"I hate riding the train at midnight"

Im still at the studio healing and doing my comics with all the spare time i have. I am LOVING it. I did this one last night, and was almost giddy uploading it.

Some caricatures just stick with you. I drew this picture a few weeks back of this solitary woman riding the train and midnight unescorted. I felt there was a potential story here but couldnt put my finger on what it should be. After taking to a friend of mine, a petite woman who did a lot of late night subway commuting herself, I came up with a story with her in mind. The woman I caricatured here even is wearign one of my friend's "signature" berets. This srory, I hate taking the train at Midnight, is dedicated to all you intrepid female subway riders.

I consider Robert Crubm, to be THE best New York City Cartoon artists, so this work was also drawn with a "Crumb Vibe" Crumb, as Ive said in earlier posts is one of my influences.
Enjoy and please comment!

Vincente Minelli Happy Brithday Caricature

Vincente Minelli is the Husband of stage/screen/recording Icon Judy Garland, AND the father of of film/theatre icon Liza Minelli
Jan gave this assignment for Feb 28th so Im actually one day ahead. Theres not many photos on Minelli available , but I can definitely see from the one i copied that his daughter takes after him. A great face, especially the eyes. i was really pleased with how this turned out.

Artists Spotlight on Niall O Loughlin

Dublin's own, caricature artist, Niall O Loughlin, is another artist whose work continues to inspire feelings of admiration, awe and jealously. His recent take on our new president is a departure from the "happy go lucky, always smiling" pictures that are often drawn of Obama, and shows another more human side. What mades a caricature great is the statement that an artist makes with their work and Niall's statement here is so slick and well executed I wont even TELL you what it is, but take your time and really LOOK at the picture and you will see.
More of his Brilliant work can be found on his website featured on the right side of this blog, but just in case you just cant wait to scroll down, you can find him at

http://nialloloughlin.blogspot.com/

Timothy Spall Happy Birthday Caricature

Actor, Timothy Spall, was todays Birthday target as assigned by Jan Obedebeek on the Forum site today. He's done a ton of films and is a terrific supporting "character" actor. I know him from the Harry Potter Films, and most recently from Sweeney Todd.
In this caricature, Im not completely satisfied, as i thought I made him look a wee bit "too good" , He almost looks like an overweight "Tom Cruise" here, looking at it again. In retrospect, I could have made him a little rounder especially in the cheek area, made the forehead a little broader as well. I will come back again to revise this for sure at a later date.

ANATOMY OF A FREELANCE JOB COMIX(based on a true story)

Been doing a LOT of in house freelance jobs lately, and after one particualrly "killer job" I decided to make a comic about it, as best i remember it

First thing I recieved was the deposit check and samples. The client overnighted it as promised, and I was confident they had followed my instructions to the letter. This was a massive twenty person caricature for a company poster and I emphasized that I needed good samples. To my horrow when i got into the studio i found these teeney weeney almost postage stamp sized pictures that were blurry and washed out looking. I thought my eyes were gonna roll outta my sockets to make them out. My Client had also given me a killer deadline. I called my client in desperation pleading for better pics, and also an extension if I was doomed to work with these. their answer was concise and immediate. I immediately got myself a pot of coffee on and went into automatic pilot, sketching erasing redrawing, ripping pages up, throwing them all over the studio..... Finally in the wee hours of the morning I managed to scan everything, photoshop held together and I scanned everything over.

The client loved them.

Peter Fonda Caricature Happy belated birthday

Feb 23 was the OFFICIAL day for drawing actor Peter Fonda on the NCN Forum site. Jan informed me that even though I missed the date I could still post, and Im glad, cause Peter has one of "those " faces caricature artists like to draw. That slicked back hair, aviator sunglasses, razor stubble and wolfish grin reminds me of Jack Nicholson... maybe they're seperated from birth.... who knows.

Dog days Comix by Subwaysurfer

As a freelancer, I spent literal days in my studio with no human contact at all, except for my trusty hound Butchie. This post is dedicated to him.

Humpty dumpdee aint the only one who had a great fall...

I recently fell down two flights of stairs in my house while wearing my slippers, and since they CAUSED the fall, now I TRUELY know why thy're called "SLIPPERS!" LOL! Im bravely laughing through my pain here, and as I was home healing I came up with a bunch of comic strips featring me and my constant companion, my dog Butchie here. Enjoy. I may feature some more of these from time to time....

Pat McMicheal Check this guy out

GRAPHITE ARTIST, no, it's not a misspelling of "GRAPHIC" I DO mean, GRAPHITE ARTIST, Pat McMicheal, is one of my guilty pleasures.

