Watching The Magic

Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse
— Rom 1:20 (NABRE)

Watching the magic happen. That’s always a big part of the fun with caricature. So we wanted to take a moment or two to show you some drawing — and to talk about what we see when we draw.

WHY …

Why do we draw? Why do we draw people, in particular? Those are actually very complicated questions. We’ll do our best to answer them quickly and simply.

We have always been fascinated with how people can all be the same, but so different too! None of us are exactly like any other person in the world.

We’re in our 70’s now, but as far back as elementary school, we can remember sketching classmates and teachers. We always struggled with whatever it was that made the person look like they do.

When you’re drawing caricature, you can’t just “look.” You actually have to “see” the world and the people around you,

And then there is the “image and likeness” thing too (Gen 1:26). We love God! We love His Church. And we love His creation. The very thought of all these people around us being unique images of a vast and eternal God was stunning to consider. By learning to see them, we somehow hoped to catch a fleeting glimpse of God.

Maybe, just maybe!

HOW …

Shape! It’s all about shape.

But then, there is the placement of those features too. Where do the eyes go? What do they see and what do they communicate to others around them? After all, they are the window to the soul, you know (Prov 30:17).

And then, there are those all-important noses! Some people have chins too, and some beards. Oh, how much fun it is to stumble on a subject who has a chin like Jay Leno! That can be so much fun to draw.

Heck! It’s all fun. But we start with shape. If you get the shape right, you’re more than half-way there. And if you can get at lest one feature to stand out and testify to the identity of the character, you’ve got it made. (Mt 16:15)

Last, but not least, there’s exaggeration! Distortion!

How do you exaggerate and distort — and still keep enough of the truth? Is it even possible to exaggerate and still tell the truth? That’s not easy.

For us, it meant that we had to be “gentle.” Do no injury to no one. And at the same time, don’t just draw portraits! The story we try to tell is always found in “caricature!”