Greetings all
This is a post I originally made just to showcase my live caricature stints. Just about 10 days ago when I first posted this, I was completely oblivious of the fact that not everything is milk and honey in the world of a full-time caricaturist who makes a living doing cartoons at live events.
This is a new context (dated 20 April) to my old post after I did my own research as a blogger in the creative arts industry which is the product of one of my art adventures.
It ain't so pretty in the life of a caricaturist if one wants to caricature for a living. I leave it to you guys to go out there and get curious about what transpires in the life of one of these talented souls. I empathize with them but in the end they are their own masters and only they can keep up to the serenity of their talent.
With this said .... you may now read the rest of the post which I promise is the chirpy part of the bargain :o).
Just to update you, I only perform live caricature for the shear pleasure of doing it. And no thank you shall I say....to do it for profit or attach any commercial interest to it ...for then it just becomes a menial manual activity with all its grace lost. At least it is a great work-out for my mind. And hence am so pleased and proud to do it via my main facilitator ARTE UAE on a weekend or two. Thanks to them it is with great pleasure that I now share my works and views on caricaturing along the middle-eastern coast while I interact with a vibrant transitional multi-national society who hail from various races, color, creed, speaking different languages from different parts of the world.
I must say my exciting journey has taken me into caricaturing just to have some child-like fun which has given me such fulfillment compared to my regular work in branding or creatives or infographic direction or any other creative activity I do, in saying that when I caricature I get into this special dialogue with my target audience bringing about an interactivity and informal conversation where I get to speak with each one of them from their comfort-level, eye-to-eye with all their inhibitions melted away, their reservedness and people-shyness, all disappeared. The intriguing part of it is that while I sketch, my subject is constantly in touch with me conversationally helping me make a better and meaningful image of them and their gestures. Even better, I find something I learn from every individual whether he/she be 4 years of age, 20, 40 or 80. Not only does this enhance my learning about life, but I am pleased that I am able to share my knowledge when my subject tries to learn from me more about art and cartooning which is all the more pleasing when I teach for passion.
These are some of my other caricature of people, all of which have their own stories to tell.
Having shared this, let me end this post by explaining a bit what caricature means ... from some information gathered from Wikipedia
A caricature is a rendered or processed image (made by traditional drawing on paper or canvas or wood or drawn digitally into a computer screen) which shows the features of its subject in an exaggerated way.
As far as I am concerned, I prefer to make my caricature subjects have pleasantly exaggerated characteristics so everyone has a smiling face when I hand over my sketch :o) My intent is to enhance the "feel good" emotion in my subject.
In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.
Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment.
I enjoy making my caricature "Solely" for entertainment and entertainment of the events guests to compliment guests of the party or event.
Be it a birthday party, farewell, retirement, wedding etc etc. I like making caricatures for the group to think - happy thoughts or get into that "happiness bubble."
Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines.
While I do a lot of caricature of politicians but do not allow for it to see the light of day because I choose to only publicize caricature of neutral subjects and of individuals who personally request me to make of them.... Caricature is also all about capturing the moment and living in that moment. Hence there is no time to crib because this art-form only celebrates the fun element of a character at that moment.
The term is derived from the Italian caricare—to charge or load.
So, the word "caricature" essentially means a "loaded portrait".
My portraits take a bit longer to create. Whereas my caricature are quick because I tease out ones character from the portrait the best elements in a few lines drawn.
Thank you for stopping by. I sure did enjoy explaining about what transpires whenever I want to become a humorist in the form of my sketches. In a few weeks I am excited at the possibility of showcasing one of my good humorist friends who is a celebrity doing it again as a pleasure in his own country. Wait till I reveal the face of that great artist. Coming soon on this space.
Coming back to my intent of making this post...I hope this art form is preserved to its best.
One needs to recognize the fact that there is intricate split-second brain-power going on inside a caricaturist's mind to be able to churn out such unique pieces of art. And there is a sure need to pull back out of the commercial world and view this with some empathy.
The other best places to see them in action in Dubai are Ripe Markets, Dubai Shopping Festival, Comicon Dubai, Dubai Summer Surprises Events, Al Qasba Sharjah, and of course Arte.
So long till next time. I have a couple of very interesting posts coming up. So gear up for another coffee-time read just coming up.