If you are a followers of my blog, you know how much I love to caricature in pencil, saving my MOST exaggerated work for that particular medium. Pat makes me look like Im in the 1st grade rubbing the paper with my fingers in comparison. Pat's work is so gorgeous, you just look at his pictures and stare and stare... wishing you could do something CLOSE to that. He's one of the links on my blog, PLEASE check out his work and be amazed. Here's a sneek peek at what he can do.

Geraldine Chapey, Lew Simon, Glenn Di Resto, Mike Ricatto, Michael Ulrich Political toon for The Wave

Its a long title but I couldnt leave anyone out. This is my Biweekly cartoon doen for The Wave on the upcoming special election. My first reaction was to have them all fighting it out slinging mudd at each other while they urged voters, but decided instead to make it more dignifired. It's time to take the dirty out of politics.... at least for this post.

You GOTTA LOVE YOUTUBE! This time out, I searched youtube to see if I could find any film on any of the candidates just so i could do a more accurate picture. It turns out that someone had uploaded a recent debate they had in Howard Beach which offered excellent footage from a variety of angles. How did freelancers EVER survive without youtube?!! what a great resource!Ed

Happy Birthday Matt Dillon!

Continuing with Jan's "Happy Birthday" series, today's target is actor, MAtt Dillon. Ive never drawn Matt before, and he's got such a great face that I will definitely be revisiting it to inflict futher damage on it. I remember him being a teen idol of sorts back in the day, but recent pictures of his suggest that he's been sparring a coupla rounds with ole father time....

Happy Birthday, Ruth Rendell!

One of my caricature artist icons, Jan Obdebeek started a fun "Happy Birthday" Caricature drawing series on the NCN forum recently, much to the delight of myself and other members. Each day, Jan posts the name of one famous person whose birthday it is, and challenges us to draw them before the day is over. Not only do we get an opportunity to see Jan's inspiring pencil work, but also in drawing the person of the day, build up a body of work that we can present to the world. Here is my take on Ruth Rendell

He should really work on his legs more

Im blessed that despite the economy people are still willing to contract me for work. A recent fan tuned in and wanted to surpise his bodybuilding friend with a caricature of himself making fun of his bodybuilding endevors. Being a former bodybuilding enthusiast myself.... er although you would NEVER guess that now looking at me...... I knew exactly what to draw. I suspected like most people who go into budybuilding there was a lot of emphasis put on developing the upper bod but not the lower.... one reason is because it takes a LOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTT of energy to do lowe body work and since we use our legs all the time you have to do major squatting to make them grow.

Here is the picture that his friend was both delighted and embarassed by!


THANKS JASON!!! YOUR CARICATURE IS COMING!!!

Dark and Ugly...

This "aging hipster" actually POSED for this caricature after watching me draw for a while. He was slowly losing his hair and was trying to be as "Punk" with his remaining hair folices as he could. Combine that with some Retro Glasses, a razor stubbled Jay Leno-ish chin, and black tee shirt and it makes for a pretty dynamic looking persona. Most people couldnt have pulled off this "look" but I had to admit, it seemed to work for him.
I took my time and did this with graphite, prismacolors and markers.

ANOTHER Wave Editorial cartoon!

This is another in an ongoing series of Bi weekly Editorial cartoons that I'm doing for The Wave Newspaper, that services the Rockaways, Broad Channel,& Howard Beach sections of Queens. For those of you who dont know what this is about, local politicians, are locked in a race for a coveted city council seat, in an upcoming election that will take place this month. In order to earn a place on the ballot, each candidate was required to accumulate a total of one thousand signatures from registered voters living within the district,before a predetermined deadline date. According to one candidate, Geraldine Chapey,(with the BIG hair) her political rivals, Mike Ricatto,(wearing glasses)Glenn DiResto, Frank Gulluscio.(with the great hair) and Eric Ulrich,(in the black suit) signatures are not valid, and they should be eliminated from the race.
I'm not taking any sides on this issue other than caricaturing the heck out of everyones face! This group of people were really fun to draw and I cant think of the last time I've truly enjoyed an illustration assignment more. The journalist who wrote the article as well as Howard, the editor of The Wave, loved the illo so much that it made the front page of the paper, something, to my knowledge at least , that has never been done before in the paper's history. Even if I'm wrong about this, it's still an honor for an artist to get this.

Brooklyn Jewish in da House! ...

I caught this tough guy staring into space and knew by that LOOK that if anyone stepped to him they'd be missing some teeth. I used to live in Crown Heights where a lot of the Hasidic Jews live, or "THE BROOKLYN JEWISH" as I called them, and believe me, these guys aint no wimps! They're just as tough as any street punk. I guess they HAVE to be since they're style of dress makes them easy targets for a lot of jerks.

