Final version of Hitchcock scene for NCN competition

Finished up my pencil drawing for this month's online NCN-forum competition, and decided to display it the way I actually saw this old movie: on a vintage television set, a long long time ago. Click to see larger image.
Of course, the television, curtains and background were done digitally. I just treated myself to an early Christmas gift by buying an updated version of Photoshop--which is now installed and ready to go!

NCN Nov/Dec sketch contest WIP

It seems like I have been too busy to participate in these online sketch contests lately, but when I saw that the current one was "draw a Hitchcock scene" (being moderated by Vin Altamore) and that the deadline was Dec 15th, I decided to enter. The only Hitchcock movie I have ever seen is Rebecca (1940), starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, and Dame Judith Anderson. Good flick though, as it won Best Picture for that year.

This is a work-in-progress....using my old friend the pencil.

Audrey Hepburn for NCN contest

Here's my final for this month's NCN forum competition:

Hand-drawn marker sketch scanned into Photoshop and finished there.

September (and August's) NCN contest

Last month's challenge was Elton John. I drew a younger, more outlandish version of him on the almost last day. The winner was Pete Emslie, whose work has been inspiring a lot of NCNers lately!
This month, we're attempting Audrey Hepburn. I hope to get back to this, to flesh her out a bit in color.

May NCN sketch contest entry...

This month's victim is Marilyn Manson. Quite a different face than last month's Matt Damon! Judge Jan Opdebeeck's usual rule applied: no digital media. So I drew one version in pencil and another in marler.
BTW, the last several contests have been won by my friend Paul Moyse. Find his blog in my links list...he is a rising star in the caricature world.

NCN April sketch contest, part deux

I re-drew Matt Damon, on the advice of some respected mentors, and this time I exaggerated him a bit.

NCN April sketch contest

This month's subject is Matt Damon. Once again, the only rule is: any medium is allowed except digital, hence this Ebony and Prismacolor drawing. I posted it on the NCN forum last night, and the feedback from three artists whose work I truly admire, was 'great likeness, hardly any exaggeration.' So it's back for a re-draw if I get a chance...

March NCN Sketch Contest

This month, Jan Opdebeeck challenged us to draw England's Prince Harry, who was recently forced to return home early from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Jan again stipulated no digital drawings, so markers and prismacolor artstix were used. This is more of an editorial caricature than I have done previously.

Final Yeltsin entry for NCN contest

Here is my February final for Jan Opdebeeck's monthly contest on the NCN forum. We all had to draw Boris Yeltsin, and the only criteria was that it could not be digitally done. I used watercolor pencil. There are many entrants this month, so it will be interesting to see when Jan posts them all together.

2nd attempt at Yeltsin....

A whole slew of fellow caricaturists entered this month's NCN sketch competiton.
See Paul Moyse's blog ( in my links list) for a video of him drawing his entry!
I was not satisfied with my first try so I drew old Boris again from a different photo.

February Sketch contest...

The NCN Forum is lucky to have Jan Opdebeeck step into Court Jones' shoes to moderate our monthly online sketch contests for the foreseeable future. The format now is to draw the famous figure that Jan has selected, in any media, as long as it's NOT digital. The winner gets Jan's sketch, definitely worth having, but his advice and that of peers is the intangible benefit for me.
For February, the subject is Boris Yeltsin. Here is my first attempt, with some coaching from Jan regarding exaggeration around the mouth and chin area.

1st sculpture finished!

Here she is, in all her sculpey glory (or infamy!)

I've discovered that I want to do more sculpting. There don't seem to be many who do it, and it intrigues me.... Although this Hillary does not reach my usual standard for drawn likenesses, she's only the first of hopefully many, and I already have another victim in mind. But that will have to wait til after the holidays...

Hillary--love her or hate her!

That seems to be the consensus on how people feel towards Senator Hillary Clinton politically, but I am feeling that way artistically! Sculpting her likeness has been frustrating for me.
Today was a Face-off deadline for the raw sculpture only, but I took some advice from Court and Paul, and worked on her face and neck before baking and painting her. Luckily, nothing cracked during her 40 minutes in the oven, and the paint is a base coat. I did decide to go with acrylics rather than oils as they are easier to work with. She still needs to be put into her dreamed-of Oval Office, but that will be in Photoshop later this week ( if I have any time! Christmas is around the corner!)

Taking shape....

Hillary's, that is! Here is the result of this afternoon's sculpting session. I am using some colored sculpey in places ( anything non-flesh will be painted with oil paint, which I want to use for its blending properties) and her likeness is almost there. This is addicting!

Hillary sculpture in progress

My entry for the NCN Face-off competition has been untouched til now, waiting for me to get back from all my gallivanting...the deadline for the raw sculpture of Hillary (dreaming of the Oval Office with a big cigar!) is actually due this Friday. So, I finally got around to squishing on some Sculpey, after applying foil to the armature. At this stage, the likeness is not there yet, but being as this is my first-ever sculpture, it's not tooo bad. I am enjoying the process. By the way, this is almost an entire 1-lb box of Super-Sculpey.

Armature for Dec.Face-off contest

One of the deadlines for my Hillary sculpture is for an armature. Sculpey needs a skeleton to adhere to, as when it bakes it actually gets softer before hardening to its final consistency. A plain old metal household hanger suited my purpose. I also found a dollhouse chair and box which will become the Oval Office desk when I get done with it...
One of the judges mentioned that the angle of the final photo of my sculpture will be very important, since I want to emphasize her 'cankles' as well as a maniacal grin.

It will have to be titled "HIllary's Revenge" or "Why Hillary Aspires to the Oval Office" since who knows if she will actually make it there?

NCN Nov/Dec Face-off contest

Court Jones (www.courtjones.com) today announced on our NCN forum quite an ambitious project for the next Face-off contest. It's to caricature a political figure from any age or country, in three dimensions!
Since I had so recently done my own digital version of Hillary Clinton, I chose her as my victim. She has an animated face, as you can see from the references I have turned up so far.

The various deadlines in this challenge include rough sketches, a turnaround (front and profile), an armature, raw sculpture and finished sculpture. The judges are Celestia Ward (two-time 3D winner at our NCN conventions) and David O'Keefe, noted caricaturist-sculptor. Both are featured in my posts on the NCN convention in October. Court is also a judge, and kudos to him once again for putting this all together.
I went out and bought a pound of Super-Sculpey today!

my entry for NCN "Best Studio Piece" competition

Can you tell whose eyes are peeking out of this small portion of my latest digital work?
It's actually a work in progress; my entry for yet another NCN competition. This time it is for the upcoming Nationl Caricaturist Network's annual convention being held in Reno, Nevada next month. Hundreds of caricature artists will gather for a fun-filled week of education , contests, and camraderie. It will be my fifth convention and I am really looking forward to seeing my artist friends from all over the world...

Degas-almost finished...

My entry for the NCN Face-off is reaching its final stages-- I will probably just tinker with it between now and the deadline next Friday. Happily, there has been some enthusiastic feedback on it from other NCNers on our members-forum!

Degas digital progress

The deadline for the finished NCN Face-off entry is Sept 28th, but I am trying to get this done before that. This is all one layer in Photoshop. It's also a learning experience for me to use this palette of earth colors and neutrals.