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....

Pet Expo

Calgary's Pet Expo was a terrific event to draw caricatures at. This large event I enjoyed! Pets of all sorts, everything you can imagine to do with owning pets, from pet insurance, pony rides to different gourmet foods. Many thanks to Petsecure!

Calgary Caricatures

I'll be drawing family caricatures Saturday and Sunday at Spruce Meadows this weekend, come out and have your cartoon caricature drawn this weekend.
Just a couple more cartoon-caricatures drawn at this weekend's Comic Con.
Kudos goes out to the very talented women that were doing the body/face painting! Would I do it again? .....Nope.....

One of the body/face painters in our booth painted this character....fantastic! This guys comes in from the next province for the entire weekend....he came out for supper with us, THAT got the attention of the restaurant and staff....
A friend of mine from the gym I attend, Paul was a favorite with ALL the face painters! As you can see....Paul trains just a bit harder than I do..... :)
Body paint by Kayla, a very talented 21 year old I work with quite often. When The costume and mask were added to this guy, it was unreal! I remember drawing this guy at a pre-convention parade gig last year...below was the drawing.....

Comic Con first day...

Here I was in between Vikings and body painting, drawing cute kids at Calgary's Comic Con. Yes...I did draw some more aggressive caricatures that day....lots of green hair, piercings and so forth. Amanda Tozser is the magnificent face'body painter that I share the booth with.....tough to get noticed! Amanda is an amazing face painter that lives in Airdrie where I live. Who knows what day two will bring....I left out the other wilder caricatures for now....I can only imagine what kind I'll be drawing this weekend!

Party Caricatures

A couple bearded gentlemen drawn this morning in Calgary. One is a writer....one is a musician, you guess which one is which! Either way, both great guys to chit-chat with!

Barry Whitwam

The last cartoon-caricature I completed for the drummer for the sixties British Invasion band, Herman's Hermits. Barry Whitwam is the original drummer and is still with them in the UK today...though they don't have their lead singer Peter Noone. Barry is the character in the back of the picture.I always loved the cartoon style caricatures of The Beatles, The Jackson 5 and The Monkees. Sometimes caricaturists can be a bit critical of this style as we go for the "cartoony" look rather than exaggeration.Drawing very simple with a lot of lines left out can be a major challenge as sometimes you want to put that one last line in there...simple is ....simply good in this case.  Barry did message me that he he..."approved".....

Comic Con

Yes....I'm still at it, though my posts don't show it. Another "regular" caricature gig this Tuesday, then Thursday to Sunday I draw a certain kind of caricature at Calgary's Comic Con. I've Googled the idea I came up with and am confident it's the only kind of caricature done this way on the globe ( perhaps there's a reason for that....) It could be a complete bust, which is fine, I can then say I tried, though the money spent on the signage, booth fees and paper, parking and food....well, it would just be marked under "lesson"......

Leave Your Lover Sam Smith Cover Trio Avenue

New artist Sam Smith seems to be hot this year, a great voice at that! The band I play drums in, Trio Avenue, recorded one of Sam Smith's songs, as we're doing a high-end event next month and they wanted a bit more subdued but current set list....these tunes are new to me as well! The drumming is quite simple though, here I'm playing a Roland 20 series V-Pads.....

Air 106 radio

At first I thought that it was an April Fools joke being played on me when a radio station showed interest in my career as a caricature artist and wanted an hour long interview.....I was hesitant to get back to them at first so my lovely Daughter did....and yes....it was all legit! I went in today to a radio station with a great playlist, from today's hits and going back a few decades with modern pop being the music genre. Here's a link to the station   http://www.discoverairdrie.com/index.php?Itemid=55   Perhaps on a blog, but on live radio it did feel a bit uncomfortable talking about myself, but the commentator, Ty Tomasta ( who was absolutely a fantastic person to help you relax) went over what questions he was going to ask after each commercial break, so I could prepare an answer in my head first...thank you so much Tyler!! Ryan Seacrest....move over...........

Family Caricatures

I changed the size of paper I use and now just use 9 by 12"....at this event a few weeks ago I managed to squeeze the whole family onto the paper. I always prefer using a smaller size than the standard 11 by 14" that most caricature artists use. Sometimes when using the larger paper I feel compelled to draw bodies and gags with all that extra white space! :)

Party Caricaturist

It's been awhile! Yes...I have been doing caricatures at events, lately I just haven't found the need to take as many pictures, ( plus it can get uncomfortable for the guest!). I'm also preparing to be drawing a certain type of caricature at the Calgary Comic Con. This will be something totally new to me or for that matter, I think I'm the very first in the world ( that I know of...) to try these types of caricatures. They could be a bomb or they could take of....one never knows, though the cost of a booth there is not the price of a dinner....more like a flight somewhere...then a dinner..... but it's all good as it's a fantastic event held only once a year here in Calgary, a must see as it's the second largest one in Canada. I'm working on signage right now, something that will fit the type of caricature style I'm going to try....until then.....Tally Ho.....

