Wedding Event Caricatures

I had a few caricature events this Saturday....after my afternoon event it was hop in the vehicle, go through drive-through to get some fast food, change in the truck into a suit.....then on to draw at a wedding with wonderful guests! Mostly firefighters, 911 call operators and paramedics. Thanks Morgan!

The entrance leading to Saturday night's wedding had a bit of the decorations from the Calgary Zoo's spectacular night time show "Illuminasia." You can see the website that will show samples of what they look like when dark arrives....   http://www.illuminasiacalgaryzoo.com/#welcome

I couldn't see the show as I got out from the wedding after it had closed for the evening, but plan to go back as I draw caricatures at another event there in a couple weeks for an NHL hockey team private party....please do go to the website to see the fantastic light displays.

My fist gig yesterday had me drawing caricatures for a Ronald MacDonald House to raise money for parents of sick children to help lighten their burden by giving them a decent place to stay while visiting a sick child....such a GREAT cause! Please throw a few bucks into the money bin the next time you visit a MacDonalds....does the heart good!

Different Venues 2

Here's another venue last week I had the opportunity to spend four hours drawing caricatures at. I heard from staff that more than one customer complained about putting Christmas decorations up this early.....certainly not the staff's fault....:(

Different Venues 1

Last week had me drawing caricatures at eight events....all kinds of different venues, from inside to outside, classy to industrial, such as the venue above.

Here's just a few of the many kids I had a chance to caricature/cartoon today. I'm not going to use all the shading for a while because of the time factor... ( these kids stand in line in the hot sun for quite a while to get drawn...).  I kind of like the clean look to the drawings without the Prismastick shading. I have 9 caricature events in Calgary this week so I'll be able to determine if I scrap the shading altogether by the end of the week.
Kelly Gannon

Drawing Caricatures Outdoors

Drawing caricatures outdoors can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, especially when it's a hot day....though windy days can also present problems, like trying to hold down the paper! Me....hot, sunny days are my scourge! Why....the ink in my pens run like water after it heats up and is a bit uncontrollable....kind of like "herding cats..." I find that I always have to shift the chairs around as the sun lands up hitting the guest right in the face and thus the "squinty eye" look. I use a Mars brush marker when drawing....nice, but if one drop of rain hits it...well....it looks like a photo of Tammy Baker with the smearing makeup look. Needless to say, the above caricatures were drawn outside.....but I was lucky....I had a tent..... :)
Kelly Gannon

Rock and Roll Caricatures

TBT......On throw-back Thursday, last year I was scrolling through Facebook and seen a post by the legendary rock band from the sixties, Paul Revere and the Raiders had made a Facebook post with some of my cartoons I drew for the band a few years ago. They had to leave out Paul Revere as he had passed away but I was lucky enough to have drawn him and meet him a few times. The band is still touring under the name Paul Revere's Raiders. Good guys....great band!
Kel Gannon

Restaurant Gig

My photography keeps getting worse....ha ha. I drew caricatures at a restaurant last week and again....not much light.....just whatever came through the blinds....:)

Jack Black

Here's an older "kinder....gentler" pencil sketch of Jack Black....

A lovely couple I got to caricature the other night....I must take more pictures next time!

Chris Isaak

I had the great pleasure to have seen Chris Isaak last week at The Grey Eagle Casino in Calgary...FANTASTIC show! Great voice...Great band....Great light show and sound. His humour was an entertaining part of the show besides his showmanship. Chris Isaak is a highly recommended show.....I'm sure the audience will agree.

I've just finished recording a new cd for Trio Avenue, playing drums on it. For drum techies, I played a Roland 20 kit with Sabian hi-hats and a Sonor snare drum. The cd consists of cover tunes in the Motown genre covering a number of Smokey Robinson tunes as well as a few Roy Orbison numbers. This one I'm quite proud of how the cd turned out....a lot of work but well worth it!

Wedding Caricatures

My photography has a lot to be desired for sure!  But it was a bit dark and there was a huge light right behind the guests.... so I have an excuse.:) Wonderful guests at a wedding Saturday night made the evening enjoyable for me...thanks Sumeet!

Party Caricatures in Calgary

The "sunshine Gods" were with us last Saturday as I had an outdoor event to draw caricatures at in Calgary when all week....well....it rained! The venue was a very cool building owned by a very cool woman...Shakers! It's all geared towards family entertainment. I was set up close to the racetrack...(never heard a thing....) So if you're stuck on something to do with the family one day....head on down to Shakers!

