A Portrait artist "Re-learning" caricatures.

About 6 months ago I decided to start drawing caricatures again.  I have been wanting to do this for a very very long time, but for one reason or another I just never got around to it again.  I used to love doing them, and made a ton of money doing so, but when I married my first husband, AKA "Ed the Caricature God", I stopped drawing them and focused on my portraits so that he could do his thing when we were sketching together at shows.  Its been at least 15 years I think since I last sat down at an easel for any amount of time to do "funny pitchers" for the general public.

Last winter I decided that the best way to get back into it was to start with profile caricatures, using pastel.  It was an easy step to do this since I have never stopped doing profile pastel portraits.  For a week or so I just did free demos of co-workers.  They were pretty lame, but it was a start.  Now, after doing them for a few months I am really comfortable with them and actually do one now and then that really rocks.  This is an example of one that I did just last week.  They take about 7 - 10 minutes per person.

Recently I decided that I was going to graduate to drawing frontals again.  It was now or never.  I am NOT getting any younger!  A frontal caricature is TOTALLY different than drawing a profile portrait, or even a frontal portrait.  I drew around 25 or 30 of them today.  I will post a few of them later in the week.

The quality of a quick sketch artist's work is very closely linked to their self confidence as an artist and performer.  Hopefully my confidence will return soon as a caricature artist.