Caricature Artist in Calgary

Some company parties stand out more than others...this here was for a terrific company based in Calgary called 4 Star Electric. I had fun with these guys and should have copied down some of the jokes I heard as there were some good ones! I was biased maybe as my Son is an electrician. Thanks Angela! Beautiful group of people you work with!

Movember thanks!

I'm always thrilled when an organization takes time out after I've drawn caricatures at their event to say thank you! Always means so much to me...so...thank you Movember group for saying thank you....
Take the time to check out their website at   http://ca.movember.com/
In case some one is from another planet, Movember raises awareness for men's mental health, prostate cancer as well as testicular cancer....not a subject anyone, let alone men want to talk about, but this creative group has found a way with the growing of mustaches for the month of November. I couldn't take any pictures as I was situated by the band, Peter and The Wolves (good band!) and the lighting glare wasn't conducive for photographs that would turn out, but let me tell you...whoa baby...there were some mighty fine stashes I got to draw! So again...support these guys when you can and hide the razor in the month of November...
Yikes! It's hard to see yourself as others see you hard at work! :) ( If you call this hard at work...) I was at a gym last week and was working legs so ..yes...I sat down to rest (anyone that does squats with heavy weights will know what I'm talking about here....)....so I picked up a newspaper to kill off a couple minutes, and low and behold....there was my mug...in all it's glory....not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing the newspaper spelled my name incorrectly....:)

Family Day Caricatures

One of my favorites from drawing at a Family Day event at Springs Church in Calgary......love the hat! :) It was a "Jazzberry Entertainment" booking that had me meeting a large group of families enjoying an Alberta holiday held on Monday.
This rather large lizard was a few feet away with a large group of other reptiles as part of a display for families to see how the cold blooded live.....there is something unnerving when these guys stare at you......

Party Caricatures in Calgary

This morning had me caricaturing the young ones! These little rascals keep you on your toes when they're sqiggly, but this little guy was a great model! Thanks Trevor! Monday has me drawing caricatures for most of the day in Calgary...looking forward to it! 


I had one more cartoon studio assignment this week for the same dog company that did up my tee shirt and calendar designs....all dog products, and we own a cat! :) These ones above had a certain concept they wanted me to follow, and keeping the drawing in black and white with grey tones only, always something out of the ordinary to think about when drawing cartoons....but that's what makes cartoons interesting!

Trade Show Caricatures

Drawing caricatures at trade shows rates high on my gig level...I love them. I usually only have to draw one person per page so I can bring a smaller size paper to work on saving the guest from hauling around a large piece of paper.This was The Travel Expo held at The Telus Convention Centre here in Calgary. Above is my "welcoming committee"......

The guest above is a world traveller and a colorful rascal...how do I know? Turns out Zeke here was my automotive teacher in high school....and yes....he was a good one.......

Birthday Party Caricatures

When drawing caricatures in Calgary in February the corporate sector is usually finished up at the end of December and usually birthday and retirement parties are in full demand at this time of year....these I love! This was my first one for Jazzberry Entertainment....I love the balloon sculptor in the background of the first picture.

Paul Revere tribute on The Grammys

Before Paul Revere, leader of the iconic sixties group Paul Revere and the Raiders, passed away, I was so fortunate to have met him a few times and drawn his caricature and the great irony is that he drew me his cartoon, which I have on my studio wall. I'm mentioning this as tonight Paul Revere is honoured on the 2015 Grammys. His drummer Tommy Scheckle was asked to send in video footage and pictures.In the collectors addition of People Magazine, Paul Revere was also featured....and yes, what a wonderful personality!

You Got It - Roy Orbison - Cover - Trio Avenue


Here's a song my band Trio Avenue recorded a couple of months ago, a cover song of Roy Orbison's "You Got It." Not only are his songs a challenge vocally ( but our singer Don Kletke nailed it ), but there were timpani drums throughout the song, I used Roland eDrums and tried our best to get a timpani sound in the module.....seems to have worked though. A well written, great tune by the "Big O