Hi! I'm a full time event caricature artist based out of Calgary, Alberta. I got my start by drawing editorial cartoons for newspapers, doing this for close to four years. I remember taking my family on holidays and having to have a few hours by myself in the hotel room and come up with a political cartoon to get in before my deadline, after I seen how newspapers worked politically, well, I lost all interest in doing this and set about drawing caricatures at events, parties and so forth. I first seen caricature artists doing live caricatures while I attended a caricaturist convention in Cocoa Beach, Florida. I actually went down to see the guest speaker, the great Jack Davis of Mad Magazine, ( my absolute favorite!), that was when the magazine was an influence to other cartoonists instead of how it has declined today.
I seen party caricaturists drawing guests in 4 to 5 minutes and never thought I could reach that speed after being an editorial cartoonist where we can spend hours on a cartoon. Within a year or so, there I was, drawing these live caricatures in the 4 minute time frame.
After spending years drawing for the largest corporations in Calgary , I received an offer that I could only dream of....to draw caricatures in Disneyland! I quickly accepted and flew to California, went through the training and there I was, in the sunshine with all that creativity around me, drawing caricatures of guests at Disneyland. ( Thanks Tom!!)
Again, another beautiful opportunity came knocking at my door....to draw caricatures aboard cruise ships around the world. After completing two interviews I booked my first cruise to draw aboard in Mexico, and Key West, Florida......I LOVED it! No money in it, but that didn't matter. Since then I made it my "bucket list" to draw in The Pacific, The Atlantic, The Mediterranean, The Caribbean, and The Baltic, getting a chance to take my children to see ruins of Pompeii, Rome, to Croatia, to the jungles in Mexico to vist Tulum and of course all the beautiful islands in The Caribbean.
Without persuing a studio career at all, I was lucky enough to have drawn cartoons and caricatures for two books, different magazines, tee shirt companies, etc. It's ALWAYS nice to see your work in print. Having had the chance to be on television (drawing the newscasters live) and radio, it increased my profile in the city.
Finally, because I grew up listening to all the great music from the sixties era, I remember seeing these bands on TV and some in concert and still have a love of their music, so this was so very important to me to have drawn caricatures for either advertising or tee shirts or just for their enjoyment and getting a chance to meet these bands was one of my high lights of my career. Some of the bands I've drawn caricatures for and met were........Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Grass Roots, Paul Hoffert of Lighthouse, Chubby Checker, Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees and Herman's Hermits............they're all amazing musicians and friendly at that!
Now, I concentrate on drawing caricatures at corporate events, graduation/ birthday/ retirement parties, and anywhere people gather to have fun!
Calgary YYC Party Caricatures