Caricature surfing

I am trying to learn how and why things turn up where they do on the internet. Having been a seat-of-the-pants pilot when it comes to advertising my own stuff, it would probably benefit my business to know more than I do about it. So, towards that end, I Googled "airbrush caricatures" and found two of mine in the top five, alongside (literal) heavyweights like Tom Richmond and Chris Rommel. How'd THAT happen??? ;-)

I am the proud illustrator of the cleavage-proud Texan lady and the broadly-grinning guy with the pink-haired girlfriend (also cleavage-proud :-)

My studio actually boasts caricatures of myself by both the aforementioned artists. One of my other goals on that miles-long to-do list is to get a "Me Gallery" up on my website. Sounds pretty vain, but if you're a caricaturist, it's kinda not…!

Young figure-skater caricatures…and a surprise for this artist

Yesterday found me drawing at an annual event that I truly enjoy--- for several reasons.

I grew up living not more than a mile from an ice rink, and it was far and away my favorite (and pretty much only) form of exercise during most of the year. And when the Winter Olympics came around, figure skating was the only competition that didn't glaze over my eyeballs. So, drawing the young ladies at this tournament is a nice change of pace for me, from the thousands of (ho-hum ;-) baseball-themed caricatures I have drawn in my career…

Below: This is the ONLY boy I drew all day. a stalwart little brother who cheered on his medal-winning big sis.

When the last medal was given out, I packed up my gear and was about to head home, when I decided to ask when the next public skating session started. ( This huge complex has two rinks----the little one of my childhood, which was owned by a Philadelphia Flyer, was rinky-dink in comparison) The next public skate wasn't scheduled to start for another two hours, but the nice lady I spoke to said, 'why don't you go enjoy the last half hour of the current session', and stamped my hand gratis!

I hadn't been on skates for more than ten years! Running through my mind was the fate of a friend and fellow caricaturist, who had an ice-skating accident and severely injured her drawing hand and shoulder. She was able to make lemonade out of a pretty rotten lemon by using learning to use her other hand, (among other things she learned) but I'm sure she would have preferred not to go through all that physical and mental pain.  I decided to be REALLY CAREFUL for the half hour allotted to me. :-)

Surprise! It took almost one whole spin around the rink to get my skating knack back! And I didn't fall, and even felt brave enough to whiz around with my iPhone in hand:

Course, it's nothing on these little athletes:

Maybe I'll go buy some wrist guards. :-)

BW Studio Caricature of a smiling little family

This family caricature was done from a photo, for the photographer who shared her professional photos with me from the wedding reception I did in February. I used my favorite CopicSketch markers and just red and black Prismacolor Artstix.

Here's her reaction: Thanks so much Emily, we love it!!!! Haha, it made my whole family smile!! I love all the red and our huge smiles=). 

Please use my new "contact form"----on the right sidebar here on my blog---- if you're interested in commissioning a "BW+1 color" caricature done from photos! :-)

Professional photography of my caricatures coming to life!

In February, my caricatures were part of the entertainment at a beautiful wedding reception held in a country club. The roving professional photographer, Heather Spicer, took some wonderful shots of the whole experience, both for artist and sitters! She recently shared them with me, and I will be returning the favor with a caricature of her and her family. 

My pencil hair-clip was bought at a street vendor during my visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand last year. It's just perfect for my gigs!

Thanks, Heather!

40th birthday celebration

For a brief interlude, it was spring here in Pennsylvania when I did this gig last weekend--everyone was out and about, enjoying the warm evening (and taking up all the parking spaces near the popular restaurants.) As I write this, it's snowing. UGH. 

I arrived at sunset to help celebrate a husband and wife's joint 40th birthday:

Forty IS the new thirty, right?

 Above left: arrival scenery. Right: the departure view!

My dainty, polka-dotted gig bag has survived a year now of being hauled to every manner of venue, and seems to be holding up well. It was a bargain when I bought it in Bangkok last year, and I get quite a few compliments on it. Fingers crossed it lasts a while longer!

The birthday couple! They were teenage sweethearts.

Below: I decided to photo-collage some of their guests. I missed getting photos of a few more people, but this gives you an idea of my evening, having fun drawing to the sounds of a variety of music (in particular, from the 80's---haven't heard Simple Minds in a long time!)

Happy birthday Heather and Chuck, thank you for having me! Here's to many more!

One more post about my caricatures at Jimmy and Brittany's wedding reception….

...the video!

Here's the links to my other posts about it: the panorama photos, the photos with summary, and the GIF. Enjoy!

Jimmy and Brittany's wedding reception (bang! bang!)

This purple-and-blue-hued wedding reception was the third one in this family for which I've been honored to draw caricatures. It was held at a gun club:

...which meant I had the fun of drawing shotguns, bullet holes, shell-casing necklaces and a camouflage wedding gown on their airbrushed sign-in caricature (the bride didn't ACTUALLY wear camo ;)

When the room isn't being used as a banquet hall, it's a shooting range!!!!

Below, the groom's cousin and her cute little boy. I drew at her wedding in 2008. (Her hubby couldn't attend this one.)

And the bottom picture below is the groom's sister and her hubby…I drew at her wedding, also in 2008.

More fun faces:

Below: The cake was made by the groom's uncle. What artistry! And it not only looked amazing, it tasted as good as it appeared.

I've already blogged about a GIF made from photos my Other Half took for me while drawing another couple at this reception. It's always a luxury for me on the rare gig where I can bring him along to assist. He took these wonderful panoramas  and video for me, too. 

CONGRATS to Jimmy and Brittany! And thanks to your wonderful family for having me again!

(Photo collage made by the groom's mom. Thanks Deb!)

GIFS. Otherwise known as animated images...

Yes, I'm waaaaay behind the bandwagon on this. But I just learned how to make GIFS in Photoshop!! Apparently they are becoming as popular as they were in their heyday, way back in the '90's.



This is from a set of photos my Other Half took at Jimmy and Brittany's wedding a few weeks ago.

75th birthday caricature

Sunday morning found a houseful of family and friends celebrating this sweet lady's 75th birthday:

 Her sign-in caricature was a complete surprise to her, as during the brunch, one of her grand-daughters secretly went around to all the guests and had them sign it. Then at cake-time, her daughter presented it to her----and you can see her reaction below!

Happy birthday Marie!

Carnival-themed backyard 1st birthday

I've done my first outdoor (almost) gig of the year. On a blustery-but-not-too-cold March day, a family celebrated their little guy's 1st birthday in a BIG way---with a bounce house, prizes, a photo booth, pizza, popcorn, cupcakes…and my caricatures!

There's my set-up in the garage, where the wind couldn't flip my paper all over.

 Look-- another awesome sign waiting for me!!!

 I started off with the little kids, and pretty soon my two-hour stay was extended by the hosts to accommodate pretty much EVERYBODY, young and old! I ended up drawing for over five hours! (with a break for birthday cupcakes, of course ;-)

Little Jordan has a HUGE loving extended family, and I really enjoyed being in the thick of things:

Thank you so much for having me!!!!! Super fun, AND I slept really well that night! 

Wedding Caricaturing Panoramas!

Last weekend, I drew at a fantastically fun wedding reception. It was the third one I've done for this particular family over the years (and there might still be a few singletons left ;-) My Other Half was in attendance as my trusty assistant/photographer, so in this post I'm sharing his panoramas. Click to see more photos and some video. What a blast!