Caricature Express

Theater District

Alison — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:01:37 +0000

I’m back. Been working all over lately. Glad to get back to the Theater District in Manhattan last night. I was drawing sketches at an event at the Marriott Marquis near 42nd Street. Always gotta be on my toes - this time the guests took it upon themselves to ‘Strike a Pose’ - I was taken by surprise, but I was able to flow with it. Ah yes - some people really know how to have Fun:

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

New York New York

Alison — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:02:49 +0000

Oh where have I been??? I stomp these grounds regularly - just getting to my gigs. I had a job last night at the Marriott Marquis near Union Square. Got there early, ate at The Roxy…..

But on my way, I opened my eyes. Looked around. To Appreciate where I go. This is a great city!

Did you notice the Red Steps? I never noticed them before.

Yeow - turns out they’ve been here for over a Year! Have I been so focused on getting where I have to go that I missed them? Or is the city so full of interesting visions that this magnificent structure just blended in with all the others? Oh let’s dance!

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

Valentine’s Day

Alison — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:30:20 +0000

What a surprise ~ A girl called me last week - could I draw a Studio Caricature for her for Valentine’s Day. She brought me the photos, delightful to work with, and I got to work.

When I was finished, I showed it to my friend. He recognized the girl ‘out of the air’. Who would have been thinking of the girl who does the Traffic Reporting for Channel 12 ~ But yes - he was right.

The Caricature - adorable, just as she is. It looks like they could become a box of Chocolates:

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

Response to Gift Caricature

Alison — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:56:01 +0000

I love when Clients remember that I have a heart too - When they make the effort to let me know that my work was appreciated. I work real hard for this.

Look at the beautiful email that my client just sent about the Studio Caricature in the previous post. I’m smiling. I’m so glad:

(Quote)”I wanted to thank you again for the gift caricature. My parents loved it and were practically in tears. You helped to make their anniversary very special and memorable.” (EndQuote)

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

Anniversary Gifts

Alison — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:50:48 +0000

“It’s my Parents’ Anniversary and…..”
This isn’t the first time I heard that. Here’s what I came up with (Client told me to leave off the glasses - she doesn’t always wear them):

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

Black/White Line Art

Alison — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:16:46 +0000

For when people want the simpler pictures -

We all had fun, as usual. And while I wasn’t playing my edge with the Artwork
(this was real easy for me), I was able to relax and enjoy being with the people.
So they didn’t have to sit as long. Instant Art - that’s what they wanted.

So I guess it’s good either way - either when I’m intent on my Artwork
Or when I’m enjoying the People.

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

Developing that Black/White Style

Alison — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:04:37 +0000

Still pretty Quick, but I was really enjoying practicing that Black/White stuff that so many people have been requesting recently. I guess it’s difficult economic times or something, but so many people have been asking more about ‘how many can we squeeze in per hour’ than about ‘how much Fun can we have at the Party’ - So many people have become focused on ‘What Things Can I Get?’ - instead of ‘Let’s take time off to Hang Loose, to Have Fun’.

So, in trying to accommodate them, I’ve been doing a lot of Black/White Parties. Obviously, it takes less time to draw a face than it takes to both draw a face And color a face. Still, even if the customer asks me to just get a paper to as many people as possible, I want to Enjoy the Art. I want to See and Experience each person. Here I was practicing to Both See well And draw quickly at the same time. The first three needed a predraw. But the last two were drawn directly with the marker:

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

Party Samples

Alison — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:59:54 +0000

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

Nice ‘n Easy

Alison — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:23:19 +0000

I’ll be drawing at a 50th Birthday Party tonight. At a local pub. Client requested Black/White Caricatures.

So I’m thinking - Perhaps I’d like to make them simple. Direct. Clean. To keep the Party moving - which is probably why they specified Black/White Caricatures.

Here are a few practices. This is fun. The pictures just roll right out of the marker. Not as wild as my usually Exaggerated Color Caricatures, but so much easier to make.
And
I think they look great in a little frame
by the door. in the den. in the kitchen……

BTW, I timed myself drawing these simple Caricatures.
Each one was done in 2 - 3 minutes. That’s about 25 pictures per hour -
much more than the 10 per hour that I usually recommend planning for.
I’m sure it would take longer at an event than from photos - guests are
human beings - but I’d still be confident of making more pictures this way.

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

Hirschfeld

Alison — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:26:38 +0000

I am a fully evolved Artist! I am fine just the way I am. I am me - Who else Could I be? I am not Al Hirschfeld. Or Alex Gard. Or any other Caricaturists whose work hangs in Sardi’s. (Where I have, by the way, worked plenty of times - regular parties. my own artwork.) Those people, now gone, might have been asked to draw like Rembrandt or something while they were alive!

Not to say that it doesn’t help my development to study the Artists of yesterday. Now, most of the published Al Hirschfeld pictures were drawn and redrawn before they became the pictures we know and love. And they were, of course, not drawn by Me. They were drawn by Al Hirschfeld.

I recently had a request to draw ‘Hirschfeld-style’ at a Party. I like to accommodate my clients. And it’s healthy for my growth to do something different once in a while. So I quickly drew up this sample - the way I might do a ‘Hirschfeld-style’ in 5 minutes at a Party. I used blue color stick instead of black marker for the large area because it takes a lot less time to draw it that way - and my client is hoping to get a lot of pictures per hour.

I’m actually excited about the job. It will force me to study Hirschfeld. But, I’m writing that I exist too. I am an Artist. I live now. Plenty of people are glad to have a ‘Gelbman picture’. Plenty of people like me.

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