Caricature/Cartoon – The Captive – Caught by Color Pencils!

So we humans got ahead in the rat-race and the rats got left behind. What if the rats revolted? What if they kidnapped humans and negotiated terms for their release?!

The last two weeks were busy, the next two weeks will be the same, but between these two stretches of busy days, I had a tiny oasis of two free days. I had bought some new color-pencils and I wanted to try them out. Some furious yet calming paper-scratching resulted in the birth of The Captive (below) and The Oracle (next post.)

The caricature of a blond man kidnapped by a mouse. The captor and the captive - a pencil color drawing.

“The Captive” – Actual Size: 5 inches by 7 inches.

So what is the rat saying to the man? What is the story in this picture?

You want to write one? Go ahead – be creative  – and if you do write one, please share the link.

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A Funny Man with a Funny Nose…

… who doesn’t care what the world thinks about him and his nose?

Caricature cartoon color pencil drawing sketch of a happy funny man with a big nose.

An Awesome nose on an awesome face…tra…la…la…

What’s his story?

Who is he?

  1. An IT entrepreneur?
  2. A PE Teacher in a school?
  3. A standup comic?
  4. A plastic surgeon?
  5. A pizza-delivery guy?
  6. A terrorist behind a mask of amiability?
  7. An adult-movie star?
  8. A budding politician?
  9. A pedophile?
  10. ???

Caricature/Cartoon – John F. Kerry – The US Secretary of State shares a Happy Moment with Democrats and Republicans!

John F. Kerry recently became the 68th US Secretary of State.

Here’s my rendition of the event.

Caricature, Cartoon of John Kerry being carried on a shield by the democrats and the republicans - with anne rice waving goodbye - A pen and ink drawing with color.

Nano-biography of John Kerry

The highlights of Kerry’s early life include the awards he earned during his short-service commission with the Navy, after which he joined Vietnam Veterans Against War and campaigned against the Vietnam War. Later he worked as an Assistant District Attorney too. His political journey began when he was sworn in as a US Senator in 1984.

More recently, Kerry became the US Secretary of State when Susan Rice had to face flak for her comments on the Benghazi incident. She was “forced” to withdraw from the race (now, she’s likely to become President Barack Obama‘s National Security Advisor.)

Some Interesting Facts about John Kerry

(Other than the fact that he was born in 1943, which makes him 70 now,)

  • In the 2004 US Presidential Elections he was the Democratic Presidential nominee.
  • Kerry’s father’s parents were jewish but then some time around 1900 they changed their surname to Kerry. Kerry’s great-uncle and -aunt died in the Nazi Concentration Camps.
  • Kerry is tall (and slim – what must be his bending moment?) He’s a fan of the Beatles (I did sketch John Lennon once, you can see his caricature here,) and The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards here) He loves to cycle.
  • He is married to Teresa Heinz (if you are reminded of ketchup, your gray cells are working fine,) who has a net worth of USD 750 Million. (In my next life, I’ll not let myself be flung on earth unless God promises me to make a wealthy heiress – however, so that you aren’t mistaken, Teresa Heinz “married” into the Heinz family – she wasn’t born with Heinz surname!)
  • John Kerry is the Richie-Rich of US Politics.

I guess that’s all for now. I must return to drawing caricatures 🙂

Caricature/Cartoon of Pope Francis I – Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina becomes the first Jesuit Pope.

Presenting the Caricature of Pope Francis I.

Caricature, cartoon, pen and ink color drawing of Pope Francis I - the first Non-European to become Pope.

 

Here are the details of the face and the dimensions of the image.

The caricature/Cartoon of Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) - pen and ink drawing with color.

Remember?

  • After Pope Benedict XVI resigned, they said – They aren’t going to elect a man in his late seventies…again.
  • They also said – It would be very difficult for them to change course and elect a non-European as a pope.
  • And then they said – Pope must be someone who has a non-controversial record.

Pope Francis’ election has proved them wrong on all the three counts.

He is 76, an Argentine (thus, a Non-European) and has been embroiled in his share of controversies. He is also a traditionalist who is against gay-marriages and considers them the work of the Devil.

Pope Francis I – A Brief Biography

Jorge (Mario) Bergoglio is an Argentine who was born to Italian parents (on December 17, 1936.) His father worked in the railways and his mother was a housewife. He studied Chemistry and worked as a Chemistry technician before he decided to become a priest at the age of 22, and entered the Society of Jesus. It was another 9 years before he actually became a priest.

He is known for his humility and austerity. He could’ve become Pope in 2005 but he appealed to his fellow Cardinals that they shouldn’t vote for him and vote for Ratzinger (his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.)

More about Jorge Bergoglio

In his protest against the bill that would legalize Gay Marriages in Argentina, he wrote,
“Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

(Read this article here.)

There is also a lot of talk in Argentina about his being associated with the disappearance of two Jesuit Priests.

But beyond this,
the new Pope is known to be a simple man. He is considered to be someone who understand power-play, and who is perceived to have to capability to steer the Vatican ship through today’s troubled waters.

A few other things…

  • He had to get one of his lungs removed due to an infection, when he was quite young.
  • In the last 1000 years, he is the first Pope (after Pope John Paul I) who has chosen a new name for himself.
  • He is the first Jesuit to have become the Pope.
  • He is also the first non-European to become Pope in the last 1200 years. (He still is a person of Italian (European?) origin.)
  • He is opposed to same-sex marriages, abortions, and artificial insemination.

Pope Francis’s unrequited Love

I can’t stop myself from editing this post to include this wonderful news. Finally, an info-byte that makes me feel connected with the Pope.

