aaaaahhhhh ~ the Artist's life. Am I a magician? Client: "Draw me with my Boyfriend. He's not here." Me: "Ummm.... Okay"

Here's a picture of the Party Space that I mentioned in the previous post titled "At Least the Guests Had Fun". It was actually quite beautiful. Sleek. New. Glass 'fence' around a free-standing balcony. Plush white couches. But they didn't arrange for Flow. For how the people would get around.

The space in which I was told to set up with actually a narrow hallway. If I had put my easel next to the pillar, the guests would not have been able to pass by to stand where I had put my easel. There was no outlet for my lights. And the people were actually too close for me to be able to see 'the forest from the trees'. Here's an example of what that's like for me:

Hold your hand up ~ an inch in front of your face. Now, count the fingers that you see. Oh.

Following is a drawing that shows one of the better set-ups for Caricature Entertainment at your Party. It shows how there's plenty of room for the guests to gracefully walk to the front of the easel. It shows that there's a way for me to set up the easel so the guests can see the Artwork be created. They can enjoy the Performance. Or they can play with the person who is drawing ~ hinting at what s/he might expect.

Entertainment is more than just handing out Things. Or else, why not just have the pictures drawn before the party from Photographs? Actually, that has been done a few times. Displayed on the plates or the chairs to tell the guests where to sit. But most Parties want the Caricatures to be part of the Entertainment.

I'm happy that I can usually find a good way to set up. I want to do a good job for my clients.

Trust your professionals. We've had a lot of experience.

I discourage drawing from photographs during a Party. There's plenty of people who got dressed up to be seen Right There.

But I'm not in charge. Once in a while, I'm expected to draw from photographs during the Party. Here's 2 that I did at a recent Corporate event.

Don't hide! BE at the Party. Be Yourself. I wish people would Act and Interact themselves ~ ~ not hiding behind their labels, not hiding behind their children.

I like the pictures. I'm just trying to do what's best for the Party.

I forgot to mention one more Complication. It's when people ask me to predraw scenes. Most people are happy with slim or cute or muscular Bodies, so I only have to draw one per gender and age. But still, the predrawn scene should take into account the age of the guest ~ 5-year-old girls don't have bodies like 15-year-old girls. And 15-year-old girls don't dress like 50-year-old women. And there are just as many variations for boys. A cute little 5-year-old boy doesn't look right with the body of a 15-year-old boy.

But if my client gives me a chance to point this out, it's still complicated. Because I might get hired to print up ten papers each for several different scenes. This means I will be spending time interrupting the drawing-Entertainment to look through for the right paper......

Oh.

What works best for most Parties is Direct Caricatures. Face-Only. Black and White Or Color ~ Artist's Choice in the Moment based on what she sees, what she draws, and what would best Entertain the guests who are there. It's great on individual papers, and it's Super if those Beautiful Mats are included.