Kids Caricatures

Last week fellow entertainer and character actor extraordinaire Greg Travnicek and myself drew at a fantastic organization here in Calgary titled, Between Friends..... http://betweenfriends.ab.ca/
This organization focuses on help for the developmentally challenged kids and adults. I really enjoy drawing for these kids as they were just...well...sweet!

As you can see by the ad design above, the theme was the Mad Hatter Tea Party.....Greg nailed that one!

I just love drawing guests from the Middle East such as the one I did yesterday while drawing in a showhome for five hours yesterday. Their features are perfect for the caricature artist, ( and I say this in a friendly way), with the dark hair and eyebrows it makes the drawing "pop." The nose shapes and very large eyes are two great features for the caricature artist as well. Thanks to this lovely family that dropped by yesterday to get their drawing done!

Calgary Party Caricatures

At this caricature gig last week, I just had to dig around in my case and yes....I found a red Prisma-stick....this lovely gal just wouldn't look right without the red hair....

Sugar Skull Caricatures

I never did get a chance to show some of the caricatures I drew at the Comic Con....Sugar Skull Caricatures. As far as I know, no one has ever applied sugar skull design to caricatures before. I can't say it was a huge success...because it certainly wasn't...:) but I enjoyed creating, then drawing these more than the "regular" caricatures. The white of the paper with the simple designs drawn with a small marker and a watercolor ink all seemed to fit together perfectly. But alas..... I guess the style just wasn't meant to be.......

Petsecure caricatures at the Calgary Pet Expo

I actually stumbled across this youtube video of myself while looking for something else....wow...didn't realize I draw that fast! :)

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Caricatures

Bar and Bat Mitzvah's are another avenue party caricaturists explore. Though I don't do a lot of them, I have done around a dozen or so. As with the case of the one I drew at last week, again, speed and likenesses are the key elements in working at these. Because of the amount of children that attend these, there isn't a lot of time to draw in full body and gag situations.

wedding caricatures

One in a hundred guests that I draw caricatures for have these striking features that can make a party caricature come out so nice....and this young woman is that one in a hundred! I finishEd drawing at an event in Calgary yesterday, had to grab a bite to eat and drive out of Calgary to find a golf course where the event was held, while the rain was beating down to draw caricatures at a wedding. Yes....I did get lost but finally found the venue, changed into my suit in my van and just made it in time to get set up. Thanks Nasra! Oh...the toughest part?...Working right beside the "candy buffet"...

Calgary Event Caricatures

Yesterday was the last, for this year, of drawing caricatures for the lacrosse tournaments. This day was a bit shorter starting at 10:00am and drawing without a break right through until 6:00pm. I actually love this kind of event. Kids were asking for bodies, but not having much time because of line-ups, I had to improvise with a simple body and a "prop" with an arrow off to the side....it saved me a ton of time! Thanks Okotoks Raiders! You guys rock!

This has nothing to do with drawing caricatures....but I'm going Oprah on you with this book. I'm a huge reading nerd that has to have a book going constantly since I was a child. A friend of mine at the gym who is an avid motorcycle rider gave me this book....love it!  Because it is a bit grim, I've made it a habit to have a coffee in the morning and read it on my deck each day. Written by super-drummer Neil Peart, drummer for Canadian rock band Rush, but with no reference to music or drums. In one year Mr. Peart had his 19 year old daughter killed in a car accident, literally months later, his long-time wife died of cancer, one tragedy is bad enough let alone experiencing two so close to each other. To ease the mental pain, Neil Peart chose to ride his motorcycle for months on end,  with the mission to keep moving, and completely miss Christmas. He documents his thoughts and feelings each day while driving his bike through Alaska, all across Canada, parts of the United States, Mexico then on to Belize. Disturbing because of his own dark thoughts and just to keep moving pretty well by himself. But obviously Neil Peart made it through the darkness and conquered what life had thrown at him showing us all not to ever take a loved one for granted, after reading the book one can only admire the man's inner strength.

Calgary Kids Caricatures

This caricature gig was for me a marathon stamina gig! It was about the fourth year I've drawn for an Alberta Lacrosse tournament, love it, but the hour were extended ( not complaining..... )...On Saturday I started drawing caricatures at 9:00am and with maybe a ten minute break, I finished at 9:00pm. On Sunday it was only a five and a half hour drawing time. I'm not sure about other caricature artists here in Calgary, but I actually love the line-ups and pressure of getting as many completed as I can....in my humble opinion, sometimes my caricatures look better! ( maybe it's only in my own mind....:)

Now this young fella's hair is a caricaturists dream......:)

It's always just a bit "odd" when I draw a young child and they want to be drawn as The Hulk.....this one kind of worked, but wouldn't you know it....green was one of the only colors I never had with me that day.....(ps....his Mom fixed his hair right before I snapped the picture.....:)

The history of lacrosse in North America is said to have originated with Canada's First Nations then later adopted by the French Canadians in 1850. It was then declared Canada's National Game of Canada in 1859. Lets just say it's a tad tougher and more physical than billiards........:)

Jazzberry Entertainment caricatures

Jazzberry Entertainment cartoons

I know this cartoon looks much different than any I've done before...but for good reason....I didn't want it to look too smooth or "slick" looking. The idea is to make the cartoon look almost as though a child drew it.. ( some may say I'm a big child! ). I designed this for business cards for a kid's entertainment company called jazzberry Entertainment, of which I'm part of. The site isn't finished yet, but the site address is  
www.jazzberryentertainment.com We'll be adding costumed mascots and children's theme parties of which my Daughter Cara has already put on, but are getting more extravagant all the time.

It's always an exciting feeling when I'm hired to draw caricatures for a corporate party here in Calgary to watch as speeches are going on while I wait for the line-up to start. Sometimes the pressure is on when I have a set time frame and knowing roughly how many I can draw per hour but knowing the first priority is to get a likeness. This event was for a car company this last weekend....terrific group of guests! Thanks Shannon!!

O

                             

Party Caricatures

A couple couples from an event I drew caricatures at a "couple" days ago! All were fun to draw and most were from other parts of the province all working in the car industry. You guests made my night a fantastic time....thanks!

Kudos to Canadian soldiers of WW11

This post has absolutely nothing to do with caricatures, but far more important as it's the 70th anniversary of the liberation of The Netherlands from the Germans during WW11 by Canadian led troops. I'm an avid reader of Canadian military history of that terrible time....even though Hollywood chose to ignore the accomplishments of the Canadian soldier, the Europeans and history books have not. ( Even Canadian school curriculums should be embarrassed).

The First Canadian Army strike force fought in mud with virtually no cover against air assault having up to 13000 casualties with 7,600 dying in the fight. Shame on you Hollywood and Canadian school boards for no recognition. I spent some time with a Dutch family in Amsterdam years ago and felt the generosity from everyone I met when it was mentioned I was Canadian. So, again....I'm very proud of what these men had to battle through...I know I couldn't do it!

Odd studio assignment...

Normally I don't do any studio caricatures, but....because a large lacrosse association is hiring me to draw caricatures for their finals, they've requested an "odd" drawing to be done...Johnny Depp playing lacrosse. I said because I don't do studio work that I'll just draw it quick like a live drawing....they were happy with that. I was pleasantly surprised how the few features that Johnny Depp has could stand out with just a few lines of the pen. large eyes, that small goatee and of course...those cheek bones!

Hmmmnn... Trying to make a decision here, I'm off now to participate in my right to vote, though it's advanced voting to avoid line-ups. The leading candidate is a friend of mine and I've caricatured him before, but I can't stand the party he's associated with ( though he's a good guy! )......so....well, guess I'll decide when I get there....