Wedding shower caricature...Oktoberfest theme

This is a recent commission which was ALOT of fun to do!!

It's marker/artstix, done from several photos. And the client and I found each other through Craigslist!

Ben Franklin-approved caricaturing

Last night, my friend Celestia Ward, who's visiting from Las Vegas, and I drew caricatures in the presence of Ben Franklin himself  (well, a 30-ton marble effigy, anyway) at the Franklin Institute in Philly:

We were the resident caricaturists for a corporate event that also included Mummers, and one of the best magician/balloon artists in the area---John Cassidy. I've got a video snippet on that in a bit--first a little bit of pertinent info on ol' Ben:

That's from a 1905 article in a New England periodical that I found on Google...and was news to me! Wow, another thing to admire about the man!

So the event was lots of fun, and was in such a spectacular setting that I somewhat overdid the scenic photo-taking. Enjoy!

 There's John Cassidy, stocking up on balloon creations before the guests' arrival...

 My little spot on the steps in the rotunda...

 Celestia was on the other side...

 The serene statue of Ben that dominated all...the dome is based on the Parthenon in Rome.

Celestia's view of my spot...

And my view of hers!

We caricatured more men than women--it was an IT conference, and just as in the caricature industry, women are a minority. But we got to draw one or two! Here's a few of mine. Celestia was a little too far away to get photos of her work (or I would have!)

Now so you can feel the vibe:

Caricaturama--Novak Djokovic

This week's subject is a world famous tennis player who makes some fierce expressions!

Digital over marker sketch. Took about an hour or so.

Fundraiser fun...

On Saturday, I was part of the entertainment (along with a husband-and-wife magic team) at an afternoon fundraiser for our local branch of Variety Club---a charity for kids. I didn't draw just the kids, though--I drew everybody!

 Due to the steamy, drippy weather, what should have been an outdoor event had to be held inside. But it didn't dampen the fun...
Check out this band! It consists of two men, on guitar and bass..and two teen boys--on drums and keyboards (I assume they were their sons). At any rate, they played some gooood stuff!

I took some video of their warm-up before the party got swinging, just because I love this song!

From Emily's Archives #5: Ringo in pencil

From a sketchbook I used intermittently in the 1980's:

It's from about then because it also had sketches of my infant daughter who was born in 1986.
And I didn't make his hideous great hooter big enough!

Baby baseball player

Hot off my clipboard...

This is a marker/artstix commission done from photo sent via email. In my studio, I use a clipboard instead of an easel.The Phillies are hot for yet another postseason. :-)

13th birthday party----Aaaaaaaaargh!

Avast! Talk-like-a-Pirate Day was yesterday. Oh well---on Sunday, a sweet young lass celebrated her 13th birthday at a pirate-themed outdoor restaurant---here are photos of the hearty time had by all, including the caricaturist!

The birthday girl:

A rogue Cap'n who stood guard over my easel:

Some teenage guests:

Time for cake!

Mmmmmm, it was chocolate and red velvet--my two faves!!

Then I drew some adults--here are the grandparents who both had great faces!

Once again, the hosts invited me to extend my stay. Thank you!! :-)

This was my taking-leave view:

which reminded me of THIS!!

End-of-summer backyard bash

My second event on Saturday was a backyard family party with hordes of people---in fact both the house and the yard were overflowing! I arrived at dusk and got busy right away with a couple of matriarchs:

Then, it was on to lots of kids. I asked this youngster to video my drawing hand in action while I drew her friend (to the accompaniment of one of my favorite songs as it came up on the host's playlist :-)

She did a good job! (Thank you Gillian! :-) This video gives a good indication of my drawing speed...it starts when I am just about finished the marker portion, and captures some of my shading.

This is the finished result: (girl on the left)

Some adults got in on the action towards the end:

 Then it was time for pyrotechnics!

(Although some guests opted to watch the Phillies clinch the National League title inside on the large screen television...there were probably fireworks going on in South Philly as well!)

3rd birthday!

My first event yesterday was a little girl's backyard birthday party to celebrate her 3rd birthday:

After I drew her in marker, she was too interested in the goings-on to stay still, so I took a photo of the drawing---without her. But I didn't exaggerate her eyes much--they were huge!

Here are some little-girl guests:

A teen boy:

This drawing was a feat, if I do say so myself. This shy little boy actually sat with his back to me. I leaned over as far as I could for each look at him, and was able to come up with this:

Finally, a couple of couples:

As always, thanks to my clients for having me! I had to scuttle off for round two (another gig) of the day, otherwise I would have gotten a photo of a lovely real-life Cinderella who was doing some balloon twisting. Happy birthday little Zaara!

Caricaturama-John Krasinsky

This week's Caricaturama subject is a actor from NBC's "The Office"---John Krasinsky. One of the cool aspects about this weekly challenge (beside forcing me into creating pieces for my portfolio) is that I draw subjects I am not familiar with (never watched the show, although I have friends that tell me it's really good.) Sometimes, that's easier than doing faces you know well.
The final is digital, over a quick marker sketch:

UPDATE 9/19/11: This piece has gotten more "likes" (101 at the moment) from fellow artists than any other I have ever submitted to Caricaturama in almost a year and a half. I am grateful, and this proves that practice and persistence pay off in the long run. :-)

Toronto Comic Jam

A couple of weeks ago, the S.O. and I visited our friends Marlo and Nick in the frozen North (Ontario, Canada). Okay, it wasn't frozen, we enjoyed some absolutely lovely late-summer weather. One of the fun things we did was go to a comic jam in the heart of Toronto, with other artists, some familiar and some not:

We commandeered some tables in a funky coffee shop and each person would draw the first panel in a comic, then pass it to someone else. And so on and so on, and so on...

This is one of the few non-racy ones...but it's still gross!  The second panel's mine. If you want to see more, click here: Toronto Comic Jam (warning: off-color but hilarious!) a Tumblr blog started by Seo Kim to show the best of them, colorized. The night we were there we probably drew 25 or more! 

Here's an online article about TCJ.

Caricaturama-Sting

I couldn't just draw Sting for this week's Caricaturama, I had to do all the members of Police, since they were a major part of the soundtrack to my late teens and early twenties...

This started out as a marker sketch that I photographed with my Police pin (that was worn on my collar in high school, on days when it wasn't a Beatles pin :)

Can you tell what small changes I made in coloring it?