Oh What A Night - Frankie Valli- Cover - Trio Avenue

http://trioavenue.blogspot.com
Another Youtube sample of my Calgary party band, Trio Avenue. The guys and myself are huge fans of the Broadway play "Jersey Boys" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Here is Trio Avenue's version of the song with myself playing a Roland drum kit.

Party Caricatures in Calgary

As would be expected, the Christmas season is a busy one for Calgary caricature artists. Five events alone on last weekend and five more this week....no complaints here! I had tried substituting my Mars brush pen for a regular felt tip pen and sure enough.....went right back to the Staedtler Mars brush pen.

Drive By - Train - Cover - Trio Avenue

I couldn't resist putting up another Youtube video of my band Trio Avenue covering a song by Train entitled Drive By. It was tricky for our singer at first to play the off beat pattern on guitar and sing on the beat....he asked that we leave it with him for a week and sure enough, Don nailed it! ( Don Kletke). When we play live, I think this has to go over the best for dancers. Enjoy!

Tee Shirt cartoon

Thanks Laura for sending me a copy of the tee shirts I designed for The Coast to Coast Bully Run....loved caricaturing your dog Piper!

Herman's Hermits

I received my autographed retro photo today from Karl Green of the British Invasion band, Herman's Hermits. I had caricatured first their lead singer Peter Noone and the cartoon caricature was turned into a tee shirt. Next I cartoon caricatured their bass player Karl Green, again, turned into a tee shirt. Odd thing was, I was just watching two 60's movies with Herman's Hermits about 3 days before I got the call to caricature Karl.

Check out Wikipedia on Herman's Hermits... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman's_Hermits

I always like when I draw a cartoon or caricature when the client has the courtesy to send me a copy! Thanks!!

Caricatures in Calgary

As expected, with only weeks until Christmas and New Years Eve, caricature events are going full steam! This past weekend was no exception, there were late in the evening events, then up at 7:00am to draw caricatures at a children's event, then grab some fast food, and off to an evening corporate event....but that's ALL good! I drew at a MOVEMBER event on Friday night, and with the type of crowd, I could realy have some fun with my cartoon-caricatures, but because the light source was behind the guests, NONE of the pictures turned out...and those ones were fun! :( This one above was in a giant building with the best corporate band Alberta has to offer as the entertainment, The Groove Academy! ( Bassist Henry is a friend of mine, and a musical inspiration!) check out their website...  http://www.myxgroup.com/

With this classy event and the huge long line-ups (there were five caricature artists), I had to put my back to the line-up as sometimes when I see how many people are waiting I tend to hurry to get through them, at this one I thought I would slow each drawing of a person to about 4 1/2 minutes each. A wise decision as I was happy with the results.

Stereotypical School Marm

To continue on with the cartoon stereotypes, this time I drew the school teacher. Again, there are very few school teachers that resemble my cartoon, but in the cartooning world, the cartoonist has a stereotype they "draw" from. In this case, she's past the age of retirement, cranky (perhaps that's why), a little outdated in her fashion and hairstyle and voila...there you have it...a stereotypical school marm...

But one thing I have noticed after drawing a few hundred thousand people...school teachers are THE most politically correct in today's pc climate.... I do prefer the older ones than the young ones as the young and middle aged ones seem to be social engineering disciples....and the college and university professors... they're among the worst socialists living in their ivory towers and not the real world...

Kelly Gannon, Calgary Cartoonist

I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson - Cover - Trio Avenue

Nothing at all to do with drawing caricatures...but this year I've managed to record three studio cd's. I try not to mix my caricature work with my music, but we were quite proud of this cd...we're all huge fans of Motown and especially Smokey Robinson, and not everyone can sing in that range, but we're so lucky that our singer, Don Kletke can. The bass is played by our keyboard player (Reed Crapo) with a digital, clean sound. Yours truly is playing a set of Roland 15 digital drums with mesh heads....love them! The horn section you hear are played by our keyboard player (I'm ALWAYS amazed how Reed can play keyboards with one hand, and a bass pattern with the other!) Turn your speakers up loud...and please enjoy!

