Client-shared photo and feedback :-)

A few weeks back, I painted a digital caricature for a young man about to graduate. His grandmother and mom both just emailed me some photos, and some wonderful feedback. It's a neat feeling to provide my service to people I have never met, and know it has made them happy, all via cyberspace!

His grandmother said: THANK YOU FOR A FINE JOB! ( and yes, she used ALL CAPS! :-)
His mother said: My mom gave my son the caricature you had done of him for his high school graduation party guest sign-in board. I love it. Anthony loves it, as well. I have attached a couple of pictures of Anthony with the caricature.
Thank you again. I told Mom that she can't lose your web address as she has three more grandchildren who will be graduating high school (one day) and will need a caricature sign-in board for their parties!!! lol

Happy Independence Day 2009!

Every year, I happily draw caricatures at a local country club's Independence Day festivities. This year was a little different, for several reasons:
1. It was unseasonably cool, so much so I needed a jacket as it got dark...
2. Usually the lawn is home to swarms of gnats and mosquitos--not this year!
And, in the almost-full-moon department:
3. I took a 5-minute break to use the ladies room (something I ordinarily try not to do if I can avoid it, as there were so many waiting to be drawn) and two little girls followed me, asking, "Are you the caricature lady? Are you done? Are you coming back? We want to be drawn!!"
4. At the end, I had a rather inebriated dad offer me $100 to draw his child after I had closed the line, and again after I had closed up my easel (!) He offered the same to the face painter! Well, we politely turned him down just as the fireworks began.
What never changes is how much Americans enjoy celebrating their country!

O's-Red Sox showdown

I motored down to Baltimore for a night and a day's worth of baseball caricaturing. The Red Sox Nation was in town and on Tuesday night, they were in for a shock! After a lengthy rain delay that started soon after I took this photo,

..with an interrupted score of BoSox 10, Orioles 1, the O's came back to WIN it 11-10! It was the biggest comeback game in the history of the franchise. However, it wasn't so for the sopping wet caricature artists; we'd left during the torrential downpour with hope for the next day's afternoon game.
And Wednesday turned out to be beautiful and busy.

The mom of these three Sox fans commented that I'd perfectly caught their characteristic expressions... :-)

This young lady's dad wanted a caricature of her.

This couple was a hoot! I drew her first, and she beamed while watching me draw her hubby. He was turning out so teddy-bear cute that I said to him, "I hope you're not a Marine or a security guard, because I'm not making you look that way." He said, "I'm a cop!" and we all laughed!

I dont know what to say about this one--- had to take a pic or else no one would believe someone paid me to draw their SANDWICH!!!

Last but not least, a little Phillies fan wanted to be drawn with the Phanatic. Rick sent them right to me! :-)

Bat Mitzvah

I drew at a lovely young lady's Bat Mitzvah celebration yesterday afternoon; she also had a digital caricature as a sign-in board! :-)

Another big tent was filled with loving family and friends. I was seated on the patio underneath an enormous umbrella.

There's the artist, doing what she does ( and speaking in the third person!)

Here are some of the faces that came out of my pen:





And here is the girl of the hour, after the festivities, with her completely-filled in sign-in (the mat on this was 16 x 20!). The well-wishers wrote in at least four different languages!
Congratulations, Eve!

Two video clips of caricature reactions!

I've been inspired by my friend Patrick, whose caricatures cause such belly-aching laughter, to video more of my own reactions. Here are two from Saturday's Stooge birthday party. Enjoy!

Stooge-themed 50th birthday party!

On a beautiful summer Saturday evening, I drew at a new 50-year-old's Three-Stooges-themed birthday party. There's everyone waiting for his arrival. He thought he was coming for crabcakes (which worked because his birthday is actually in a few weeks). Below is the stiltwalker/magician who heralded the birthday guy's coming: (in a DeLorean, no less! Back to the future, anybody??)) I was set up to draw on the shady porch. The client had had me there a few years back for another son's party, so it was nice to be included again! Instead of my usual self-caricature on my info board, I displayed a drawing I'd done of Larry, Moe and Curly ( the only Stooges I consider authentic, although I'll watch Shemp, too.) Here's a few faces! (got to draw in color for the second time that day! :-) And birthday guy and his wife: When I'd finished drawing, I got to check out the clothesline display of some of my work...
Finally, here is a short clip of a Stoogey skit that was put on by friends, which ended with the Delorean being doused with glitter. I'm not adept with the video function on my camera yet, so fogiven the sudden ending. Hilarious though!

Pig roast!

My first event on Saturday was a small family barbecue that also served as a housewarming, a graduation party, and (their words) a 'wake for Michael Jackson'!!! :-O
The pig was actually butchered the same day poor Michael met his maker....

I was happy to be able to draw in color at this one.




These two brothers were alot of fun to draw!!!

Three caricatures for sign-ins this past weekend!

Three parties held in various places this weekend had one thing in common: a sign-in caricature by this caricature artist!
Two were digital, and one was hand-drawn. Two were for for parties I wasn't drawing for (because I'd been booked elsewhere already) and one was for a party where I was present. One was for a wedding, one was for a 40th birthday, and one was for a bat mitzvah.
I'd like more weekends like this!! :-)


This bride and groom met via Eharmony when the bride enlarged her dating radius to 60 miles. Luckily there was that major highway linking their areas!

This beautiful young lady celebrated her bat mitsvah with many family and friends, and I drew many of them, as well, on Sunday afternoon.

This new fortysomething and his dog were commissioned by his wife, and I delivered the frame and hand-drawn(Prismacolor pencil) caricature right before the party!

I'm hoping to see some wedding and 40th birthday photos from those clients... Thanks, all!

RIP Jacko...

He was undoubtedly a incandescent talent, but also a tragic lost soul. Now that he's gone, time will lessen the memories of his weirdness and leave only the music...
This drawing of him was done back in 2004, when I loved using colored pencils:

Project Grad party!

Last night, I was part of a wee-hours Project Grad party that I do every year, along with seven other artists. A Project Grad means hundreds of high school seniors have their graduation, and then are bussed to a big college campus to celebrate in style all night long! I was seated between hilarious exaggerators Patrick Harrington and John Sprague, and some of their crazy scritchings must have rubbed off on me; I overheard one girl say my drawings were " mean AND cute" !!! Below is a view of the crowded room of caricature fans, and a shot of the table where drawings were left for pick-up later: I hope Patrick and John post some of the videos and photos they took, because this particular crowd is always very appreciative of more outlandish caricatures. Videoing reactions is a challenge for me to pull off (think walking and chewing gum) but here is one that made me giddy, too!