Amalia Damonte who still lives in the same house where she grew up (at 555 Membranilla Street in the Flores district of Buenos Aires (the capital of Argentina,)) was proposed to by a young boy called Jorge Bergoglio. He was 12 and she was 13…and she is the reason why Jorge Bergoglio is Pope Francis now. Had she not turned down his proposal, he wouldn’t have embraced priesthood – for his letter told her in no uncertain terms – that if she didn’t agree to become his wife, he’d become a priest. He was quite serious about the matter as she’s got it in black and white…or whatever was the color of the ink that Jorge favored when he was young.

So…you see now. There’s a woman behind every successful man…even the Pope 🙂

Now, he is the leader of 1.2 Billion Catholics world-wide.

(Interestingly, India’s population is 1.2 Billion too.)

Read the text of his first Speech from the Pope’s Balcony  overlooking St. Peter’s Square here.

Happy Valentine’s Day! The Latest News: MLMV-HD listed as Top 5 Valentine Apps by PadGadget – and the Caricaturist returns in Color!

Phew!

That was a long title for a post!

Important things first:

The reason that kept me away from you was, in a nutshell, Love! I’ve been in love for a rather long time, yet when I wake up in the mornings, it’s like I have just fallen in love with this very handsome, suave, and intelligent guy who mumbles in his sleep, “is it morning already?” Now, how can someone who is as bright as he is, not know the answer to such a simple question, is beyond me.

But these three months, this caricaturist had transformed into a love-artist, for everyone – or more specifically for everyone with an iPad. Here is the link to the love Game we created 🙂

My Love My Valentine - MLMV  HD - a Game of Love and Romance

MLMV – One of the Top Five iPad Games for this Valentine’s Season!

The good news that I want to share is that PadGadget has listed My Love My Valentine as one of the top 5 Valentine Games for 2013, and right alongside Where’s My Valentine (by Disney) and some old strong horses such as M.A.S.H (which made waves last year) and Flower Garden (the forever app!)

Now, to another news byte…and try to believe it.

Color Caricatures by a Black-and-White Caricaturist!

The Caricaturist has changed. She’s become colorful. Perhaps its the impact of this game, or the impact of a fantastic magazine read by really serious kind of Americans – but she’s now going to be making color caricatures. She’s just survived creating three of them at a speed that would make a Maglev blush! Can’t share yet – because the issue is not yet in the stands – but in time I will 🙂

and now,

A Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Oh, and yes if you have an iPad, download MLMV HD, face the love-assassins and send your messages to your sweet-heart… and win him or her over! If you are a girl and you don’t have this game on your iPad, you are missing out on a lot of sweet romantic action!

But if you’d like to try it out, check out the Lite version here.

An around-the-year game for everyone who is in love!

A POA for the New Year…and some Birthday Wishes – A Personal Post…

…and so you may want to skip it. I heartily recommend that you check out the Caricature Gallery and if you are the reader-type you may also want to checkout my Verbal Caricatures (the eBooks.)

The first week of January is a wonderful time. It’s filled with fresh hopes and new energy, and for me it’s doubly so, as my Birthday too falls in the first week of January. I thought it’s time for me to reflect upon the journey of this blog and also to share my blogging plans for the year 2012.

The Journey so far…

I had started this blog on a foggy December morning. It’s only goal was to bring me some happiness, as I wasn’t really doing well – neither financially nor physically. The act of drawing had always brought me happiness and peace but I had almost never done art commercially…and caricatures – I had never done caricatures before I started this blog. In December, this blog turned two. It now has about 80 caricatures of different personalities supported by this caricaturist’s take on their lives, and it attracts a good number of visitors too.

I made some wonderful friends through this blog. I’d like them to know that I’ll always cherish their friendship. I am also working with two clients now – earning through art had always been my dream and I am now inching closer to my goal.

This past year, I also wrote a book, “The Evolution of a Caricaturist” which I published on Google Knol (a Platform that’d be put to sleep April this year), and which got about 55,000 views, earned me a Top Knol Author badge, and was appreciated by its readers.

Another addition to this blog was the Interactive Art Tutorial Section, which didn’t really get sufficient attention from me, as my job kept me busier than usual – yet, the these interactive tutorials were downloaded 2000 times in the last six months and I am hopeful that people liked them.

The Plan for 2012

  • The plan is actually that this blog will retain its organic format. I will try not be tardy in posting to this blog and I will try to make at least two posts a week.
  • In 2012, this blog will see more of color-caricatures and I may also do some political caricatures and cartoons.
  • I am planning to do some How-to Posts that have been planned on the basis of some feedback that I received on the “The Evolution of a Caricaturist” book – for instance, how to do shading in caricatures, how to establish volumes in drawings…etc. I hope that my readers will find these posts helpful.
  • I also hope to find a publisher for an expanded, more detailed, and more richly illustrated version of the book, “The Evolution of a Caricaturist.” I was approached for it last year, but things didn’t work out. However, if you are a publisher who’s interested in publishing the book, please let me know.
  • And finally, I want to become a more active blogger. I’d like to visit more blogs, find bloggers who I’d like to read, and make some new friends in the New Year.

I guess that’s all 🙂

Once again, I’d like to wish everyone a VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

 

 

Cool Caricaturist – John Kascht!

There are caricaturists in this world who make me stop in wonder – and one of them is John Kascht.

John Kascht’s work can be best referred to as Classy. His lines possibly are the cleanest on the planet and his colors are soft yet funny!

I recommend that you view John Kascht’s work on his website here.

Here are some caricatures that I just couldn’t take my eyes off:

I suddenly realized that all the three links above take you to the same page, so while you are there, check out the other caricatures as well.

View Kascht’s Line Art Gallery here and admire his minimalistic treatment.

And finally, if you want to read about his honors and his connection with beekeeping and Pennsylvania, find his biography here.

PS: I was wondering why I haven’t sketched Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Murray yet!