Make-a-Wish 5th birthday party caricatures for a little princess!

Last Saturday was an overcast, but nice, day for an outdoor birthday party, given by the Make-a-Wish Foundation for a little princess and her family...and  a nice day to caricature her guests! 

This was the sight that greeted me as I pulled into the neighborhood, so I knew I was in the right place. :-)

Elle and her family! And a couple of guests. 

Felt great to set up and draw live people---masked and outdoors, but a real party!

Here is the FB link to Make-a-Wish's photos, taken by Jennifer Janikic Photography--you can see all the other fun goings-on! 

And here are a couple of her photos of me in action!

Caricature reaction time!

I have always been grateful for each and every gig I do, but after last year's pandemic, (which of course, we aren't out of yet, hence my mask even outside) I think all party artist-entertainers are even more aware that our skills lift spirits and in that sense, are needed more than we knew. :-)

Thanks to Elle and her family for having me!

Family Easter Party Caricatures

 The day before Easter reunited me with a repeat client whose wedding I did a few years ago. She had moved to a farm in a rural area, and was having a huge outdoor family party complete with egg hunt and visit from the Easter Bunny! I was thrilled to be there and draw caricatures in the lovely warm sunshine!

 These caricatures were done using only Prismacolor Artstix, which have actually been discontinued, so I hear. However, I have a whole shoebox full of them, since they have been my main shading method for more than fifteen years now. 

Afterwards, the hostess gifted me with a dozen farm fresh eggs! Thank you SO much!

First live gig of 2021!!! :-D Can you tell how thrilled I am????

One year after the advent of Covid-19 changed all our lives, people want to celebrate getting through it! On Saturday, I helped a wonderful young lady to celebrate her Sweet 16 at the (hopefully) tail end of the pandemic. I also drew at her FIRST birthday party fifteen years ago, how special they remembered me and sought me out!!! This time, her parents went to a lot of effort to make sure it was SAFE for everybody to get together. The tent on the front deck was just for me and my sitters! The one in the driveway held the games and dance floor, and there was another spot out back, for the grown-ups. It was so great to be with people and converse and actually be at a party! I literally almost cried with joy while drawing at this  event. Thanks so much for having me!

Early morning caricaturing at a ladies' brunch...

Normally, Mondays and early mornings are two times when when you would NOT find me caricaturing, but this is not your normal year in so many ways!  

So I was very happy to head out to be at my easel by 8 am...for a huge outdoor event, in a tent. The tent was adjacent to a historic venue, where I was situated in this pretty Victorian parlor:

The ladies came in small groups from the tent, mimosas in hand, to be drawn, and many remarked that my caricatures made the party so special! They were all masked, except for the few moments it took to draw each one. And of course, I was masked too...only removing it to sip my orange juice (wahhh...no champagne in mine!)

There was indeed a guest of honor, she got a caricature in color:

Here are a few of the guests:

Thanks for having me, ladies!

First indoor gig since March...a (mostly) masked wedding reception

I have had just a handful of live gigs since this pandemic started (compared to how many I normally do)... and this was the first one actually INSIDE a building. Out of caution for myself and others, I've had no problem wearing a mask at all my outdoor events, so this was no different in that sense. And the guests here were required to wear masks, (the DJ made announcements!) unless they were eating. Most complied. Even the people on the dance floor were masked, and were only allowed to do line dances. I gotta say, it felt SO GOOD to hear all the songs I thought I was really tired of...JUMP ON IT!!!!!

So, here are the lovely bride and groom and their caricature, which I mostly did from photos I took as they came in, because they were VERY in-demand...and below, their friends doing the Masked Macarena...

It was a large group so I did line-drawing-only caricatures (no shading) and my output was 64 faces, plus the bride and groom in color, in 3 5 hours. Here are some of the guests: (they unmasked for their drawings)

Ugh I wish this young man's photo wasn't blurry :-(

Thanks for having me!

60th BD Caricatures on a crisp fall afternoon

 

There's the birthday man and his wife. Their daughter pulled off a huge surprise:

Hilarious signs of her dad's face, 60th BD TP, and Caricatures by Emily!

Lots of guests necessitated only a few photos, but here's one of a great CARICATURE REACTION!

Caricatures on a perfect October evening's wedding reception

This cute couple was originally slated to be married in June, but the pandemic pushed their wedding to October...luckily the evening turned out to be clear and warm, just perfect!

Theirs is my first re-scheduled wedding gig out of quite a few, but most are being held next year. 

I mentioned to the groom that his beard was kind of Abe-Lincolny, and he said he shared his birthday with our esteemed 16th President! The bride had one of the loveliest dresses I'd seen, so pretty and romantic. Here are some of their wedding party and guests!

                                                            Sign of the times!

Since the couple's rescheduled wedding day happened to be John Lennon's 80th birthday, I made a song request to match my mask...and it was played! :-)

Thank you for having me!

PSU raising-student-morale caricatures!

 The local campus of Penn State University, for whom I also did an event back in pre-Covid January, had me and another artist return for an outdoor afternoon of caricatures. The small number of students actually on campus were wildly appreciative! Drew my first masked person at this one.

Even the Nittany Lion was masked. 

 

Campground Caricatures!

Gratefully, another outdoor gig came my way, so I decided to bravely break out my easel again to do it...this one was at a campground where one hundred Covid-test-passing teenage girls were staying. Several other intrepid masked lady caricaturists and I sat on a breezy pavillion, and drew them ALL---line drawings only, without shading. No photos were permitted of the campers, so you'll just have to trust me that these caricatures look like their subjects!

Cape May NJ beach wedding caricatures!

Cape May is a gorgeous little Victorian town on the very tip of southern New Jersey. The main street is full of quaint little historic hotels, quite a few of which are perfect venues for beach weddings! This adorable couple included my caricatures in their celebrations, at the Peter Shields Inn.  

I loved the lavender color scheme!

Thanks for having me, Tara and Matt! :-)