Calgary Cartoonists

I was honoured to be asked by cartoonist Guy Parsons to entertain along with five other Calgary cartoonists including Dave Whamond of the cartoon Reality Check. The recipient of our entertainment were the terminally ill children at The Calgary Children's Hospital. To see children this ill always leaves a lasting effect on me as I've drawn before there....not very easy.  The Calgary Herald did a small article in the newspaper about the event but the reporter wasn't allowed in the room (understandable). You can view some of the article...   http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/national-cartoonist-society-to-draw-up-smiles-at-childrens-hospital

Might I give a tremendous shout out to the marvelous nurses, doctors and volunteers to work with these children.....they are the real rock stars!

Calgary Party Caricatures

Well my phone camera sure takes much better pictures outdoors! This event was another "head down and giv'r" kind of event where I had to get through the guest line-up. Sometimes I mess myself up as when I get there, there may not be too many guests to draw so I draw the full body with sport/gag/or bad habit in the drawing. Before I know it, there is a line-up....too late to switch to just head and shoulders, so the pressure is on.....This particular event had me drawing caricatures for this party in Calgary, then when I was finished, I had to drive through traffic construction to Bragg Creek and change into my stage clothes to play drums in a band for the evening....but it worked!

Calgary Face Painter

A shout out to Calgary Face Painter, Cara Gannon. Cara works evnt as a face painter with me quite often, the kids always have a look of astonishment on their faces when they see the artwork Cara has painted on their faces....and the parents love it too! Cara only uses government approved face paint on the kids...so it's always safe. To hire Cara for you kids birthday parties, or company, corporate events, Cara can be reached at...    caralgannon@gmail.com
Calgary Face Painter

RIP The Great Jack Davis

I'm a couple of weeks ago, my all time favorite cartoonist, Jack Davis, most popular for his work in MAD Magazine has passed away. Mr. Davis along with Mort Drucker are the two men that inspired me to get into cartooning/caricatures. When I was about 12 years old I seen my first MAD Magazine....and there was the wild cartoon work of Jack Davis before me....I was spellbound! I could laugh at just the drawing BEFORE I read the caption! Along with his work in MAD Magazine, Mr. Davis had his work published most everywhere in the sixties and seventies....from magazines, books, posters, lunch boxes....everywhere....even designing the cartoons for The Jackson 5 and The Monkees. And I had the great pleasure to meet my childhood cartoonist hero in Cocoa Beach, Florida....thus launching my caricature career....Thanks Jack!

Kelly Gannon, Caricature Artist in Calgary.....

Here's a couple caricatures I drew over Stampede Week. I didn't get very many as some were kid's events, some...well...I just didn't feel like it, some I'm just a terrible photographer and when there are long line-ups, the last thing a guest wants to see is the caricature artist snapping pictures after they've stood in line for an hour....yikes! :)

Stampede Week Venues

One venue I draw caricatures at during Stampede Week obviously would be...The Stampede Grounds. Though I only had a few events held down there this year as most were held in other parts of the city. For many years I would be down there all ten days drawing caricatures representing corporations from banks, car companies or airlines, etc. I'm pleased I didn't have to be down there much this year as parking and traffic is a pain....food is...well, calorie packed, give me other parts of the city anytime...

I drew caricatures at For Calgary the first day of Stampede Week, looking out the window you would see this empty field, but in a few days this field would be packed with people and the showiest band on the planet...KISS.

And this band ALWAYS gives 110 % I've seen them three times....kind of like Disneyland with guitars....and now the field is back to.....a field....

I'm taking this picture from my van just before I have to get out of a warm, dry van to draw caricatures.....but the venue was supposed to be held outside! So a contingent plan was made and I was down in the basement. This house was one of the first mansions built in Calgary entertaining Dukes, Dutchess's, Prince's and Princess's from around the world.

Stampede gigs are always held in downtown Calgary offices....though not as many as previous years. Again, with parking and traffic mess...I'm alright with that.

I do gigs quite often at Heritage Park, Stampede Week is no exception. My views on Heritage Park as an entertainer? I'll keep those comments close to my chest...

Large tents! Over Stampede Week I drew in many large tents, such as the one above, which was my last event. Usually I'm outside but this year Mother Nature was not in a good mood! Rain...pretty well all week, I was actually happy that I was indoors as the sun plays havoc with my pens....so....tents are good!