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...

Christmas in August

Well, it seems that way to me, anyway!
I just received a shipment of my favorite caricaturing implement, the Copic Sketch marker, and its accessories. It's a Japanese marker often used for anime and manga drawing--there are lots and lots of colors, but for my purposes, the only one I'm interested in is black. The marker itself has two nibs, one a brush tip and the other a chisel tip, and its waterproof, permanent ink is refillable! I hated having to throw away other types of markers that had dried up from constant use. The nibs are also replaceable, making this quite economical in the long run.
That's the benefits before I say that the flowing, variable line quality is what I REALLY love about these markers!
Every year I buy a dozen new pens and about 20 refills. I was down to my last two refill containers when I ordered more from www.copicmarkeS.com the other day. Last year, I had a good laugh, because they emailed me this:
Hi Emily,
I just wanted to make sure you realized each Various Ink refill is a bottle of ink and will refill a marker up to 12 times.
I say this only because I had someone who bought 15 refills once and when they got them realized they ordered waaaayyyyy too much ink.
Just confirm you wanted 19 Black/Special Black refills (12 of which will be 110-Special Black) and 1 R02-Flesh refill.
If you do confirm it, can you quench my curiosity and let me know what you use it for?
Sincerely,
Timothy

Hi Timothy,
Sure! I actually do NEED all that ink. I am a professional caricature artist and I primarily use Copics for all my live work. I have been getting the pens, nibs and ink from various internet sources over the last few years and decided to buy a bunch this time because I am tired of running low. No stores sell the ink where I live...
Check out my sketchblog to see samples of my work. www.emilyanthony.blogspot.com
Thanks,
Emily

Another Dog Days pic

My good friend Barb, (who's a fantastic photographer) just emailed this photo she took of me, unawares, at the Dog Days festival on Sunday. It's pretty obvious I'm enjoying myself...people I draw are always telling me that!
Thanks, Barb! xo

Dog Days of Summer!

Sunday afternoon found myself and friend/fellow artist Marlo Meekins drawing at a festival of all things canine. We saw so many different dogs, and drew a fair amount of them!

There's Marlo and me, with her two dog buddies, Bookstore and Forest.

She did some amazing doggy drawings!

Above: our view. Below: some of my work.




Pant pant pant pant pant!!

40th birthday party!

My final gig of the day ( actually, night by then!) was a surprise 40th birthday, masquerading as a rock-and-roll dance party! I set up on the driveway next to the DJ, who played all the oldies-but-goodies. They were all dancing and singing the songs from Grease!

(Thanks to Liz for taking this photo of me at work!)

I did a caricature for this birthday boy's sign-in, but I forgot to get a photo of him with it :-(
This party was mostly couples, so I drew lots of hubbies smiling at their bosomy ladies! ;-)



Thanks to Ron and his family, I had a great time too!

1st birthday "Tol" celebration

On Saturday afternoon, I was very happy both to draw guests and learn about Korean birthday customs at this little boy's big celebration. A highlight for me, was also seeing a digital caricature I had done--blown up to poster size! The first birthday, or tol is a very important one in Korean culture. This little one's family and friends gathered in a beautiful banquet hall to give thanks, eat, socialize and enjoy things like my caricatures, a balloon twister, and a visit from Elmo for the little ones. They also did a toljabee ceremony. The birthday child chooses among several objects set out before him, to foretell his future :-) He chose a golf ball out of various sports, and you can see what his future interest/career might be in this video clip:



Here's the view from my vantage point...

Who doesn't love Elmo??
And now for a few caricatures: I drew all the children first, then the teens, than many of the adults. I really love coordinating the background colors in my drawings with the theme of the party, in this case blue and lime green.

Thank you to Elijah and his family for having me share his big day! :)

Update: 8-18-09 The client sent me some wonderful feedback! Thank you!
emily was a HUGE hit at my baby's first birthday party! everyone from little kids to adults loved her drawings. she was so professional, kind and talented. she was a great entertainment for the party! i think many of my friends will be contacting her for future events. i would highly highly recommend her!

Family Entertainment Day....

Yesterday, my first out of three gigs was an outdoor promotional event at a shopping center, my second time there this summer. I was paired with a strolling magician this time. I drew all ages at this one!


She was game for a caricature!

This lovely lady, a native New Yorker, told me my caricatures should be in Sardi's!

Mom-and-daughter caricature fans, I drew the girl on her own as well. Mom had been drawn at my previous event here.

Two teenage brothers: one wanted to be drawn, the other had to be browbeaten into it. Can you guess which one is which?

When I drew the youngest sister of this trio, I told the mom she reminded me of Vivien Leigh's baby photo( Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I'm a big fan). I pulled up the photo on my Blackberry, and she was astounded!