Caricaturing from...a golf cart!

Here's what my "easel" consisted of on Saturday afternoon:

..a clipboard which rested on the steering wheel of a golf cart, situated at the tenth hole of a golf course!!

The event was a fundraiser for Irish Charities and my (very Irish) Other Half happened to be participating:

(he's the kilt-less one)

His team was called the "Dusty Stones" (haha).

My subjects just sat in their own golf cart:

Her nickname is Thumper, so my trusty iPhone conjured up a reference for me to look at...

Many of the men were wearing kilts to this event. I was told that only American Irish do this...whatever, kilts (and potbellies ;-) are fun to draw!!!

The festivities even began with a bagpiper...

Despite the nice weather and jolly atmosphere of the day, I found that people intent on participating in golf, even if they are waiting to tee off, aren't in a get-a-caricature frame of mind. Results would have been better had I been part of the after-banquet, but I was booked elsewhere for the evening...live and learn! I still had fun trying something new. 

Two parties for the price of one....

Well, it was really only ONE party on Friday night, to celebrate a simultaneous 60th birthday and retirement---but  I had to laugh when my client (the wife) in her speech to her hubby, said that in doing it this way, her dress budget wasn't what it could have been...   :-)

I broke in a new easel and lighting at this one, held in a lovely room overlooking downtown Lancaster.

It was quite a merry group. Here's the birthday gentlemen and his lady. In the course of drawing them, three of his buddies lined up next to me and MOONED them.....I turned my head 90 degrees and got the shock of my life, because I knew they weren't screaming like that at the just-started caricature! Fortunately NO photos exist ( I hope)!  ;-)

Note the moon on the upper left....hee hee.

Below are some of the guests and their drawings, which includes one of the mooners, but I'm not saying which one!

Happy 60th and thanks to About Faces for booking me for this one!

Update 4-19-12: The client had this to say to my rep at AF... blushing :-)
"Just wanted to let you know what a huge success Mark's surprise party was, and Emily A. was definitely one of the keys to the party's success!  She is absolutely delightful and was very engaging with all of the guests.  She carried on conversations with each guest as they sat for their picture.  Her caricatures were very well done, and people really enjoyed showing theirs to other guests.  She worked quite quickly and completed caricatures for everyone who wanted to have theirs done. 

Thanks so much for making the arrangements for her appearance at the party! "

A beautiful day for a baseball opener...

Friday's lovely weather was perfect for Oriole Park at Camden Yards to celebrate its 20th anniversary by hosting the O's 2012 home opener. Yes, the baseball venue that started such a trend is that old. Many American cities followed suit by building retro parks that make attending games such a pleasure...but it wasn't all about the anniversary---for some, it was getting a caricature to commemorate Opening Day!

Two little brothers...

"Can you draw him wearing an O's hat?"

This guy smoked all through the drawing and when I showed him, he laughed that I included his cigarette!

First time I ever included a black eye (most parents tell me NOT to if a kid has a shiner) but this boy wanted it included---because he'd actually been hit in the eye by an errant baseball in Little League. 

Yes, there were some ladies there! By the end of the game, it seemed to be a more of a guy-heavy, beer-swilling day, though. 

My colleague Gary made the news briefly...around the one minute mark:

Ice skating caricatures in a chilly rink...

...but I wasn't as chilled as some of my sitters! Yesterday was another ice-skating-envy day for me...drawing caricatures at a girls figure skating tournament. As a kid, I lived near an ice rink and it was pretty much the only physical exertion I can say I loved (besides swimming) so seeing people skating made me want to get out there too! But as a caricature artist, I'm a little afraid...if I fell and hurt my hand, I wouldn't be able to draw :-O
So, here are a few faces who sat for me:

She was the Black Swan!!

Lime green was a popular color for skating outfits...

She wanted to be playing hockey AND was missing her two front teeth! Her mom was so happy I drew that part!

Yes, there were some boys dragged along to cheer their sisters:

 One was not into skating, and the other one was:

A Phillies fan decided to be drawn too, while waiting for his grand-daughter to skate:

I love drawing the Phanatic--- didn't think I'd get to draw HIM at such an event!

