Saturday, December 6, 2008

Friday, September 19, 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Caricature of a 12-Year-Old Girl


I drew this in about 3 minutes last night at a wedding. Don't ask me how this poor girl manages to balance her gigantic head on her teeny body, but she does! But seriously, as my caricature drawings go, I'm happy with this little ink drawing. I have so much fun drawing the body poses - it says so much about the person...the way they sit in the chair. It's my new favorite thing.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Hired by companies! (Masterman's & Google)


This family cracked me up - they were making fun of each other the entire time I drew them. The matriarch - "Mom" - (red shirt) was non-stop with the wisecracks. Hilarious!


It's always fun to draw a grandfather with his grandkids. Especially when grandpa's name is "Bumpa".


Sometimes a company hires me to come in and draw the entire staff on one big board, which they later frame and hang in the lobby. It goes like this: I show up, they put me in a conference room, and one by one each employee walks in, poses for about 7 minutes, then gets back to work! (This particular drawing is of the Google staff in Cambridge, MA. I made the drawing on a thick piece of 100% rag drawing paper. I pencil in each face first, since it's a group shot. Then I ink it with an archival ink brush pen, and for color I use Prismacolor Art Sticks. Wala!)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Bunker Hill Community College


This is a pretty good example of how my drawings have evolved lately. A little more stylized exaggeration, high contrast, with the body drawn in whatever pose the person happens to be sitting in.


I liked this guy's dignified persona. It would have been wrong to make him "smile" for the picture. (my apologies for the bad Photoshop enhancements - it's hard to balance the lighting levels from some of my iPhone pix!)

Monday, August 25, 2008

Amherst College, MA


Lately my favorite thing is to just draw the person's pose. It's taken me a really long time to understand that the neck (or lack thereof), shape of the body, and posture are critical to capturing the person's likeness and personality.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

From a Wedding Reception


Some guys have all the luck. These friendly folks got a real hoot out of my depiction of them. Drawing at weddings is a lot of fun, mainly because the guests don't expect a caricaturist to be there, so it's a fun surprise for them. My thanks to my talented associate J4 for hiring me for this one. Everyone loved the caricatures.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Graduation Time! Billerica, MA


Every year around this time many high schools throw "All-night" graduation parties. I've been invited to draw at some of them for over 10 years now. Even though it can be tough working vampire hours, the whole thing is very casual. The kids are fun, food is everywhere, and I get to work with my friends. By the time I get home and my head hits the pillow it's usually around 4am, when the first morning bird starts to sing.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Prom Season!


Too cool for school? It's always fun to draw at these events. The hairstyles, the dresses, the tuxes - all super fun to draw.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Concord Art Association Cocktail Party, MA


The Concord Art Association hired me to draw at their annual auction, and a fun time was had by all! It was a semi-formal affair, so I drew lots of elegant ladies in cocktail dresses and dapper guys in sportcoats. As you can see from the photo, they displayed my drawings on the walls, which made for lots of laughs as people walked by. It was a beautiful evening for drawing, and the CAA made lots of money that night. Bravo!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Taj Hotel - Boston



So last week I got a call from the elegant Taj Hotel
here in Boston. (The Taj is the former Ritz Carlton - the
one on Newbury Street.) They asked me to come in
(last night) and draw a group-caricature at a special
dinner honoring Mr. Zeller, the hotel's C.O.O.

The plan? I was to show up and secretly draw all the
"key" Taj players in attendance - the top managers,
VP's and staff. I would have 2.5 hours to make the drawing
and then they would frame it and present it to Mr. Zeller at
the dinner as a surprise.

Here's how it went down:

I arrived at 5:30 and they snuck me into an office. Then,
one by one, they sent in the Executive Chef, the Head of Sales
for all the Taj Hotels, the General Managers, and VP's, to sit and
pose for me. I sketched each person in about 3 minutes then sent them
back upstairs to dinner. A bunch of these folks flew in from
India for the occasion, so thank God I've got a little experience
at this caricature thing.

I penciled 19 people in 1 hour on an 11x14" piece of Bristol paper,
then gathered my art supplies and moved to a empty function room
upstairs to ink and color the caricature. I only had another
1.5 hours to finish the drawing before the presentation. Yikes!
Since I was alone in the room I could draw while listening to
my iPhone music. Loved that.

Some of the waitstaff popped in to watch me draw. They stood over me,
giggling, pointing to faces they recognized.

By 8:45 the two nice women who hired me, Nadine and Dana,
came over to see the finished piece. They loved it. Whew!

I managed to take a photo of it with my iPhone (above)
before they wisked it away and placed it in a gorgeous matt
that everyone signed (emblazoned with the Taj logo).

And then - this was funny - at least 6 men in dark suits entered the
room, framed the matted caricature, set it on a large wooden easel,
draped a black velvet sheet over it, and carried it out of the room.
For a second there, I thought the Pope was going to show up and
bless my cartoon.