Midnight Train to Manhattan

I cant get enough of reworking this sketch I did here a few posts back of the solitary woman with the big boots on the train. My heart went out to her I guess because she's like so many women here in the city who have to travel the trains alone at night and risk encountering undesireable people. She definitely had her game face on, as I recall, and those BOOTS! Let's just say you wouldnt want them to connect with a certain part of your anatomy...

Chua on THIS!

Just left Crazy Chris Chua's blog and found this pic he did. Chris' already outrageously exaggerated caricature style is continuing to evolve as his pictures get deliciously darker and more exaggerated like this one here, of fellow caricature artist, Nate, who is himself another abstract caricature Jedi Master. Do yourself a favor and follow the link I have on Chris to his blog. But make sure you're sober when you look at his pictures. You just might puke on your monitor!

Best Caricature that Money CANT buy.

It was a slllllllow retail day at the Hotel that afternoon,and I was not making a dime. Frustrated, tired, and bored, I was ready to pack up and call it a day.

Then I spotted HIM looking at my caricature stand.

This kid was a caricature artist's dream. He had those chubby hamster like cheeks that looked like mini water baloons attached to his face, huge pointed ears that stuck out like open car doors, each one at a slight 45 degree angle, but that wasn't all! He had these great bushy eyebrows, and to top it off a literal crown of thick black curly hair that sat majestically on the top of his head like a miniature rectangular skyscraper! I was in carciature heaven!!! He came over with his sister and brother and asked how much the pictures were. When I quoted the price for color is heart sank a little bit, but determined to get a picture from me sat down and decided to get a cheaper black and white job.
I didnt really care. It had been a slow day and not only was I finally going to make a little money, but I was going to draw a picture of this kid who was a caricature artist's dream! I drew his picture immediately and he was almost beside himself with laughter and delight. It's not often that people actually LIKE highly exaggerated caricatures of them. I drew his brother next, and saved his older sister for last. As is my habit when drawing, I began to make small talk asking her questions about various things and asked her how she had come to stay in the hotel that i was drawing her in. She said quietly that her family's home had burnt down the previous night and they were staying there until they could find a place to live.
My heart sank, as she reached in her pocket to pay for the caricatures. I told her to forget about payment, and proceeded to change her black and white caricature to a full color one. Her face brightened a bit, and she broke into a smile not expecting this. I did the same to her two brothers' pictures, all the while making casual conversation while fighting back tears and emotion. I thanked them for stopping by my stand, and as they left to go back to their rooms I heard the youngest one say, "He's a good man, right?"
It's times like this that you realize that you really can make a small difference in somebody's life just by this simple act of drawing. Money cannot buy the respect of a child, and that kid didnt realize that the gift he gave me was worth more than anything I could've made.

This is a memory sketch of that kid who blessed me that day.

All THIS an POINTED EARS TOO??

His wife was cracking up as I drew this. At one point, she blurted out, "would you believe that he has pointed ears under all that hair?" I took another look at his face and replied, "no need to draw that, I think Ive messed him up enough!" He loved the picture, by the way.

They're creepy and they're spooky... my Family. Again

Just wanted to see how this looked if I applied some black prismacolor to it. Here's the result. From the Bottom, my daughter, My son , and my wife. She doesnt look like this anymore, becuase he changed her hairstyle............again.

Change Day

A Change Is Gonna Come
(Sam Cooke)
As Performed Sam Cooke (1964)

I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like the river, I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me "Don't hang around"
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Then I go to my brother and I say, "Brother, help me please"
But he winds up knocking me back down on my knees

There've been times that I've thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Happy BIrthday Martin Luther King

Pieces of a Dream coming together today. It's a proud day to be an African American in America. For me, it's always been a proud day thanks to the dedication, and sacrifices that were made by others.\I did this drawing for the "Editorial Comment" Section of my local paper, "The Wave".

Caricaturing da Kids again...

me makin fun of my kids again. They should be used to it. Ive been doing it since they were born. These are the individual colored versions of both of them taken from the "Family Christmas card " caricature I did on em weeks ago.

Wife Swap's Casting Associate Producer, Amanda Gershkowitz

This is a caricature of the lovely, Amanda Gershkowitz, who is the Casting Associate Producer for ABC families hit reality show 'Wife Swap.'

