A rather difficult likeness...

Some of my colleagues and I are trying to do a joint caricature project featuring this lady. Her face is one of those ones that is just tough to exaggerate...this is a digital WIP. If this version doesn't grow on me, I'll do another one.

High school graduate caricature...

It's that time of year!


This digital caricature was done for a family grad party to honor a musical young lady in Florida. Congratulations, Ashley!

Rain and sun in Charm City...

Sunday's weather had a bit of everything...sun, wind, showers, and a spectacular cloud display after the rain. Oh, and caricatures too...

Rick and co. actually had to move the entire caricature stand to the other end of Eutaw Street for awhile where we could be under shelter; it never rained torrentially but even a spritzing can ruin a sheet of paper. The above pic was taken as I walked back to our usual spot, after the rains had passed....

Yup, Oriole Park became Fenway South for the day again.


The last young subject asked for a profile view, which I feel I am least adept at doing, since for me they are an infrequently-drawn type of caricature. I probably have to think more when I do them, so while I am happy with the likeness here, I wish I had made it funnier...

Slumber party!

As dusk was gentling falling on Saturday, I arrived at my next destination...a little girl's 10th birthday slumber party. Since there were only eight girls, I drew some pretty complex (and funny) requests: "on the beach with a pig"..."with a King Charles Cavalier spaniel and a dolphin"..."in London with my cat" ( well, she was British!)...."as an artist" (of course, I particularly liked that one, and she was French!)

The mature thirteen-year-old cousin was drawn, too...she asked to be a dancer and when I asked what I should draw her wearing, she said a sleeveless shirt and sweat pants!

They had chocolate mousse cake at this one! Mmmmmm!

Graduation party for a new nurse...

On Saturday afternoon, I joined a large family celebration for a daughter's graduation from nursing school. I'd done a digital caricature beforehand for the guest-of-honor's sign in:

She was totally surprised by the party!

And she totally surprised ME by walking in with curly hair (that's not the style she was sporting in my reference photo from the client --her mom!) I was very relieved when she told me the caricature caught just how she looked with straight hair! :-) That's her on the right, below.

There were lots of grandchildren and cousins to draw. This little girl had the biggest eyes I have seen in awhile...

This family, especially the guys, had an endless supply of one-liners which kept me in stitches!

The country club where the party was held served some wonderful food, including a mashed-potato bar! You could choose white or sweet potatoes, and there were condiments for each ( I chose brown sugar and carmelized walnuts for mine, so it was more like a dessert!) and then it was presented in a martini glass. Mmmmm...

My camera-woman and video-editing skills are progressing:



Below is how her sign-in looked after her family and friends had added their sentiments:



My client graciously emailed some wonderful feedback to Gigmasters this morning:
The experience was fantastic! Everyone loved their pictures. Emily was very personable thru the entire event. And also very helpful to me answering questions etc. And there were numerous comments on her talents and that she was the best caricaturist they had ever seen. I would recommend her to anyone wanting this type of service. She made it very entertaining. I cannot say enough good things about her and her work.

Thank you Sandra, I'm blushing!! Of course, I had as much fun as you all did!

Tilda Swinton for Caricaturama SD 3000

The current winner, Kacey Schwartz, chose the next subject on the weekly Caricaturama Showdown 3000 page. I wasn't very familiar with Academy-award-winning actress Tilda Swinton, but Google-imaging her displayed porcelain Scottish skin, interesting bone structure, vivid true-green eyes and flaming red hair. She was also a classmate of Diana, Princess of Wales at the small upper-class English girls' school they both attended in the sixties.

I wanted to emphasize the lack of color in her skin, and emphasize its abundance in her eyes and hair. This was done in Photoshop with my trusty Wacom Intuos. Today, I need to find out how to pull the nib from my Wacom pen; it's worn down (and can be replaced) but so far I haven't been able to get it out with tweezers... :-(

Aaaaaarrrgghh: The Pirate after-prom

Ahoy, mateys!

Early this morning, I set sail for another high-school post-prom. This one had an actual promenade going in, each couple was announced as they walked the plank into the school:

past some sea-shanty-singing shady characters:

and a cafeteria that included a (dry, haha, no rum here) bar:

I set up my easel near this swashbuckling guy:

The seniors came in, and quickly changed out of their finery for the standard post-prom attire of shorts and t-shirts, but before this couple did, I had to have a photo of them. Loved the complimentary colors and I took her to be the artistic type...then she told me she made their corsages out of duct tape!

So shiver me timbers! now for the caricatures!

(Above) These two young ladies got in line ten minutes before I started (that's a compliment!) and when they sat down, they gave me the gift of funny expressions to draw!!
(Below) Sorry it's a tad blurry, but this couple was such a contrast--she was bubbly, and his pals were ribbing him for not smiling. He smiled when he saw the caricature!

Some more couples. I love all the variety!

Of course, the ladies' room is always my last stop on post-prom gigs. (Yes, I drank more Red Bull :-) This one was another laugh-inducing success. The second photo is from an intereresting vantage point...

...inside the stall!!

Well, unless I get a last-minute call for another one, that was my last after-prom this year. It's so much fun seeing the creativity of the parent committees who come up with and make a reality of their themes.
Til next year! Now it's on to graduation parties...

June: the month of weddings, graduations, and...

...teacher retirements!

And it's for that milestone that these seven digital caricatures were created by yours truly. The school colors are maroon and grey, so I incorporated them into all the compositions. The photo above is of the actual prints that I made for the client (they're actually seven separate 5 x 7 paintings, but I butted them up against each other to print). The client then provided 8 x 10 mats and I hand-lettered the school logo on each one. Now they'll be signed by the non-retiring staff of the school and presented to those lucky retirees.

"Caricaturama Showdown 300" FB competition

Just for fun, I decided to try a new weekly caricature competition on Facebook:

Everyone is drawing Mexican-American actor Danny Trejo. The winner gets to decide the following week's subject. There are some amazing entries...This is a digital pen & ink done intermittently while watching Lar's Ustream broadcast last night (during which I picked up some great Photoshop tips!)

My Friday night guilty pleasure...

...not really! There's no guilt involved, just pleasure. My friend Lar de Souza has been broadcasting on Ustream, on Friday nights, for quite some time now. If I'm home, I like to watch and listen as he invites all his internet friends into his suburban Toronto studio-- for a peek at his working methods...and his cats, his hats, and whatever else strikes his fancy.

As Lar draws, I usually have Photoshop open too, so I can try out things as he does them. This particular evening, I've been sketching Danny Trejo for an online caricature competition on Facebook. I could not resist doing a screen shot as dear Lar donned his 'Tim the Enchanter' hat...
By the way, Lar's bodacious beard has its own FB page too. :-)