What a strange day I had yesterday. What a world.

First I got caught in the worst traffic ever - all the way from my place in Wantagh to my Caricature gig in Short Hills, NJ. The web said the trip would take 1 hour and 15 minutes. But it took me 5 HOURS ! From the moment I got on the parkway in Wantagh until I got over the George Washington Bridge, the traffic was so heavy that I was glad when we were able to creep along at 5-miles per hour. (Things like this remind me that I don't have to answer for myself because I'd charge a travel-fee or that I factor in 'fluff-time' between gigs.

And Bloomingdales - cross my eyes! My section at Bloomingdales had 'rap' music! At Bloomingdales! Turned out that they were testing a new line of products.

Here's a photo of my set-up. I like how I incorporated the mannequins into my setup (the blue backpack is usually hidden under a table or behind a curtain, but this time I made it look like a prop for the mannequin:

Then I was surprised. When I'd stray from doing straight faces, I actually got good responses from the fun Bloomingdales customers. Turned out that they were just nice wealthy people - WHO WERE OUT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME ! Just pleasant people who were open to having fun:

Then, tired from the long day (after not sleeping much the night before - last-minute Studio pieces with outrageous deadlines), do I go home? No. I had been invited to see the Arkhams at a bar in Brooklyn. Just a personal outing, but as usual, I occupied myself studying some ideas for Caricatures. And that meant that I ended up drawing some of the people there. In the dark bar.

Will the Fun never end?

Hi Lorenzo! Hi Paola!

Art - brings the world together - Fun.

This photo was sent to me from Lorenzo and Paola in Milan, Italy. I didn't have a camera with me on the day that I drew them right here in NY. But they remembered and sent me the photo when they got back home to Milan. I think the picture captures how much fun we were having at that time.

Art is supposed to be Fun.

The game is different in each setting. It's different to draw at a Party than it is to draw in my private time. It's different to draw in a restaurant than it is to draw in the studio.

Here are 2 quick fun sketches that I drew in the car today. Quickly.

I'm upset by my ramblings of last night. I think that we're affected by the media that we experienced when we were very young. That's why one expression reads 'sxy', another reads 'scared', and another reads 'smug'.

There used to be a beautiful sign in my Pediatrician's office that said:

"Happiness is not always measured in smiles."

It resonated with me because I recognized it's truth.

And No. You cannot read a person's personality based on his/her face. Or else, how would people be fooled by Con-Men?

So what's to draw? What's my job?

I ask this as I prepare for today's Corporate event - where I will be extrapolating expressions from the changing-people who sit in front of me. The same way I usually do. I guess. Hopefully, understanding will come to me as I carry on.