Calgary Caricatures

After flying back from Reno I was a bit tired but was up for three caricature events in Calgary this weekend. Because of the "push" at the convention by artists to exaggerate more in the drawings, I tried that the first night....no dice! After a few I would ask my guests if they wanted it exaggerated or cartoony...CARTOONY won....hands down!

Three different venues this weekend to draw caricatures at, from the picture of the Safari Village at The Calgary Zoo, ( above ), to downtown Calgary, to the offices of a major airline based here in Calgary.

Convention ....over.....

Yes! Caricature artists do have conventions. ( I like explaining that to Customs officials when I travel.... :) The 2014 convention in Reno, Nevada has wrapped up for another year. The convention attracts the best caricaturists from all over the globe, from animation, newspaper, magazine, themepark and celebrity backgrounds. This years guest speaker was the great Sebastion Krugar from Germany (just one of the many guest speakers.) It was a time to see old friends and meet new ones and of course see terrific artwork produced before our very eyes.

From caricature sculpture created by Johanna from Holland, to book signings done by Sebastian Krugar from Germany.

Meeting up with talented caricaturists from as close as Edmonton, Alberta ( Laurel Hawkswell and Cathy McMillan) and seeing "far away" friends such as Liesbeth Beckers all the way from Begium.....it was my pleasure!

Off to Reno

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I have one more corporate caricature event tonight to draw at, then up at 5:00am to catch a flight to Reno, Nevada to attend a caricaturist convention... ( yes....we do have those...). This will be tricky as the corporate party goes quite late, then the drive home, with only a couple hours sleep, I'm hoping I don't sleep in. The above pictures are a couple of The Peppermill Casino/Hotel where I'll be staying.

Stereotypical Surfer Dude

Okay...I had to draw another cartoon of a stereotypical character....the surfer dude! I can safely say as I was in Hawaii, most don't look like this cartoon...perhaps California? We think of shaggy, blonde sun bleached hair, ripped body and of course...the "super hero" large chin, square jawline, and not to forget, bright white teeth with a huge smile. There you have it, at first glance...surfer dude..... 

My graditude to all who served in the name of freedom! I would go one step further in thanks, especially in WW11, to the resistance fighters, The OSS, ( spies parachuted behind enemy lines ). These men and women had to send back intelligence to western countries before ground and airforces could attack, making it one of the most dangerous missions any human can imagine....if caught, no POW camp....it was torture and death....thank you!

If you get a chance, Google in "Camp X" where the spies were trained in Canada and flown behind enemy lines to begin their spy missions. Set up by The British, directed by British, American ( Wild Bill Donovan), and Canadian ( Sir William Stephenson)( my favorite Canadian ! ), spies were trained to survive in hostile territory knowing their life span could be short...lets not forget them.....now if we could convince Canadian school boards to realize this even happened in history, young people just might realize why they have the freedoms they do...........

Calgary Airbrush Tattoos

Okay.....I was a bit out of my element a few weekends ago as I was asked by my Daughter's company to do some temporary airbrush tattoos

for The Calgary Flames hockey team. She needed quite a few air brush artists and one person took a "leave of absence" so to speak and I had a very quick, well ...lesson! I did get through it, but I'll leave this job to her next time and stick to drawing caricatures....   she's the pro....her contact number is....  caralgannon@gmail.com below is some of her work...NOT mine.....

Party Caricatures....the guys!

I keep telling myself I HAVE to get a new camera....after this caricature event Thursday evening, I did! This was a great gig raising money for children that could use a bit of a boost, the board members are excellent people to work with as well as the guests....and kudos to the beautiful venue. And yes....there were plenty of females drawn, this time I thought I would give the guys the spotlight.

As you can see....the guys can be a more fun...target...

The venue below is a beautiful garden setting....kind of makes you want to sit back and relax rather than work.......

Coast to Coast Bully Walk

The Coast to Coast Bully Walk is a walk featuring owners and their dogs held on October 25th every year all across the United States to bring awareness to the "bully" breed dogs, such as the pit bull. My cartoon on the banner is used for the official start of the walk ( I noticed the lovely blonde woman, Laura Bruccoleri, in the hoodie has the cartoon on the back of her sweater as well). This was started here by Laura Bruccoleri, I swear, she'll have her own television show one day! Great to see the one, rather large pit bull licking the face of the other! My family has always had the cute furry type of dog, though my Daughter owns a French Bulldog, he's adorable and I know my Wife fell in love with him as much as I have. The white pit bull, Piper, is a therapy dog used to going into hospices, nursing homes and schools. But thanks to Laura Bruccoleri for all your hard work and dedication....

http://piperspageoflife.weebly.com/

Halloween Makeup

Yikes! :) I do caricature events periodically for a theme party event company called "Confetti Theme Parties"....they did an excellent job Halloween night for their event, make-up and all.