Thai street artists, etc..."walking street" on the island of Koh Samui

Of course, my timing was off and I walked up just in time to see the artist applying hairspray to his charcoal caricature-portrait then bagging it up...(also see video at end of blog post)

This was during a "walking street"in Fisherman's Village, pretty self-explanatory--the road is closed to traffic and there are so many vendors and tourists that it's a bewildering, yet exhilarating experience. Complete with outdoor portable bars every twenty feet... 

There were other types of art going on too, this gentleman was doing intricate work with a gold pen:

These are made of coconut husks:

Here's a little sample of a "walking street" vibe:

(The first shot in the video is with my son and my other half, after our first purchase there...at one of the aforementioned portable bars. :-)

English country-manor caricature!

My recent travel-time was mostly spent in Thailand, (and there are still more caricature-related photos from that to share) but the Other Half and I also managed to tack on a whirlwind four days in England, (somewhere I've always wanted to visit) before returning home. We crammed in Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Abbey Road, along the way eating some surprisingly good English fare. One place we particularly loved was a B&B where we stayed for two nights, Rollestone Manor in Shrewton, near Stonehenge.  It's a 950-year-old manor house with a little church behind it where Jane Seymour was christened. The proprietors were a lovely couple (and their daughter) who welcomed us with warmth, comfort and fantastic breakfasts:

I wanted to thank them for their nothing-is-too-much hospitality, so I made sure to take a photo of the family before leaving. Upon returning to my studio, the above little marker-and-pencil drawing resulted. It's ended up on their FB page and hopefully on a wall of the Manor somewhere!

How did I know they were caricature fans? I'd spotted this in their office:

Here's a photo of the house and grounds and one of us in the foyer:

And here we are just up the road!

Caricature-spotting on Koh Samui #1

During my recent trip to Thailand, I didn't just get to see Bangkok--we travelled (by night train, bus and ferry) about 500 miles south to the beautiful tropical island of Koh Samui. The most popular beach town is Chaweng, with a thriving main street full of local Thais and tourists from all over the world. One shop had this displayed out front---it looked like a combination of marker and watercolor:

  This particular artist had pieces in a couple of shops nearby:

Many of the small art shops we passed had painters busily working on large canvases of popular subjects; it seemed to be a tie between traditional Thai art and...the Joker. ;-)

Ok, gotta throw in a photo of the absolutely beautiful beach here...

Doodling in Bangkok #2

Another day in Bangkok, another sketchbook...this book fit in my (horrors!) fannypack...

Her birthday caricature was really an ENGAGEMENT caricature!

On Saturday evening, I delighted in what is a big thrill for any caricaturist: being part of a marriage proposal!!

There's a neat backstory to this. In 2006, I was still caricaturing at Philadelphia Phillies games and drew a very nice gentleman (with his signature hat) and his lovely daughter Helen, and I took a photo of their drawing. A few years later, they happened to walk by my stand at my annual summer fair, and were surprised and pleased to see their caricature was one of my samples! So the dad took my card, and said someday he'd hire me for something. Well, the something turned out to be his daughter's 30th birthday party this past Saturday. When I arrived, he pulled me aside and told me that her boyfriend wanted to propose with a caricature--and the only people who knew were himself, the BF, the BF's mom---and me!!! So while I was drawing the guests, I knew the main event was to come later...
This is my caricature from 2006, which was on display at the party:

And this is the dad, Glenn (no hat, though! almost didn't recognize him---the mustache helped) and two of his grandsons now:

I was a little nervous, but probably not as much as the prospective bridegroom! When he and Helen finally sat for me, I put up a prepared sign on my easel that said: "SHHHHH! It's a surprise!!" so no one would blurt out what I was drawing. And no one did---Helen was completely stunned when the moment came, as you can see in my little video!

She definitely got a birthday surprise. :-)

Good things can definitely come in threes--a birthday party on St. Patrick's day that included Tony and Helen's surprise engagement---Thank you for having me be a part of it and congratulations!!!

"Can you draw me body-checking?"

Well, the calendar said March 17, but neither of the events I drew at yesterday were St. Patrick's celebrations! My daytime gig was a girls' hockey tournament that I do every year. Here are a few faces from that:

 This girl wanted to be drawn falling down on the ice! Her mother was against it at first, but relented, and then laughed as the drawing progressed. :-)

After this, I packed up and drove to a 30th birthday party at a country club, arriving just in time to change my outfit (had dressed warmly to be in an ice rink and it turned out to be a summer-like day!) and set up for round two...