I never got to see Mr. Zeller's reaction. Once my job was done everyone
ran back to the function room. So like a lonely caricature assassin, I put my
artsy weapons back in my black case and stealthly left the building.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Bar Mitzvah at the Sherborn Inn


I had a blast drawing this man. He was really
easy to capture. Big glasses, squinty eyes, and
large neck. When you don't see a jawline, you
don't draw one. (That's just one of my biggest
secrets. You're welcome. ;)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Slam Dunk Gift Idea!


Today I was hired to show up at a house in Billerica
to draw a girls' basketball team. The ladies plan to
give the group drawing to their coach as a thank you gift.
I drew them one at a time on an 11x14" piece
of Bristol paper, penciling first, then inking, and
then coloring. They watched me draw the entire time.
It took about 2.5 hours to create the picture.
Lots of laughter and giggling!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Company Event - New Hampshire


Sometimes a couple sits for me and tells me that
they're expecting a child. This is always fun for me,
because I can draw the woman with a big belly,
and I can make little notes on the picture indicating
how far along she is in the pregnancy. A nice little
keepsake for a special time in their lives!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Birthday Party - Cambridge, MA


Yesterday I drew at a huge beautiful home in
Cambridge. I was hired to draw 10 second-grade
girls at a birthday party. I don't often draw in
color at parties because there are usually 40 plus
people to draw and I have to work fast. But as
long as someone is able to pay my 2 hour minimum
appearance fee I can appear at small events.
I'm happy to report that the girls were hilarious, fun,
and happy with my caricatures. Each one screamed,
"I look GREAT!" and giggled uncontrollably.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Company Event - New Hampshire


Liberty Hotel company event


Some people sit for a caricature and don't smile.
It's just not their nature. So how do you add humor
to a serious-looking person? You draw a little body
on them and make them handing a bouquet of flowers
to their sweetie.

Liberty Hotel company event


The other night I drew at a company
event held at the Liberty Hotel in Boston.
My caricature table was set up on the
5th floor. This was my view. Beautiful!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Comcast/Celtics Event


When I saw this gentleman from across
the room I immediately cast my invisible
fishing line and reeled him into my seat.
A guy like this comes along once in a blue
moon at most parties, so I had a ball
drawing him. He laughed a joyous laugh
when he saw the finished picture.

The key to capturing his essence isn't his
nose, or his beard, or his hat - it's his eyes.
His heavy lids give him a sleepy, mellow
demeanor. Admittedly, I drew his face longer
than I should have. What can I say -
I was overexcited!

Comcast/Celtics Event


This past weekend I drew at an event
(courtesy of my talented associate, J4)
for Comcast. The party was held at the
Boston Celtics' practice facility in Waltham, MA.
That's me taking a break, and behind me
are the actual Celtics running around the
court shooting layups and stuff.

It's kind of funny - sometimes when I arrive
at a party people set me up in a dark basement
with no windows. Other times, I get to draw
in a room with a live view of the Boston Celtics.

Caricaturing has given me many rare opportunities
like this.

Comcast/Celtics Event


Friday, January 18, 2008

Twins?


The contrasting looks of these two gentleman
made caricaturing them a hilarious experience
for me. The guy on the right, Charles, has that
flaring white collar with its nine-foot wingspan,
so I exaggerated it. Raja, on the left, has
jet-black hair which really stands out against
the sea of white shirts. I like to be able to see my
caricatures from across a room. Drawing
bold black areas makes that possible.
(click to enlarge)

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Boston - Hotel Commonwealth Staff Party


Ana was fun to draw because of the shape of
her eyes when she smiles, which I exaggerated
a bit here. The trick to drawing the 'glimmer' in smiling
eyes is to draw black archs with white spots
in the center of them. (click to enlarge).

Boston - Hotel Commonwealth Staff Party


Last night was the second year in a row I was
called by the posh Hotel Commonwealth to draw
at their post-holiday staff party. I contracted
my trusty sidekick J4 to draw with me. It took
a little time for people to loosen up enough
to get drawn, so they headed straight for the bar
and mingled for a while. But soon enough, the caricatures
were popular as usual! The couple above were
originally from Columbia.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Mass General Hospital Post Holiday Event


This mother-daughter team was fun to draw
thanks to their strong features. Susan, on
the left, has intense light blue eyes and heavy dark
eyebrows - an exciting combo for drawing.
Her feathered hair was fun to exaggerate as well.
I think this is the third year in a row I've drawn
these ladies together. (click to enlarge all photos)

Mass General Hospital -Pediatric Oncology event


This little girl was hilarious. She kept flashing that
wide, zany smile at me. You can see the mischief
in her eyes!

Today's gig was for Mass General's pediatric
oncology department. They call me every year
and I have to hire a couple of artists to work it
with me since there are about 200 people who
attend. It's 3 hours of non-stop caricaturing!

Private House Party - Brentwood, NH


Last night I drove all the way up to the Exeter, NH
area to draw at a private party for a sales team.
(The hostess, Arie, set me up in a room displayed
with her amazing homemade wedding cakes!)

The couple above were fun to draw. The guy, Brendan,
was a real ham all night long - cracking jokes and
laughing a lot - so I knew I could exaggerate his
jock-like appearance and he'd appreciate it.

This is one of those caricatures that really gets the
crowd laughing their heads off. I was laughing
with them.