Thursday, March 28, 2013

New Websites, New Art!

After a really slow first few weeks of the year, things picked up nicely in late February and into March. It was hard to have almost no work for a few weeks, but I didn't sit idly by...  I spent the slow time reworking my main caricatures from photos website (FunFaces.com), creating a cartoon logo website and adding a new website for portraits. Please click these links and let me know what you think!

I also did some cleaning of my hard drive and office. I still have lots of clutter on both fronts, but I did delete/throw out stuff that has been piling up for years since I rarely have time to do deep cleaning beyond picking up my loose papers or putting my pencils away. I wish I had time to do more, but I'd rather draw and paint!

Now the dust has cleared and I've had several orders come in and several gigs, so I'm back to playing catch-up, including with this blog! Here are some of the most recent pieces I've completed for clients:

Color digital painting for retiree who painted his own Model A Ford. 

Digital color painting for a co-worker who was leaving the company and had several interests.


Watercolor painting for Ohio State Medical Association's out-going president. 


 As usual, questions and comments are more than welcome!


Monday, March 18, 2013

Gigs now and in the future

I had a busy weekend, but doing gigs is always fun!  On Friday I drew for an after-school "Fun Day" and afterwards for a 10 year-old's birthday party. In both instances most of the faces I drew were kids, but in that "tween" age group between 10 and 14. In my opinion that's the hardest age group (well other than infants!) because one slip of the pen and they look too old or too young. That's also an age when they are very critical and dramatic so it can be rough at times.  I made it though okay though because they were all great kids, and I didn't draw too badly.

On Saturday I drew for a charity function at a local high school to raise money for Children's Hospital patients. All of the people drawn were high school students, and all were in a great mood. It went very well, and it was for a good cause.  The organizer gave me some high praise afterwards as well which also made me feel great.

This weekend I will be doing another charity function at Capital University-- a Relay for Life event for the American Cancer Society.  I did this event last year and it was very heartwarming to see college students work so hard to raise money to fight cancer. One of the traditions they have is to light luminaries dedicated to loved ones with cancer.  It's a touching ceremony to see all the glowing candles lit and the students walking solemnly through the gauntlet representing the victims.

Other upcoming gigs include visiting a college campus for Spirit Week, an Easter Egg Hunt event for Jefferson Country Club, and my annual trek to draw for BGSU's Sibs and Kids weekend. April will be an exhausting month with taxes due, the start of baseball games once again at Huntington Park and a string of  late night afterproms! But "bring 'em on" I say!  Nothing gets one out of the winter blahs like drawing live caricatures almost daily!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Live and in color... Digital Caricatures!

One of the options I now offer to my clients is live digital caricatures.  These are really fun to do!  Using a laptop and my wacom tablet/pen, I can draw digitally in a live setting. The final result can be emailed and or made into a facebook photo or used elsewhere on the web. I also purchased a portable color printer that I use to print the drawings on the spot. I can also plug the laptop into a monitor or a flat screen TV so the drawing process can be watched from a distance.  Here's what my digital set up looks like:

drawing on laptop without monitor

Using TV monitor provided by client

And here are some of the digital caricatures I've done:
 










Cub Scout Caricatures




My most recent commissioned piece... done for a Cub Scout pack that was about to transition to Boy Scouts. I had drawn everyone live at a party, then took copies of the drawings home to scan and create this digital piece, placing all the heads I'd drawn live onto bodies done in my studio. I sent this digital piece by email to the den leader and he made printed copies to give to each boy. They were surprised and thrilled!


Friday, March 1, 2013

A repost from my Facebook fan page...

Top Ten Reasons I'm Better Than A Photo Booth at Parties:
10. Claustrophobics aren't afraid of ME!
9. My pictures can be seen without bi-focals or a magnifying glass.
8. Ever see kids totally fascinated while gathered around a photo booth to watch someone getting their picture? Didn't think so....
7. My pictures get framed and hung on the wall. Theirs might get a week on the fridge before falling under it and spending the next 10 years with the dust bunnies!
6. The 60's are over... cramming people into a tiny booth is sooo old-fashioned! When I draw groups, no one gets hurt!
5. Everyone already HAS a camera on them these days. How many have an artist in their pocket or purse?
4. I can fix your hair and/or enhance your body. 'Nuf said!
3. I never flash at anyone. Promise!!!
2. Can a box with a camera in it tell you jokes or laugh at yours?
....and the number one reason to hire me and leave the photo booth at the arcade:

1. I COST LESS PER HOUR!!
Yup, photo booths start at a whopping $500-$750 per party *minimum* and go UP from there! With my new price list, I now start at $100/hour and still discount even more for charity or for longer events! Seriously, is this even a contest?