This is interesting. It's what it's about. How people feel in the moment.

Sometimes they arrive at Parties nervous, self-conscious. My first view of them might look something like This. I feel like they're covering up their naturally happy hopeful hearts:

I try to make them feel Welcome. They start to warm up. I show them what I drew, and then

WOW! You can see by their Reactions that this Party has just become Better. This is now a Great Party!

I feel so grateful to be able to see what my Caricatures actually Do. It's more than just a drawing. It's encouraging Joy .

Encouraging Joy. Even the word is interesting. The word Courage is in Encourage. It takes Courage to let yourself show. It takes Courage to let go and EnJoy. And of course, it takes Courage to be an Artist. A Party Artist.

Guests can't keep up their defenses when they see My Artwork

Here are some of the Caricatures that I drew at Steinway Piano as per my post of December 29, 2013. Can you tell which drawings felt like I was drawing in a strait-jacket and which were my freer renditions?

Luckily I had arrived early ~ I needed the time to accommodate my liason's instructions. She surprised me with a last-minute request to include a reference of the building in each picture. Oh. I wanted to create, I wanted to fly, I wanted to keep the event moving, but now each picture was going to include lag-time while I adapted the unique faces into the building reference. That not only affects the time it takes to draw each person, it also affects the way the people feel when they're standing there, hence affecting the flow of the Party Entertainment. Drawing extras on the spot ~ Not the best idea for Party Entertainment, but I did understand why my client would want memories of the building. Still, wouldn't they remember the building just by seeing the pictures that were drawn here with their coworkers?

And what to draw for the building reference? Everywhere I turned, it was a different scene, and I would have to know what I was going to be doing before I started the Party. When you want to draw approximately 10 likenesses per hour, there really isn't time to Caricature a different background for each one also. So before the event actually started, I drew one scene for my reference. I felt okay about keeping the scene simple because their hallway was filled with original Art from the New Yorker Magazine. Still, it limited my freedom to 'dance' with each picture. I felt so happy half way through the party when the boss changed the instructions and let me draw just the faces, as I usually do. That's why some of these Caricatures are stiffer than the ones that are great. Pictures have a life of their own, and when we try to Control them, we're falling into a non-Artist's trap.

BTW, sometimes references naturally flow into my pictures anyway ~ even when I'm not forcing it to happen. For example, the 'piano keys' in the beard on the 'Best Men' picture. That happened After I was relieved of the extra instruction. and the reason they were labeled 'Best Men' is because they told me that one of them was the Best Man at the other's wedding References happen naturally. And they find their way into a picture naturally. It's part of the Real Experience.

This girl had so much fun at her Party. You can just see it in her Caricature. You can just see it in her dress. You could have just heard it if you heard her talking. At her party, she handled a 'Trivia' time herself. Sitting up straight in front of her friends, calling on people -- "Who knows my favorite movie?" "Yes" "Who knows my favorite song?" "Yes" Who knows my favorite tv show? "No" "No" "Okay, can you do it?" "No" Lol ~ they finally got it. And more important than what she says is her favorite anything, is how she handled her peers. These kids really impress me. They really shine at these parties. Makes me wonder about how I would have handled things back when I was their age.

I imagine I would have been different than this girl. Not quite as confident. Not as much 'in command'. But I would have been adorable just the same. I imagine I would have felt giddy and flushed. I imagine I would have burst out laughing with joy. It's all good. We're all different, but it's all good.

Good Morning ~ Another day. Waking up to a note from my Agent. Niiice. It's so good to have opportunities to help people with my Artwork. To help them Enjoy their lives.

My Agent sent me some notes that Clients had sent about me:

Alison was great!!!! Alison was great!!!! She did phenomenal work and she was an excellent sport. It started pouring outside, she was more concerned about the kids faces getting messed up, than about herself and her supplies. She asked for an umbrella for them, she was awesome!!!

Eventually we got in from out the rain and she continued her great work. I would love to have her again at my next event. Latoya Lashley

Her work is outstanding! I had the pleasure of having Allison draw faces for my son Dante's 13th Birthday Party. Let's start with her promptness. Not only was she on time, but she came by prior to so that she could familiarize herself with the directions, so that she would be able to get here on time. She had a very warm personality, and with the going on of the party, she fit right in. Her work is outstanding, and I would definitely recommend her and use her for future entertainment. Thank You for such a wonderful professional artist. Leona Allen-Curtis