Diner, (11X14, ink, acrylic on illustration board). This is a promo piece I created to show composition, character development, mood and humor. It was also my first attempt at the acrylic wash technique I use all the time now.

Ink Illustration and a Few Event Pictures

Zonk Group Christamas Card, (24X36, ink on paper). This is one of a series of Christmas cards I did for an electronics packaging company in Dallas, TX. The employees are hijacking Santa's sled and each one has either a personal item or some "in" joke associated with them. These pieces were huge and I did them all with pen and ink, so they took forever.
Event Photos (graphite on paper, 12X16). Obviously these were done "on the spot" at an event. It usually takes me 5 minutes per face when I'm at an event. Unlike the studio work that I do, these are one shot drawings and you have to get it right the first time (no sketching). Plus there's usually a crowd gathered watching your every move. I cut my teeth on this type of caricature working in theme parks for 13 years.


I've also done events where I'm drawing animals, or animals with people. This was the Second Annual Doggie Dash in Powder Springs, GA. I was slammed the whole time, even though the weather was bad. I really like drawing dogs because I have a soft spot for them. They are usually more still and attentive than your average person, and they'll usually let you pet them when you're finished.

Color and B/W Commissions

Sweet Sixteen, (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 12X16). I'll always remember this caricature because I drew her with red hair and when I got to the event I found she had brown hair. Good photo reference is SO important.

Bike Riders, (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This guy commissioned this piece for his girlfriend to commemorate their bike rides through Taroko National Park in Japan. I think this caricature was a small piece of the total "Will you marry me?" puzzle, and I only hope, for his sake, that I didn't screw it up for him.

Thomason 50th Anniversary, (ink on illustration board, 18X24). Since this couple grew up in the Dust Bowl era in West Texas, I decided to go with the Grant Wood American Gothic theme on the basis that they might be familiar with it. The family wanted to include all 49 kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in the picture. I solved that compositional nightmare by putting their heads in the big 50.

Ashley and Blake..., (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). These two were apparently huge University of Georgia fans and probably alums, and they wanted to show that in their wedding caricature. The bulldog is the school mascot, and the arch is a popular landmark on campus.

Yearbook Staff, (ink on paper, 11X17). This was a high school yearbook staff who wanted to have a group caricature drawn to put in their yearbook instead of a photo. From left are: The Artist, The Navy Recruit, Wonder Woman, The Cheerleader, The Ringleader, Romeo and Juliet, The World Traveller, and The Opera Diva.

Rapper with Pole, (ink, acrylic, colored pencil,on illustration board, 6X6). This illustration was commissioned as a CD cover for this guy, who raps in Atlanta. The space in the upper right was left so he could drop in his title. I asked him to send me a CD when it came out, but I guess he forgot.
Re/Max Retiree, (graphite on paper, 11X17). I did this retiree caricature while sitting at my kiosk in an area mall during the Christmas season one year. I had to squeeze it in between walk-up customers, so the whole thing took me all day. Sometimes you don't get to pick the optimum setting or time to do projects. You just do them when you can, under the circumstances given, and hope everything comes out right in the end.
Sapelo Station, (ink on illustration board, 11X17). This was my first serious experimentation with using markers for an illustration. Some things worked, and some things didn't. I firmly believe you have to keep experimenting and bumping yourself out of your comfort zone if you want to stay relevant. Otherwise, no matter how much money you make you're just wasting your time. I like this drawing because I can see where it led me later.
SAT 1, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was commissioned by Southern Accessories Today, a high end furnishing company located high above downtown Atlanta. They were giving this as a gift to their boss on the night of their open house. They also had me draw at the event, which was a blast because they had an eclectic blend of entertainment including female impersonators. I even got to meet the Dolly Lama.
Six Sisters, (ink on illustration board, 11X14). These really are six sisters. The one in the bonnet commissioned the work as a gift to her siblings. Her only stipulation was that she wanted them all to be dressed in some type of period-garb. I remembered all the reference I had compiled for my previous Charles Dickens project, so I recycled the dresses. I figured these ladies didn't need to know that there were other women out there in illustration land wearing the same dresses.

