting who had no chance of getting a caricature.
Here's the only "in the chair" photo I managed to take before I was swamped:

Afterwards, I found that many of the students had hung up their drawings over the popcorn stand:


Unusually for me, I have an exact count of how many faces I drew because everyone wanted their own caricature--no doubles or triples. Fifty-five people in three hours...not bad for the old hand, arm and shoulder!

Cocktail hour entertainment...

Last night, along with fellow artist Donna Needs, I drew at a business conference cocktail hour that was attended by 99% women. The predominant theme of the evening was laughter, wine-drinking and bosom-enhancement :-)


This woman brought along her husband who was one of the few men adrift in a sea of ladies.
Here's a photo of Donna doing her magic to my right...