Digital birthday caricature

Quick commission for my daughter to give to her rugby-playing boyfriend...happy birthday Dayne!

Mother's Day ballgame

After a brief catnap (it seemed like that) I was back at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon to draw at the Mother's Day Orioles/Yankees finale. I had planned on trying out my new Panpastels for this game, but the stiff breeze blew the sponges used with them out of my tray...plus the mental fatigue from the day before was just a bit too much--so I stuck with the tried and true... my Prismacolor Artstix. Panpastels will make their debut another day.





After I drew the above little girl, who had requested the Oriole Bird be in her sketch, my colleague Gary Smith leaned over to me and dryly intoned, "See me after class."
Hahaha--he's the authority on cartooning, so he informed me that my version of the Oriole Bird was just too Woody Woodpecker and his peak curved a different way. So the next one I did looked like this:


Here's a pic of the ever-photo-shy Gary with one of his masterpieces:


These sisters were one of the final caricatures I did during my crazy weekend. They liked it. :-)

Post-prom!

From midnight to three in the morning on Sunday, I teamed up with Rick Wright to draw at a high school post-prom held in a state-of-the-art Y. The organizer asked us to put up a poster so "people would know we were caricature artists" LOL!

(Bubble letters by me, calligraphy by Rrrick!)

Here they come:






Here's Rick conversing with one of his subjects, "What's your major going to be?"
I don't know how he had the brainpower at that hour to do that AND draw. (And he'd done a gig and a game previous to the post-prom too). I know I was on fumes by then and could only draw mutely!

O's!!!!!!

Saturday evening found me dodging a few raindrops while drawing at the Orioles/Yankees game. The other artists and I were rewarded with, not a rainbow, but this beautiful, very-Maxfield-Parrish cloud formation, as noticed by colleague Jerry Breen:
Here are some of the faces I drew here:

A rare (for me) profile drawing:

And finaly, two giddy teenagers:

I don't usually get to draw tongue-piercings and rude-word hats!(it's blurred, thankfully!)

Grand Opening

This past weekend was absolutely insane. Some of my nearest and dearest thought I was insane, too-- because from Friday evening's gala to Sunday afternoon's Orioles/Yankees game, I drew at five events...including a stretch of gigs that kept me awake for twenty-three hours. I LOVE MY JOB!

Saturday morning's event was the Grand Opening of a beautiful downtown-style shopping center. I was only one of many, many street entertainments.

There's my setup. I used my easel umbrella ( and sunscreen!) until the shade from the building arrived.


This little sweetheart ( below) couldn't stop smiling!!


The next two photos are a family:


And last but not least: more big smilers!


Update: The client posted feedback on Gigmasters (where I received this booking). Thanks!!! :-)
Emily was awesome. Professional, prompt, friendly and a huge hit at the grand opening.

Charity Fundraiser at Longwood Gardens

Last night, I had the very cool experience of seeing my digital Joe Biden caricature auctioned off, along with a pair of his cuff links, to benefit the American Lung Association (they went for $225!). Unfortunately, the VP was understandably too busy to sign his caricature---it had been emailed to him last week by the organizer. She told me that hopefully it still may happen for a future fundraiser. The gala evening was held at world-renowned horticultural gem, Longwood Gardens (which is very close to my home). I also drew during the cocktail hour, and met many interesting people! Here are a few glimpses of my night:

New medium/technique

My friend Marlo and I are serious art-supply-store shoppers. When I am in Philly, we make a habit of visiting the fabulous Dick Blick store there, which has ensnared us from our old haunt, Pearl's. Recently, she discovered an item that is a perfect addition to a live caricaturist's arsenal: panpastels. It's an improvement on the chalk-and-glove technique (mentioned a few posts ago) in that the pastels are in their own case, are low dust, and are applied swiftly with an applicator. I just ordered a set online and am now eagerly awaiting their arrival!!

Wedding Reception

Last night, my trusty easel and I were set up in the corner of a beautifully decorated hall for a candy-themed wedding reception. As you can see from my previous post, the bride's nickname is Candy, so everything from the colors to the music reflected that!










My thanks to the bride's mother for having me, and for organizing such a wonderful reception!

Digital wedding caricature commission

I completed this digital commission to be used as a sign-in at a candy-coated wedding!

1st Communion party

Yesterday afternoon, I was invited to draw caricatures at a young man's 1st Holy Communion party. Here is just one of the couple of dozen faces I drew!

It turned out that the family are true caricature fans...the dad had been drawn circa 1979 in Ocean City, Maryland by chalk-and-glove-technique-pioneer Irv Finifter (who has influenced many caricature artists that I know), and the son had been drawn last year at a Phillies game by my friend Bob Miele. Of course, I had to have a photo of their framed drawings:

Bob's is on the left, Irv's is on the right. Both are done using the lecturer's chalk for color, and one gloved finger to mix it into the paper. I used to use this technique myself, until I switched to Prismacolor Artstix after having seen them at a convention. You can get beautiful pastel effects with the chalks, and Bob is a virtuoso with them. I wish the photo wasn't so blurred, but it was hard to get a shot without using flash (to avoid the glare.)

It's great to see my art form as part of a family tradition, and one of the many reasons why guests are so thrilled to get a caricature at a party.

Update: My client graciously shared her own photos and some nice feedback! Thank you!

Emily is fantastic! She really captures the guest's personality in her drawings. I highly recommend her for any special occasion!