Wedding Couple on Beach, (ink,acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). These two were awesome clients and I think this might be the most beautiful illustration I've done. They wanted to look like super heroes so I had to change the way I normally approach the drawing and make it less cartoony and more comic bookish. I was really happy with the poses and the landscape. The sunset is airbrushed, of course, but the water is done completely with Prismacolor markers. I even got his Florida Gators Championship ring.
Sad Dog, (ink on illustration board, 6X6). This is just a quick little b/w drawing that was used by the client as an invitation to a holiday party. They wanted their dog on it, so I obliged. When I actually showed up to draw at the party, I was most interested in meeting the dog, who curled up under my table and stayed there the whole time. I guess he liked the drawing.
Handyman, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). This was another gift commission. What do you get the man who has it all? A caricature, of course.
Fearless Leader, ( ink on illustration board, 16X20). This was commissioned by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for a retiree gift. They suggested the theme and I ran with it. I used a combination of warm greys and french greys, and was quite happy with the way the sky turned out. I knew that if he was going to be in The Collosseum I had to include a lion or tiger, and I figured that Hobbes fit the bill. Apologies to Bill Watterson.
Four Shrinks, (ink on paper, 11X14). Sometimes there are projects that never happen. And this is one of them. This idea was commissioned by a local TV station ad department for their clients, a group of California-based radio call-in psychologists a la Frazier who wanted a humorous image for billboards, T-shirts, etc.. This was the concept sketch I submitted. Each psychologist liked how the other three were drawn, but none of them liked themselves. I wonder what Jung would have said about that! Anyway, the project was tabled and ultimately scrapped. One of their comments I found amusing was that the big guy didn't want to be seen as being overweight, as his area of expertise was helping people with eating disorders.

More Freelance Work...

Couple on a Bridge, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). Again, the client came up with the gag...I'm not responsible. Apparently this was well received by the couple, especially the female who loved the ample cleavage. I'm sure the guy did, too.
NCC Coffee, (ink on illustration board, 8X10). This was done for a church as a promo for one of their outreach programs. They were having a coffee-house get-together and this image was used in promotional literature as well as on styrofoam coffee cups. This is a straight cartoon illustration with no caricatures of actual people. I had fun with the band.
Hercules, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). This is one of a series of gift caricatures commissioned by The National Peanut Board through the ad agency, Lawler, Ballard Van Durand. This guy apparently is super human when it comes to marketing and promotions. So why is he destroying them?
Peanut Butter & Co., (ink, acrylic on illustration board). Another National Peanut Board honoree, this guy owns Peanut Butter & Co., which seems like a weird name. Peanut butter AND company?! The field behind him is supposed to be a peanut farm. If you look closely, the guy on the tractor is from one of my earlier Georgia Tech Foundation pieces. (I just like doing that sometimes.)
The Osbourne Family, (graphite, airbrush,ink and colored pencil, 8X10). This was my very first freelance caricature illustration from way back in 1995. It was for a family Christmas card. Apparently they sold albums and frames. A sad note: Between the time I started the drawing and the time I delivered it (a week or so), ...the dog died.

Woman and Two Cats, (ink on illustration board, 8X10). Sometimes I get commissions for pets, or people with pets. This is an example of a quick pet caricature illustration. It's all done with markers, and probably took about an hour.
Man with Dante and Milton, (ink on illustration board, 12X16). This fellow knew exactly what he wanted in the drawing, down to the last detail, even the names on the books. I love it when clients are that specific, because it makes my job so much easier. The client runs a Mormon-based website and told me that he would pass around my name to a lot of really big families of the faith. He assured me, tongue-in-cheek, that each big family had only one wife. See, Mormons can be funny!
McDonald's Engagement, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). I've done a lot of engagement and bride/groom caricatures and they're always fun. These two got engaged at McDonald's and wanted me to show that she's going to be a teacher and that he played basketball for Cincinnatti. I thought it would be fun to have him holding the fries too high for her to reach, and her keeping the basketball away from him. They wanted their dog in the picture, too. The Hamburgler was my idea.
The A Team, (graphite, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This was another one of those projects where I only had a few hours to finish it. Sometimes clients call and want you to give them the moon...oh, and we need it tomorrow. They usually don't think about what the artists work load might be, or how long something like 18 people in color might take. I stayed up all night and even hand delivered the project to the client. It took them over a month to pay.
It's No Big Whoop!, ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This is one of my favorite illustrations. The guy was retiring from the Physiology Dept. at the Moorehouse School of Medicine and his team wanted to send him off with a group caricature of the department. The guy had a great face, and it went perfectly with the theme. I was really happy with the composition of the piece and only wish I could plan out every piece as well as this. I have a couple of Jack Davis inspired feet in there as a tribute to one of my favorite artists.

