Digital Caricature artist Pioneer Rhoda Grossman By Elgin Bolling

Im having a ball doing this digital Ipad drawing! and in all my excitement, I called to mind a true inspiration, and a pioneer of this whole digital cariacature movement, that may have been previously "unsung"

That person is Rhoda Grossman


Rhoda is one of if not THE "MOTHER" of the digital caricature movement, who had the foresight/insight to jump headlong into digital caricature at a time when most of her peers, myself included, were busy sharpening our pencils and buying paper. Rhoda is being "academic" on this vid for educational purposes obviously and doesn't come CLOSE to exhibiting her engaging humorous personal that makes her a joy to be around .

You don't just "meet" Rhoda, you ENCOUNTER her! Rhoda is a pint sized force of nature with a large personality that dwarfs the size of her physical frame.

I encounter her at my very first NCN Caricature Convention in Las Vegas. I was relatively new to the industry, v4ry green, and Rhoda, a respected professional in the industry, made me feel welcome and part of the group.
Even after all these years, I still tear up, recalling the words, she said to me, "you're home. You've finally connected with a group of people who are just as wacky as you are!" And it was true/ Sometimes as an artist in the "real world' "regular people" just dont "get you". Her words gave me a lot of encouragement that day and carried me throughout the week.
Many times she would "check on me" during the week long event, to see how I was doing, and was always encouraging, with both words and advice. She was the first person who advised me on how to draw in the Speed Competition, and although I didn't win, I made it the last heat of the finals.

Some of the best times I had that week was sharing lunch with her and her crew, where we talked for hours.

Rhoda was the first one I ever got a digital caricature from , and its one of my prized possessions. I marveled at the ease with she drew on this thing and more than once I was scratching my head, wondering how she was even doing this!

Whats even more remarkable about Rhoda is that she was doing this as an "older artist". Most of us "old folk" resist change, and like doing the same old things the same old way. Now, the rest of the world is catching up with HER!

All I've got to say to her is, "THANKS MOM!" you lit the match up under me, now stand back and watch me burn!!