Caricaturist Convention!

Reno,Nevada--the 2007 National Caricaturist Convention is under way!
Tonight was the opening reception, tomorrow the fun begins in earnest...

That's Celestia Ward and her husband, Rob Sundin of Two Heads Studios...

Here's Sam Gorrie, Marlo Meekins and myself.
Oh, and back home, the the Phillies made the playoffs for the first time in fourteen years! They deserve all the accolades that will be coming their way after an incredible season full of heart and character.

A Phenomenal Phan

Despite the backing of thousands of Phillies Phans almost as fervent as this one, they lost today and are now in a tie with the New York Mets for the division.
Tomorrow's game will determine their Phinal Phate.

Bootstraps

The Phillies have pulled themselves up by theirs, and are now in first place in the division! They should make the playoffs if they can win two more games.
I thought I'd include a photo of what's just a few feet to the right of my usual caricature location at Citizens Bank Park.

That's ace pitcher Cole Hamels on the mound for the Phillies.
Our mascot decided to run out on the field tonight in defiance of Philadelphia's anti-streaking laws, to huge laughter...

Tonight's caricature anecdote is about my first drawing of the evening, two sisters. I had finished the one, and a man walked by and said to them, "It's not even close." Grrrrrrr! As I was finishing the second, another stranger stopped and told them they "were gonna love it." Now, caricaturists do get both types of comments, but usually not in quick succession like that!

Just had to photograph this little cutie with her lollipop...

Brits...

Once in a while, foreign tourists turn up at Phillies games. Last night, a wonderfully warm couple from Suffolk, England happened to end up in my chairs.
(I love English accents!)

Earlier in the evening, I had been asked to draw (from a photo) an English Phillies fan, who also happens to be a London bobby! Her American friends host her every summer so she can see live major league baseball. Her friend here wanted her drawn with the Phanatic so she could fly over and present it for her 50th birthday later this fall.

And here are two all-American, apple-pie and baseball kids...

No autumn chill here....

Well, it's the end of September and rather unusually, it's still shorts-and-flip-flops weather here! I can't tell you how nice that is for me at ballgames, as there's nothing worse than trying to draw with chilled-to-the-bone fingers.
The Phillies won tonight, so playoff hopes are still dangling by a thread.
Here are some of the fans I drew...
Boyfriend and girlfriend:

Brother and sister: (she initially had to be forced by her dad to sit for me)

Father and daughter:

Another boyfriend and girlfriend:

"My Three Sons" ( and that TV show was before my time!)

And last but not least, my buddy Trey (whom I first drew at the Phillies Phestival, (way back in May-doesn't seem like that long ago), the boy whose lap got squished by the Phanatic, came with his entire family to get a another caricature.

Trey is a budding artist, and was very interested in how I depicted his mom, dad, and sister. I told him to keep drawing every day and fill up those sketchbooks!
His mom kindly took a totally-engrossed photo of me while I was drawing her...

Getting a portfolio together...

There is also a portfolio competition at the upcoming NCN convention. I'll be including all of my Face-off pieces ( thanks, Court Jones!) done since last year --I've participated in all but one-- and some other stuff, such as this piece.

This duo's DUI jail stints are already old news, but at least I haven't drawn old relics from the sixties and seventies for once!

Back to the ballpark...

Tonight was the first game in the Phillies' last homestand of the season. Will they/won't they manage to claw themselves into a post-season berth?
(This is the third year it has come down to the final nail-biting week to find out!)
They ended up losing tonight. :-(
Luckily, there are still plenty of baseball fans who want caricature souvenirs. :-)

my entry for NCN "Best Studio Piece" competition

Can you tell whose eyes are peeking out of this small portion of my latest digital work?
It's actually a work in progress; my entry for yet another NCN competition. This time it is for the upcoming Nationl Caricaturist Network's annual convention being held in Reno, Nevada next month. Hundreds of caricature artists will gather for a fun-filled week of education , contests, and camraderie. It will be my fifth convention and I am really looking forward to seeing my artist friends from all over the world...

Company picnic

Today brought summer-like weather and a company pinic for me to draw the attendees, held in a local county park. Here's a few humans--and a dog!

Open house...

Saturday evening's gig was an open house on a beautiful farm. I got to work in the loft of a bank barn:

Here's the finished caricature I was working on in the previous photo:

The hostess graciously extended my stay when some of the guests asked her to keep me going! :-) Here are some more people I drew!

Health Fair

Saturday afternoon's gig was a health fair with lots and lots of people...the other artist and I had long lines during the entire event.

Degas-almost finished...

My entry for the NCN Face-off is reaching its final stages-- I will probably just tinker with it between now and the deadline next Friday. Happily, there has been some enthusiastic feedback on it from other NCNers on our members-forum!

John K study

One of the blogs I visit daily belongs to John Kricfalusi, hilarious cartoonist/animator and creator of Ren and Stimpy. He often deplores the low quality of today's cartoons and CG animations, but he then specifically explains why and how some of the classic old ones were far better. (And Disney is specifically not included here; I've never been a Disney fan, but could never articulate why. John explains that with aplomb. My favorites were always the Warner Brothers shorts.)
Today he is talking about what animators would ideally learn, if he had his own school, to turn out quality---yet funny--- stuff. Caricature plays a role in it, along with other factors.

I decided to draw a study of some of John's characters...

There's a link to his blog in my Links list.

Degas digital progress

The deadline for the finished NCN Face-off entry is Sept 28th, but I am trying to get this done before that. This is all one layer in Photoshop. It's also a learning experience for me to use this palette of earth colors and neutrals.

Fall Festival...

This sunny afternoon I enjoyed drawing lots and lots of kids at a community fall festival. Here's a sampling:

Saturday, Round 2

My evening was spent drawing caricatures at an awards banquet!





I forgot to pack my easel lamp with my stuff today, because I didn't need it for the daytime gig. When I arrived at the hotel for the nighttime event, I realized my light was on my studio desk...first time I have forgotten anything for a gig in years. Luckily, the hotel staff provided me with a small table and a fancy lamp, so my set-up looked really swanky!

Saturday, Round 1

My afternoon was spent drawing caricatures at a college football game!

Tonight, a rare and amazing flower...

I own a rather blah-looking desert plant that blooms once or twice a year, at night. On that night, it is no longer an ugly duckling, but displays one of the most spectacular and heavenly-scented flowers in the world. The huge delicate blossom only lasts until morning, then it is spent. This year it has bloomed twice, both times on evenings that, incredibly, I happened to be at home...
(no gig or baseball game!)



It's called a night-bloominhg cereus, and the cutting was a gift from my oldest, dearest friend Mary.
Love you, my HS!