"Not creepy."

I picked up a caricature gig this evening – a lovely bat mitzvah at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. The agency had found me at PartyPop.Com and so it was my first time working with them. During the event, the agent told me to be sure to call back on Monday to be entered into their rolodex. She said, "Most of the caricaturists we've worked with before aren't as good... or are creepy." I'm thinking about making my new promotional catch phrase, "Not creepy!" Ha ha! Seriously, it was really nice to get hooked up with a new agency on a cold call. They were easy to work with, and it would be great to work together again down the line.

Tomorrow, I'll get to church after a month-long absence and then I'll get a chance to visit with a friend who's in town on the A Chorus Line tour. Monday finds me on a plane to Oregon to visit the family including Grandma who just went through surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her kidney. Well... actually we just got some great news. The tumor was actually benign and everyone's so excited. So, YAY, answered prayers and happy times. Peace and love, y'all!

Marketing a moonlighting gig...

It's time to embrace the live gigs. I've been drawing live at parties (corporate events, proms, grand openings, motorcycle rallies, etc., etc.) on and off for almost 10 years now. I've at times been a little dismissive since the art I most want to be known for is my studio illustration. But every time I take on one of these live gigs, I'm reminded of so many benefits. The pressure of quickly capturing likeness after likeness is exciting, rewarding, and educational. The money is great, and I usually get to work with other artists (some super talented folk). And while I love love love working from home, it's nice to take the show on the road now and then.

So while my studio work has never been more in demand (and thankfully getting more popular every day), I will also be putting some muscle behind marketing the live gigs. Above, you can see the business card graphic I've created. This is based on the website design of "JustinMakesFaces.Com" which will go online sometime soon, along with some listings on various sites for advertising this sort of thing.

So that's a bit of what's up with me. Other than this, I've been toiling away at a healthy stack of caricature commissions and logo designs as well as looking forward to visiting Chicago in a couple weeks and heading to Music Theatre of Wichita in a month. Life is full and I'm loving it. Take care, all! Peace & love.

Oscars and other stuff.

I thought the Oscars were spiffy this evening. A few things particularly made me happy – Jon Stewart's hosting, the Once gang winning for best song, and Diablo Cody winning for her fantastic Juno script. Yay movies!

I drew caricatures for Leeza Gibbons' son's birthday party last night. It was a fun evening and I drew a LOT. Leeza was lovely and gracious, and the kids were as wild and crazy as you'd expect a bunch of 16ish folk to be. Upon asking how they wanted to be drawn, I had such varied requests as "skiing", "skateboarding", "playing the piano", "swimming", "finger (skate)boarding", "on the toilet", "as a falcon". Ah, the life of a party caricaturist!

Fa la la la la!

Like I anticipated, it was a great day! I met Steve and Bets at the Arclight to see Sweeney Todd. Quick review: Loved it! [But a warning: It's really gory!] Then I had to jump on the freeway to get to the OC for caroling. I hit slow traffic almost from the second I merged on. I began to realize that although I had alloted three hours to get there I was also in the midst of Friday holiday getaway traffic. I planned my route and prayed, and I must say that I've become a pretty masterful navigator. While it doesn't always work, this time getting off on surface streets at one point got me to my call on time and even gave me time to stop for coffee. Whew!

And the gig proved to be well worth the drive. I was part of an "all sub" quartet filling in at the Summit House restaurant in Fullerton. I had worked with Greg, Julie, and Beth at various times over the years and there was a lot of experience between us. Well, we just fell into an amazing blend and rapport. We had a great time with the guests, but I think we had an even better time with each other and the music we were making – great tuning, cutoffs, dynamics, listening, and just plain fun personalities. I don't want to brag on us too much, but I think it was an ideal quartet situation. And I think guests noticed. The tips were pretty darn amazing. So yay!

Now I'm winding down and getting set for a good night's sleep before heading off to Beverly Hills to make faces all day tomorrow. So take care, all! Peace and love.