Caricatures

During Family Weekend I was worried that I would not be able to find something artistic to write about for my blog. Lucky enough, while walking around downtown Newport, I saw a man doing caricature drawings of customers. I was unable to get a drawing myself because there were other people who wanted to get their caricatures drawn and I prefer watching rather than sitting and being stared at.
My first impression of the artist was not a flattering one. He was poorly dressed and at the corner of a building drawing people who paid for his drawings. Then after a while I realized that artists come from all different areas. The greatest artists don’t always come from the best art school. They could simply be found on the side of the street. I have had many caricatures drawn for myself but this artist, named Jocko, had a truly amazing talent. He included great details that I would never consider including in a caricature that I was drawing. For example, he drew almost all of the details of the Hawaiian style t-shirt that the man was wearing. Usually artists would just do quick and simple drawings for the details of a caricature. I could tell he was putting a lot of effort in his drawing. He obviously wanted to give the couple their money’s worth.
I didn’t stay long to watch the Jocko draw everyone who was waiting but I did stay to watch him draw the couple and little kids. When Jocko was drawing the two pictures, I noticed the shift in attitude and style of drawing. For the couple, they were more patient and willing to sit there and wait for their drawing to be finished. Jocko’s style was more of an elegant caricature that showed more detail and the scenery behind the couple.
When Jocko started drawing the picture of the children, his style and attitude changed drastically. The children were more impatient with their drawing. They constantly stood up and walked over to see what was being draw and they kept kicking their legs. The style of this photo did not have more elegance but it had a playful feeling to it. The children obviously contributed to the playful tone of the drawing but the details that were drawn also contributed to this town. He made the heads way bigger for the children than he did for the previous couple. The scenery of the drawing was not of the river like it was for the previous couple, but it was of toys and a castle. It looked almost as if it was a drawing of Disneyland.
Jocko’s style really makes him a unique artist. He knows how to flatter different kinds of people and has a great sense of detail in all of his caricature drawings. I would have never thought that Newport was an artistic place but he shows that art can be found anywhere. The greatest artists are anywhere and everywhere.

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