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March 18th, 2011

2 a.m. - I’m emailing pictures to my Power-Point client.
9 a.m. - Ring, ring -
me: Good Morning

client: “fantastic job. listen, because of snowdates, I have another day before the presentation. Can you do another picture?”

me, thinking that I have a 1:30 appointment at the spa, and a 3:30 appointment with my trainer, and I’m on to cook dinner for company tonight….: “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

client: “one face leaning forward on muscular arms……”
My client is UP. Talking faaaast.
Snap snap, so many ideas…… “Good Morning……”

We hang up, I go to wake up, morning routine…..
Luckily I didn’t start the picture yet, when,

Ring, ring - “Hi! What’s up?”

client: “Could we make that a 2-person Caricature? The first guy leaning over a brick wall. He’s in the U.S. - talking to our associate in the U.K - You’d have the Atlantic Ocean in there, and a phone in his hand
…………………
…………………….
…………………….”

then later, middle of the night - I draw the picture first in pencil, then in marker.
While erasing the pencil for this upbeat picture,
I flip on a movie - Ahhhh “Escape From Alcatraz”.
Point, Counterpoint.

Crazy day, Wild night, and I’m just sitting here alone.
It’s a good life:

Update: Aaaahhh, it’s all worth it. Here’s the email that I woke up to today:

“Alison, I want to thank you for an extraordinary job. My presentation went brilliantly and your slides were gut busters. That you so much for your professionalism and talent.”

Me: Smiling

To Hire this Artist:
(516) 579-4706
optidust@gmail.com

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[Gifts, Portraits, Studio Caricatures, philosophy] | 2 Comments »

The Diva in the Office

March 16th, 2011

9 pm, a quick glance at my phone during my evening event - Hmmm, a message from my Power-Point Client. Niiiice.

10 pm, a break during my evening event - I listen to the message:
Hey Alison, can you give me a call?

What? No accolades? I thought he was going to be saying Thank You for the excellent job I had done. “Can you give me a call” doesn’t sound wow happy excited as I expected him to be…
me, stressed as I go back to the event - What could it be??? I did an excellent job for him. And on such little notice…… what could he expect????

The first chance I get, I call him back. Paraphrased, of course, but here’s the gist of the conversation:

client: fabulous. It’s a pleasure to work with you. excellent work. listen, something about postponed trip to Washington D.C…….
and…… we have another day. I want to go ahead with the photo manipulation I mentioned previously………

whew - now, that’s more like it. Happy to be appreciated, but I’m wondering When I’d be able to do another picture today. I Prefer at least a week for each face. But
I want the job. I need the money, I like the work……….

But I’m scheduled to be at a Face-Painting job before 10 a.m. - Got to find the place, set up……….. Then, a personal appointment that day. So, well, I figure I’ll do the job when I get in at night. But the client keeps talking - he’s so excited. Makes me smile to think………..

And now he’s talking about another Caricature. Manicure, pedicure, diva, lingo, Chanel suit (ummm, what’s that??? I heard of them, but I don’t think I ever had one….)

So now it’s 2 pictures. Today. Oh, will the fun never cease?

There’s so much going on in everyone’s lives. So many people so active. Presentations, Office Events, Engagement Parties, Birthday Parties, the Yearly Bar-b-Que…..
and me. Thrown into it all. Running between the Yearly Corporate Party
to the Power-Point-Presentation with the 34 people in the Office
to the 5-year-old’s Party with 45 kids at the Gymnastics Place
and back to the Power-Point Presentation, my own exciting life in between with friends and love and relocations and renovations……

Here’s what I did:




BTW - along with posting this funny picture, I want to make it clear that it was just a joke - a person caught in a candid photo. He’s actually a valued member of his team.

To Hire this Artist:
(516) 579-4706
optidust@gmail.com

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[Studio Caricatures, philosophy] | No Comments »

An Interesting Job

March 15th, 2011

I do have an interesting job. I have to dream up all sorts of visions based on whatever my clients come up with. This one was for a client who wanted some pictures to perk up his Power Point Presentation.

At least the first picture was a Caricature. That is what I do. I just emailed him jpeg images of what I drew. A smart man in his office who works with numbers (did he say the guy was an actuary, maybe?) And very tall and skinny. And the man is also into meditating.

But the 2nd picture - It was different. My client wanted me to use his actual photos and create a Wanted Poster - like Bonnie and Clyde, he said. But then he was talking about something else. Sounded like he was thinking Mafia. Or Gangster. Trying to ascertain what’s in my client’s head, trying to do what he wants…. This is what I came up with. It’s real camp. Real fun.

I’m hoping that the first picture of the man meditating, the picture with the bright pink background - I’m hoping that will catch his audience’s attention. Make them sit up and notice.

I’m hoping that the 2nd picture will bring, the Wanted Poster, I’m hoping that it will lighten the atmosphere. Playfully drawn.

To Hire this Artist:
(516) 579-4706
optidust@gmail.com

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[Studio Caricatures] | No Comments »

Art or Personality

February 6th, 2011

Aw, I can understand why some people might want their Caricatures to be tamed. But it is hard to come up with decent Art when you’re constrained by some preconceived image that people like to present.

The groom in last night’s picture - he didn’t like it. Even though his new wife and his friends were tickled by it. She loves him the way he is - She’s attracted to that powerful face. But he……

Well, I understand. We wouldn’t want to leave him unhappy about his own Wedding invitations. So the wife hired me to redraw his face. Concentrated real hard to come up with one that Both he and I would like. It’s okay. I’m glad I could do it for him. But the first one is really It - the first one is more what Caricature is about.



To Hire this Artist:
(516) 579-4706
optidust@gmail.com

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[Studio Caricatures] | No Comments »

Wedding Dress

February 5th, 2011

I really enjoyed making this Caricature. Actually, just commissioned to draw it as black/white line art (to be reproduced as part of their Wedding Invitations),
I made a copy, colored it, matted it, made extra copies onto differently colored papers thinking about the invitations she would be designing on her own…..
I just liked working for this woman. The picture just flowed, the client was easy, trusting, not rushing me…..So I really got into it.

Here’s the extra one that I colored and matted,
along with the reference photos:

And the wedding dress, tiara, and hairstyle that the bride planned to wear on her special day:

But lol, just as I was finishing, when my desk looked like this, the client asked
if I could……Include the kitty! Oh my!

So I told her that I’d send her the original picture, and a copy in which I added in the kitty.
So she could choose which one to use. Never a dull moment:

To Hire this Artist:
(516) 579-4706
optidust@gmail.com

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[Portraits, Studio Caricatures] | No Comments »