Joined Cartoon Vegas: 2014

Art Heroes:  The person I look up to is pretty much a no brainier in my book. His name is Charles Shultz (Sparky) 1992-2000. His work takes me back to a simpler time. (my kidhood). I have very fond memories of reading “Peanuts” in the Sunday morning paper with my old man way back in the day. Have seen ALL of the Charlie Brown holiday flicks, and they never seem to get old. I really admire him because he had stamina, as does his work, which speaks for itself. The illustration is simplistic, but the complexity of the characters personalities, and dialogue Sparky used in his comic strips are such, that a lot of people are able to relate to good ole Charlie Brown. I am incline to believe that we all have a little “Charlie Brown” wondering around somewhere in our gray matter. And, I believe that years from now our kid’s kids will be enjoying “Charlie Brown Christmas” like I did back in the day.

Of course, they will probably be watching it in 3D.

What Do You Love About Caricatures? Hmmmm….is the fact that you can make people look goofy and get away with it. No! I kid!
I don’t “love it” per say, I “enjoy it“. I LOVE illustrating, and love being expressive. Using a human face, gives me a chance to do this on a daily basis, which I think is very, very cool! I mean, not very many people can boast, and say “yes, I draw silly cartoonies and color for a living. (Very cool I think).
I don’t believe I hate anything about drawing caricatures, other than sometimes I may have a “off” day. I like to refer too it as a “creative slump”. One would think that of all the years doing this, I would be able to draw a caricature blindfolded. (not always the case).
Some people, and I don’t know why are more difficult to draw, than others. Pretty people seem to be the most difficult for me. I feel like asking them “What would you like me to accentuate today, because your not giving me anything here to work with”.
Hey, but for the most part, yeah, what I do love about caricatures is that it enables me to make a living doing something I really enjoy, (being artsy fartsy) which fulfills for this little pea-brain minded artist just fine.

For Struggling Artists: My advise to any struggling artist is “Hang in there”, and have faith in yourself. Stray away from people who aren’t willing to back your artist endeavors 100%, hang out with people who share the same aspirations as you do. Remember the old saying “Two artist heads are better than one”. Sleep with your sketchbook close by, because you never know when a awesome dream will occur, and ironically, come morning, you’ll have forgotten it. Be willing to start at the bottom. Take creative criticism with a grain of salt, and learn from it. Remember, there are a lot of tools out there. “Drawing and Cartooning 1001 Caricatures by Dick Guatier” was the book that I used when I first starting drawing caricatures at the San Diego Zoo, and I found it to be very useful. Also, I am sure that there are many great teaching guides on the web as well. One might come across a pod cast tutorial geared toward the art of illustrating faces. Most of them are free, which is always a good thing. The most importance piece of advise I can give is, “Don’t be hard on your self, and don’t start kicking yourself if you don’t become a Picasso overnight. You will get better at your craft if you are willing to put in the time. Think about it.”
One day, friend’s will come over to your pad and ask, “Wow! Did you draw that?” in which you will respond with confidence. “Yes, yes, I did!”. ” I did that!”