The Houks, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). These are friends of mine and I drew this for them for their anniversary. They are the sweetest and most fun-loving people I know, and I wanted to convey that in the drawing. They own a chocolate store called Chocolate Mountain Images in Kennesaw, GA. and this caricature is proudly displayed there. The chocolate is fabulous, by the way.
You Need an Inspection Sticker, (graphite, airbrush on paper, 12X16). I did this early in my career. It's one of a series of four I did for a client and I have no idea what the gag means here. This graphite/airbrush style is typical of the way we produced caricatures in the theme parks I worked in. The guy probably took ten minutes to do, but I spent a little more time on the truck.
This was a commission from an event planning company that regularly books me for events. Its a promotional illustration showing some of the inflatables, games and services they offer for company picnics. If you look closely you'll see me drawing caricatures at the picnic. (I couldn't resist).
Irish Wedding Party, (ink, acrylic, colored pencil on illustration board). The bride and groom commissioned this work and they also had me draw at the reception. I was really pleased with this drawing. My favorite caricature is the bridesmaid second from the left. They wanted me to make sure the redhead had big boobs, and they loved what I did with her. It was great to work the event because I got to meet the whole wedding party and see how well I got their likenesses. I was disappointed because the redhead had become a blonde and I didn't think it looked like her anymore. She really liked it, though, (especially the boobs) and I got to draw her during the evening. Incidentally, she's a "duelling pianist" in Vegas. Weird.
Johnson Wedding Party, (graphite, ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). One of the dangers of working from photos is you never really know if the people still look like they did when the photo was taken. The guy on the far right ended up being WAY fatter in real life than he was in his picture so my drawing didn't really look like him. Also, since the wedding was being held in a strictly fundamentalist church and the drawing was to be displayed, the church elders actually had to convene a meeting to decide if the drawing was appropriate or not before it could be displayed. They apparently had a problem with the wine bottle. I told them I was an artist, not a miracle worker. Otherwise I would have turned the wine into water. They ultimately compromised by agreeing to display it in the hallway, but not in the reception area.

Gone Huntin', (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 12X16). Obviously another Georgia Tech Foundation job for a retiree, this project almost didn't happen. Due to miscommunication, the due date got messed up on this. I thought I was waiting on a final confirmation of the sketch from the client, and they thought I was finishing the final coloring. I got a call one morning and the client said they needed the final THAT DAY. I rushed to get it finished and delivered by that afternoon. It's the fastest turnaround I've ever had, but these things happen in the illustration world.
Chips off of the Ole Block, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This guy repaired lawnmowers and I took mine in to be fixed. When he found out I was a caricature artist, he showed me an old caricature he had gotten done of himself with the go-cart background and wondered if I could add his son in. I told him it would be easier to just redraw the whole thing (especially since the original caricature didn't look a thing like him). So I took a few photos of both of them and did the illustration. We ended up trading a caricature for a lawnmower repair.
Golf Wedding Party, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was an older couple who were getting married and the son (pictured) and his wife wanted to give them something fun and whimsical.
Yankees vs. Red Sox, (ink on illustration board, 16X20). All these guys apparently went to Georgia Tech but the guy in the middle is a Yankees fan, while his buddies are Red Sox fans. The Yankees guy's wife commissioned the illustration. I was really happy with the backgound gradation, which I did entirely with Prismacolor markers.

Galloway Holiday Card 2006, (ink on illustration board, 8X8). We always try to do a caricature holiday card but sometimes I get overloaded with client work and it doesn't happen. This one is my favorite from the past 12 years.

Five Seperate Commissions

Family With Dogs, (ink on illustration board, 11X17). This was the second illustration I did for this family. The first was a large wedding scene with the church in the background. Just for fun, I included the wedding picture in the background.
Fuller Wedding Party, (ink on illustration board, 11X14). This family commissioned the illustration and then had it framed and displayed at the wedding. They also booked two caricature artists through me to draw at the event. I think my wife and I were in Italy at the time, so I couldn't work the event myself.
Home of a Yellow Jacket, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was the first of a long line of commissions I've received from the Georgia Tech Foundation. This one is a typical retirement caricature. I bought a book on John Deere tractors and I'm glad I did. Next to motorcycles, it's the most popular vehicle I draw.
Georgia Tech Holiday Card, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 8 1/2 X 11). Another Georgia Tech Foundation commission. This one includes their beloved mascot, Buzz and the Ramblin' Wreck car. Georgia Tech always specifies that there is to be NO RED color in the illustrations, a partisan nod to their long rivalry with the University of Georgia.
Gardening Lady, (ink, acrylic, 8 1/2 X 11). This lady was retiring from the public school system in Arlington, TX. and the staff wanted to give her a present showing what she would be doing in retirement. I recycled the pose from an earlier project because I thought it was funny. Apparently she did too.

Various Commissions

Charity and Michael... (ink, acrylic wash on illustration board, 16X20). This is a typical Engagement/Wedding illustration. These two were going to have a laid-back wedding and reception in their backyard, and I think he was actually going to be wearing that shirt. The Bride was really cute...she didn't want him to see the pictures of the wedding dress, so she sealed them in an envelope when they gave me the reference material.
Charles Dickens Christmas (ink on paper, 24X36). One in a series of Christmas Cards for a company. They wanted a Charles Dickens theme. I did a lot of research for this one. The dresses are all taken from old period drawings from the 1880's and I tried to give it the feel of those French Daumier lithos while making it look like a wood-cut. I love working with ink, but after this I was ready to put it away for a while.
Eddie Jones, (ink, acrylic wash on illustration board). This caricature of the NBA star was commissioned by a member of his family. I LOVE basketball so it was a dream job, but I could only do so much because I only had a few hours to complete it. The family member said Eddie loved it and he would try to get the Miami Heat star to call me and tell me himself, but it never happened. Still, they say Eddie has it hanging in his game room in one of his houses, so that counts for something.