Saturday, April 4, 2009

Party Caricatures!

Since last summer, I've been getting more and more into doing "Party Caricatures" again. I used to do these types of events regularly years ago, prior to when I moved down to work for Disney in Florida. I'm real happy to be doing them again, as I enjoy the spontaneity of working from life, as well as being essentially a "performer" with paper and marker. Some caricaturists start out right away with the marker, but I must admit that I need to lightly rough it out with pencil first before finalizing the sketch in a black, flexible tip Markette. That's the only way I feel I can maintain control over the likeness.

Since last summer I've been working through a very good agency called CaricatureCan, based in Ottawa and created and managed by a great guy by the name of Pablo, who's a very talented caricaturist himself. The subjects with their caricatures pictured here are all from an event I did this past Wednesday at a private party in downtown Toronto put on by the TD Bank. There were actually four of us working the event and we had a terrific time with it.

For the record, I am available to work at corporate events, trade shows, weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc. in the greater Toronto area, including points west like Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville and Burlington. If interested in booking me, please get in touch with Pablo at CaricatureCan to inquire about availability and rates.











19 comments:

Jeremy Townsend (JERT) said...

Whoa!! i didn't know you did gigs! great chairwork pete!!!

Andrew Manzanares said...

Brilliant!

Brubaker said...

Whoa, great caricatures!

I wish you success.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Benjamin Anders said...

Great work! Your caricatures are always so much fun!

I the caricature you did for my brother, it was spot on! I'm super jealous.

Anonymous said...

Really nice stuff Pete!

Belle Dee said...

Gosh, those are so wonderful!

Keelan Parham said...

Great, great live stuff, Pete. I didn't know you were ever here in Orlando! When was that? I live in Orlando, and have been a longtime fan of your work. Wish we could've met while you were still here.

Again, great work!

Bill White said...

Wow. Those are amazing. Especially for live work.

How long did each one take?

Pete Emslie said...

Keelan - Yes, I lived in Kissimmee from 1990 to 1994 when I worked at WDW. I'm certain that, had I not left them then, it would only have been a matter of time before they'd have laid me off. From what I gather, in the 400+ layoffs that took place at WDW just a couple weeks ago, a bunch of character artists were among the victims. It's becoming increasingly clear that the brass at Disney no longer place much value on artists.

Bill - I average about 7 to 9 caricatures per hour. I'm not as fast as some but I really do try to get the likeness of the individual.

Ryan Cole said...

These are all really fantastic Pete.

but... >_>

d'ya think next time you could draw a mouth that doesn't have that curl in the upper lip? That seems to show up in every one of your caricatures as of late.

Pete Emslie said...

Ryan - I'm not quite sure exactly what you mean, but the lips are flexible and curl in expression. I call em' as I see 'em.

Marion said...

Great to see you doing live work Pete! I particularly like the double portraits.

Floyd Norman said...

These are awesome, as always, Peter. Your work still knocks me out.

The caricature you did of me is still my favorite.

Ricardo Cantoral said...

May I have your eyes pete ? I think I might need your brain too. Yeah, give me both. NOW. :P

Robert Pope said...

Sheezus, you're the man-those are just wonderful; you always manage to balance the demands of the likeness without spiraling into mean-spiritedness, as so many in the caricature biz tend to do. Sweet stuff.

Carlo Lo Raso said...

I gotta hand it to you Pete, those are some fantastic pieces of work!

Beautiful!

Joe Bluhm said...

I can't imagine that these people have ANY CLUE how incredible their "party favors" are.

Unknown said...

The linework on these are spectacular. Definitely better than most live caricatures I've seen (previous commenter excluded)!