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another series of caricature faces of past subway caricatures put into a crowd scene The challenge to a good caricature artist is to actually SEE the face that you're drawing. Most artists who "can draw" get stuck in "generic drawing mode" and after a few drawings in a party setting especially, start to draw everyone the same, and even resort in some cases to racial stereotyping. This should NEVER happen. I always FORCE myself to be a keep observer of people and NOT to flinch. The "flinch response" is natural to us human beings as we look at strangers. We learn, culturally, not to hold our haxe longer than a few seconds, and to immediately turn away if spotted. Prolonged staring is reserved for young children who haven't learned the "rules " yet, and for mentally ill people who have abandoned all rules! LOL! Drawing on the subway day in and day out has helped me to sharpen my ability to SEE what's there and not just to "draw what I THINK I see' Putting this collage of faces together has helped me to see also how much Ive grown as an artist, and also how truly fascinating people's faces are. I feel, that as an artist you must truly "fall in love" a little , with each face you draw or you wont have the proper passion to draw it. I always endeavor also, to NOT just "draw the face" in an objective sense, but to "draw the personality" of the subject. If I succeed in doing THAT I will manage to get an "objective" likeness also.THE UNAPOLOGETIC SUBWAYSURFER CALL TO ACTION MESSAGE
Maybe you're a face in the crowd that is thinking "wow, Id really like subwaysurfer to draw a cool caricature of me like this!" Well, you dont have to sit there wishing! just drop me an email at
cartoons4u2@aol.com
and lets do YOUR caricature!
Prices are more affordable than you think, and just think how jealous you'll make all your facebook friends because you got a cool caricature to use as your avatar, while they are stuck using their same tied old photograph! Give me a hollar and lets make this happen!
3 comments:
You've made a good point here. Society has conditioned us to think that really "looking" at people is rude or strange. I remember this little kid staring at me at a tent rentals place. He hadn't yet learned "the rules."
I know what you mean! Kids have a very intense, pure way of looking at you. They take everything in so to speak, in such a way that is unsettling at times. We are taught that this behavior is impolite, but it's this intense objective looking skill we need to get a likeness
There are reasons that on some level staring is considered impolite. Kind of biological really. In nature, animals stare when threatening or being threatened. Though we are people, it is fair to say--that somewhere--perhaps in the subconscious, that little bit of animal exists and resents being stared at. Also, I'm not sure about what you mean by "generic". To be able to draw is rare air these days. Your drawing is after a tradition of "portrait-charge" Started out with caricaturists like Andre Gill. Drawing is a vast subject, it encompasses the visual word, expression, and narrative (depending on how it is applied of course). Good drawing can rift off of realism, like Adolph Menzel(for example) or inhabit the realm of stylization. To my eye, a good drawing--of any type--is one which conveys the vision of the draughtsman, regardless of the end result. Just saying is all.
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