Windswept wedding caricatures!

On Saturday, I drove through a crazy March snowstorm complete with howling high winds to get to a wedding reception...but it was SO worth it! Look at this happy bride and groom!

It was held at a very cozy and charming wedding venue, ChickBerry Farms in Sussex County, Delaware.

 The groom had quite a logistical hiccup, in that he had picked up the wrong pair of pants where they'd been altered for him, and ended up with a pair that was entirely too large when he got into his final wedding attire! Luckily, there was enough time to retrieve the right pants, but OF COURSE I had to draw the droopy overlarge ones---so they can laugh about it forever after!

This was the first wedding gig where I've been unmasked since 2019! 

It was so great to be able to converse with guests as I drew them, and they could actually hear me! 

Here are some views of my time there:

Have to add, the DJ Sky Brady was marvelous! He acted as emcee, singer, comedian, and music-player. And did them all extremely well. He's the guy with the Rod Stewart hair and microphone in his caricature. ;-)

In my previous blog post, I mentioned that my little lightweight Ikea drawing table had finally bitten the dust. So for this gig, I reverted to my old French easel, which is actually better for lighting placement. They had a whole long table for me, which worked out because then I had room to lay finished caricatures for pick-up at reception's end:

 

Want to see a couple of reactions? Here ya go:

This afternoon, the bride emailed with feedback:

Hey Emily!

Thank you so much for the pictures, the kind words, 

and most of all - the AWESOME caricatures! Everyone was absolutely raving about you. 

You exceeded our expectations 100%. Thank you so much!!!

Thank YOU for having me, Jenna and Michael!!! I really love my job!

My final Caricature Event of 2021....

...was a two-groom New Year's Eve wedding---held in a local venue I've drawn in many times.  For the last day of December, the weather was definitely wonky...60 degrees F...so the grooms' attire was actually appropriate!

For the rest of us, the dress code was: PAJAMA PARTY!! I wore my new Nautica red flannel pjs, bought especially for the occasion. My setup was situated by the bar just outside the ballroom:

My hubby was with me so we could still spend NYE together, and he got some wonderful photos and videos of my work, like the one above!

Here's a few of the many caricatures I cranked out:

Here's a few videos: ( two reactions and a time-lapse)

Happy New Year! May 2022 be happier and healthier for everyone!

A Holiday party--perfect time for a company GROUP CARICATURE!

 This was an enjoyable challenge! 25 people in one composition, that I drew organically...meaning I started with the two owners, bottom center, and just kind of drew others in randomly. It's done with Copic Sketchmarkers on a 24" x 36" YES!All-media canvas, which I had never tried before--but it suited my purposes perfectly. I was situated in a lobby area just outside of the ballroom... so I worked from photos, that I took of the employees. Once I finished the large group caricature (which took about two hours and fifteen minutes), I drew individuals and couples for the rest of the party!

Lovely area just outside the ballroom, for me to work from. Usually I ask to be IN the main room with the guests, but this suited my purposes better  and was also good for social distancing as people were more spread out!

And some of the later individual ones:

Finally, this jolly fellow was wandering around! Ho ho ho!

Sweet 17th Birthday caricatures!

This young lady had to forego a Sweet 16 celebration last year because of the pandemic. So this was her Sweet 17th-- with slumber party festivities and caricatures!  Everyone was in full color because of the small number of guests. They gave me a wonderful reaction when I drew the birthday girl as a finale, and they ALL saw it at once:

The various themes for each caricature were all fun and unique.

Thanks for having me Liliana!!

Company holiday party caricatures in Delaware!

This happy crew of finance folks had a punch bowl full of liquid cheer, AND my caricatures at their holiday party! 

One of the guests was kind enough to send me this time-lapse video of a couple getting their caricature, in progress:

Thanks for having me!

South Bowl corporate holiday party caricatures~

This is such a great venue...a swanky bowling alley with a bar, a DJ, and my caricatures! This company enjoyed the heck out of their holiday party!

Actually, it wasn't just my caricatures; my friend Julie drew with me that night, too. We both had a good view of Home Alone II, which was playing on the bar's big screens.....mmmmm, Tim Curry!!! Here's my set-up (at which I last sat, in December of 2019! Felt good to be back!)

Here's a few scenes from my seat:

Before it got busy, a few folks asked for their pets to be added, so we obliged!

Here's my view of Julie working away, with another Tim Curry sighting!!!!!!

LOL Thanks for having us, South Bowl!

A long-awaited wedding reception with caricatures!

 This adorable couple got married some time ago in a downsized ceremony, due to the pandemic...and finally had their big celebration on Friday night...second time I've been to this venue, right on the Delaware River in Delco...

Here they are with their bridal caricature:

The client was the bride's mother, and she hired myself and Caricatures by Courtney as a surprise to the couple! We were both busy all night, but I didn't get any photos of Courtney in action...I definitely enjoy working alongside her!

Here's my setup,

and a few of mine:

So funny, when chatting with some of the guests, I mentioned that the slide show of the actual wedding had some outdoor photos of the bridal party, in a neighborhood of split-level houses...and I mentioned it looked like my hometown...IT WAS!!! I even guessed the right development!

Those two bridesmaids on the the lower right---they had a fabulous reaction when they saw their caricature:

My client left me some much-appreciated feedback via The Bash, thanks so much!!! It was our pleasure!

Tale of Two Fall Festivals...

 ...that were both in the Wilmington area, and both supposed to be on the same day, but ended up being split for me---one on Saturday and one on Sunday---because big storms came rolling through, and Fall Fest #2 sensibly decided to go with their rain-date ( which luckily, I had open!). That was a good call.  

Fall Fest #1: a masked outdoor kid-oriented event...

(Above) He won first prize for best costume!

 Fall fest #2: an outdoor country-club event through About Faces Entertainment...

I was masked for this one...

Fun couple to talk to, even more fun reaction!

Thanks to both Fall Fests for having my caricatures be a part of it! :-)

Arden Fair 2021

 I don't do fairs anymore...unless they are five minutes from home! This is a very long-tenured local arts festival held in Arden, Delaware every year (not 2020 of course). It's in a little village of quirky little homes on tiny one-lane roads, with a park and a theater. And was it fun! I did mostly color caricatures all day long, with my new friend Susan, drawing her retro pen & ink drawings, sharing the booth with me. 

Even though it was close by, this is how early I had to get myself on the road to go set up...but on leaving my house, I got to see a beautiful pink sunrise and four moonflowers still in bloom...

My next door neighbor on the right sold costume jewelry...as soon as I spied these, I said SOLD!!!! Perfect for a silhouette artist!

On the other side was a tie-dye artist, so I bought something from her too, a new mask...

OK here is some of my output that day!

Here's the one pic I got of Susan...gotta admire a lady doing a crazy-busy fair not long after a hip replacement!!

Fun day!!!! Afterwards my hubby, Susan and I went to a Mexican place so she and I could have huge Margaritas :-)