Amanda contacted the Surfer the other day because The people at the Wife Swap show
were casting for their fifth season, and were looking for CARICATURE ARTISTS/ COMIC BOOK ARTISTS!. I unfortunately did not meet all the criteria requirements for the show, but once she finds an artist with the right 'fit" then it's sure to be a spectable that must be seen. If you are unfamiliar with the show, It's a reality show where the wives are taken out of their home environment and transported into another with ...interesting results, as the family members attempt to adjust.


In appreciation for being asked to do the show I offered to draw Amanda's Picture here. Im relieved she liked it because I went far on the exaggeration.

As of this posting she hasnt found anyone YET to my knowledge, so All you caricature comic artists with spouses and kids living at home, if this is something that seems right for you, give her a call!...or rather give ME one. There is a "bounty" for finding the artist /family with the right "fit" and being the capatalist/opportunist that I am, I aint ashamed to say that I WANT IT!

Jabba the Hutt's kid brother, Rocky THE HUTT

Some of the Hutt's on Tatoowine, prefer to grown their hair long, and ae quite the snappy dressers, like my friend Rocky, here... heh, heh...

New Promo Flyer

Thought I'd update my promo flyer for the New Year. Heres one idea This shows off my color party style work.

This is for my pal, Rocky

Rocky is my new Pal on the NCN forum. Rocky's a fellow caricature artist who looks like a mob Boss. I thought it would be funny if I drew him as a Mob Boss caricature artist who has his Gorilla lump up his victims faces so that they ALREADY look exaggerated before he draws them. The poor sap who just got the beating is of course, me.

Chinese Caricature artist, pan hsueh kuan,

This is the original offending caricature that I drew of the Taiwan terror, Pan hsueh kuan, the resulted in me getting unceremoniously caricature slammed by him in the previous post. I'm starting to breathe easier now, and the feeling is beginning to come back into my right drawing arm....Caricature is BRUTUAL Ladies, and gents! If you're of faint of heart, retreat to your Disney coloring books, and Saturday morning cartoons! THIS is ARTISTIC WAR!!!!

pan hsueh kuan SLAMMS the SURFER!!!

In an unpresidented and surprise move, Chinese Caricature artist, pan hsueh kuan, The Taiwan Terror, comes off the ropes, Caricature Close lines the subwaysurfer, and slamms him to the mat with a devestating caricature!!!!! This is an obvios rebuttal to a previsous caricature that The Surfer Drew of Pan!

Drawing "simple" AINT!

Believe it or not, folks, this "simple" drawing on this Asian Hip Hiphopper took me two days to get just right. Drawing "simple" is realllllly a challenge. Dont ever let anyone tell you differently. I tried a LOT of different versions of his face until finally deciding to do a more iconic look from memory, which came out perfect...after a couple of false starts. This is Jack Lo, aka J-LO from Taipei of Taiwan

1960's time warp pictures on the A train

These two were hilarious to draw. I know it's stereotypical to draw the BIG nose on people as a caricature artist, but what can I say? this lady's nose was so outstanding I had to draw it. I wanted to add a little background info also. Maybe that is what I will do more in subsequent caricatures just to add more context to the pictures. I like the "movement " that I've got going with the Nose and those funky boots of hers. Same type of "visual rhythm." She had this type of "beatnik" look about her, and I could imagine her at a jazz club or speakeasy listening to improv poetry, surrounded by cigarette smoke,sitting at a table with a cup of java, slowly nodding out. She even wore Bell Bottoms. Only in New York could you actually find someone looking like this in "real time".



The Hippie Dude with the long hair and walrus mustache had this look on his face like he was wondering what happened to the sixties or something. When i finished drawing this it had a Robert Crumb feeling to it, which shouldnt be strange since he is an artistic influence from long ago.

FIRST POST OF THE NEW YEAR

LAST POST FOR THE YEAR

Last post of the year.... I want to say something profound, but all I can really say is thank you for tuning in. As I write this, I see that over 26,000 of you have tuned into this blog over the year saying that you like my art, that you are inspired by it, entertained by it, educated and amused by it enough to keep tuning in, and encouraging me to do more. As an artist, no matter how "good" you think you are, you often have doubts. Art is a very solitary activity, and it's easy to get discouraged. When your peers and well wishes tell you that what you are doing is WORTH seeing, it makes you want to do more> I've learned so much about the art of cartooning and caricature by actually DOING it. Experience really is the best teacher, and I've had a lot this year. I've also learned a lot and have been encouraged myself by the many artists who I've featured on this page throughout the year. The list continues to expand, and as I discover more I get better and better.
Thanks to all of you who have supported my book writing effort as well. It's been a labor of love, and I've tried to make it affordable.
Hope that your next year will be full of possibility, and that your dreams will come true. I KNOW a lot of mine did last year.