8th grade graduation party....

A middle school held a graduation party for its students this evening, with SIX caricaturists providing caricatures and laughter! I was able to finagle a photo of us all after the festivities...Left to right: Patrick Harrington, Steve Nyman, darling Sally C-T, yours truly,Donna Needs,
and Rebecca Miller.

We artists were all seated in a semi-circle in the cafeteria. I definitely drew far more girls than boys at this event. Here are a few...

Another ballgame

Last night, I wrapped up my three days in Baltimore with one more game. Here are two drawings and an actual photo of what goes on near the caricature stand...major league baseball!

This gentleman told me he wanted a souvenir from Camden Yards but didn't particularly care for baseball itself. I asked him if he wanted a "catching a home run" pose or better yet, an "interfering with the game" pose...he laughed and said, "No, I'm from Chicago...we get very upset about things like that!!"
(The Chicago Cubs ended up losing a World Series because of fan interference a few years ago!)

These two pals were so serious and so different physically that I had to incorporate both aspects into their caricature. When they saw it, I finally got them to smile!

The Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees...but who knows who the players are!

Post Prom with seven other artists!

12:00 am, following the O's game: After a cup of hot tea and a bite to eat, I went with two of my fellow ballpark artists to a huge post-prom nearby. We were part of a line-up of EIGHT caricaturists. (This doesn't happen often!)

My easel is the third from the left. It's quite a spectacle to the audience to see such much creativity and varying styles, not to mention the amount of people who can be drawn!
Here's a couple of my efforts:



And this was another morning that I was asleep in two minutes after hitting the pillow!:-)

2nd ballgame in O's-Yankees series

On Tuesday evening, I stepped up to the plate (figuratively speaking, of course!) for a ballgame AND a post-prom immediately following. Here are some pics from the game:

These young ladies were part of a choir visiting from Oregon, taking in an Orioles game after having visited Washington DC that day. They went off and showed their caricature to their friends, which later resulted in more choir-boy and choir-girl drawings for the artists...:-)
(Their t-shirts say "I love choir boys"!)

This little girl told me Derek Jeter was her favorite player, so I drew the ball as a home run coming from his bat right to her!

Another feminine Yankees fan...

Here's a late-night photo of more choir members with their caricature.
After this, I went off for the second event of the night...

Happy Memorial Day!

A huge contingent of naval servicemen and women attended today's Orioles-Yankees game, and I was honored to draw quite a few of them! Many were accompanied by their families, and all enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day that couldn't be more American--what with our national anthem (in its birthplace, no less), flag, and pastime: plus beer, hot dogs, and moms, dads and kids galore.
Thanks for your service to our country so we all can have days like this one...

Yet another post-prom...

This morning's wee hours found me drawing at another post-prom. This one was held in a fire company hall, and was more low-key than some I have done, but I am sure the students enjoyed it just as much!
High-schoolers are such fun to draw, in some ways they are grown-up but scratch the surface in most cases--they are still big kids...:-)





These two were the subject of many good-natured jokes among the spectators, and they told me the drawing would end up in their dorm next year, as they will be roommates.

This young man asked me to include his baseball hero (pictured on his shirt) in the caricature as if he was actually there (!?). I did, and he was very pleased with the outcome!!

Caricatures at a wedding reception...

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived at a beautiful 1920's era banquet hall to draw at a wedding reception. In the foyer, my live caricature of the couple, done last fall, was framed and waiting to be signed by guests:

I was set up on the side of the room:

Here are some of the guests I drew, it was a very happy and sociable group brimming with laughter!










And here are the beautiful bride and handsome groom with their caricatures!


I'd like the thank the bride and groom and their families, for including me and my caricatures on their wedding day! Also thanks to Fran and Debbie for some of the photos.

Wedding Caricature

After a few days of recuperation from all the gigs last weekend,and catching up on mundane things like bills, cutting the grass,and just BREATHING (!) I got back to work on my next commissions; both of which happen to be wedding couples. This one I can post, as the wedding is this afternoon, and I will be caricaturing at the reception this evening! The newly-engaged, happy young couple were drawn by me last fall at an open house, (see third photo in my 'open house' posting)
and they liked the idea of live caricature on their special day. The other couple I am working on aren't getting married until July, so I will post it then.

Early graduation party..

Well, it's not yet June, but this afternoon I did my first graduation party of the season...this family decided to hold it prior to the big day so that it didn't clash with everyone else's party next month! Smart move.

The soon-to-be-graduate and her BFF got their drawing in color...the guests received black-and-white. Once again, happily, the caricatures went over so well I was asked to stay longer to draw everyone after I'd finished the younger set. Thank you!



This was my last of five gigs in just 48 hours, so my shoulder was feeling a little sore by the end of the party. Many people ask if my hand hurts from so much drawing, and I reply that my upper right shoulder is what goes after intense gig-time. Wouldn't you know, the hostess was a massage therapist and gave me a mini-shoulder massage as I was drawing! It was the perfect end to a hectic but enjoyable weekend for me. I am so lucky to be able to do what I do, and get such instant gratification when my sitters see their drawings!

Another Post Prom!

Another wee-hours gig this morning, but thankfully, it was very close to home.
Some very animated students sat for me!

Normally, I don't draw people twice at the same event, but the girl on the left got back in my long line after getting this first drawing with her friend. I didn't have the heart to refuse her another one with a different friend, so here is her second one. They liked making silly faces, as you can see...

Here are some more...




The final couple I remembered drawing at this same post-prom last year. They told me that they had copied that caricature and both had them framed at their homes...awwwwww! They're graduating this year, but I am sure I'll never forget his eyebrows! Here's the link to last year's drawing of them.

Isn't the ladies room unrecognizable as a regular boring school restroom? This school definitely has very creative themes every year.

I look happy but tired! No more late nights for awhile. :-)