To contact a representative for your next theme event, contact Cara at  caralgannon@gmail.com

Party Caricatures in Calgary!

Wonderful event to draw caricatures at in Downtown Calgary. Caricature artists like myself are used in different scenarios for both entertainment and promotion, or a combination of the two....this was such an event held at a department store. Most of the time guests are quite surprised that the caricatures are free to them, as the corporation has already paid the artist. A lot of these guests have never had an opportunity to be drawn, and yes....they're super grateful.

Kelly Gannon

Madame Tussauds, Vegas

I'm a huge fan of Madame Tussauds since visiting my first one in Amsterdam years ago. I had the opportunity to visit the one in Las Vegas a few weeks ago with my Son and Daughter.....loved it. Personally I don't care at all about celebrities, but do love the perfect artwork involved in bringing this to fruition. With the exception of these two, (The Rock and Snoop Dogg), it was odd to see how short most actors are. I actually thought The Rock would be a bit larger as well....my son is a bodybuilder and with a couple years, isn't far off from The Rock. If you get a chance, Google the history of Madame Tussauds, starting out with the creator, Marie Tussaud. Born in France in the 1800's, working as a housekeeper before learning her craft, getting involved with The French Revolution and coming close to facing the guillotine...facinating read....To me, the artisans that create these wonderful works of art should be as much on a pedestal as the actor they've created...

Party Caricatures

A couple  party caricatures from an event I drew at in the downtown Calgary core...again...making these lovely guests look elegant!

Kelly Gannon, Party Caricatures

Calgary Cartoonist

Funny how a simple little cartoon can be used for splashy ads! I drew this cartoon for two ladies a few years ago, I never knew what it was to be used for until a year later I was driving and seen it on a truck, I pulled over and wrote the ad down and seen it on the internet on a couple sites. All I ask is that if I do a digital cartoon for a client, IF you think of it, send me a copy what it was used for or email and let me know.....please. I have so many out there that I've asked that same request, never to hear from them again, every now and then I might see one on a product, such as the time I seen my cartoon design on ball caps....would have been easy to send me one.....but....such is the world of cartooning.

Kelly Gannon, Calgary Cartoonist

Caricatures Calgary

A delightful lady from a caricature event last night in Calgary for the oil industry. Guests such as the woman above really make my job enjoyable with their bubbly personality....thanks!

Blue Man Group drummer

I was in Las Vegas last week and had always heard of the stage production The Blue Man Group. It's one show that over the years I have never heard anything negative about, but still I just never bothered going for some reason. This time my family and I went....AMAZING is all I can say. I'm so glad I did take in the show! High above the stage in cages was the backup band that had three fantastic drummers pounding out tribal beats in conjunction with the main entertainers painted blue with bald heads.

I couldn't get my eyes off one incredible drummer that had such command of the drum kit (they were all good though )...I just had to meet this drummer after the show as it takes quite a bit at my age now to impress me....this guy did. For such a monster sound he produced, I was surprised that he was small in stature, but large in talent. The show is a mix of high-tech, comedy and huge talent...check it out if you're ever in Vegas.

French Bulldog



Nothing whatsover to do with caricatures....but amazing what a pup will eat! My Grandson's little French Bulldog pup, Baxter, swallowed a sock....whole....it sat in his stomach for a week.....then out it came! He wasn't looking his usual active self after his "meal" here....but alas....he's now back to normal.....chewing everything in site..... :)

Calgary Caricatures

Not quite the pose I was looking for... :) But....you get the idea! A lovely group of woment to draw caricatures in Calgary for on Friday. Back again this coming week. From now until the new year it looks as though this is going to be a busy caricature year again....which is always a good thing! Thanks to all my wonderful guests who sit in my "caricature chair!"