drawing at a cozy wedding reception

I had a great time drawing at a cozy wedding reception. Only their closest friends and family, and me invited! It's great that people think of having caricatures at their reception to add even more to their special day. This reception was held at The Yellowhead Brewery, downtown Edmonton. I loved the cozy feel it had. I thought it was perfect. Here are some of my favourite drawings from the day. Sometimes I wish I had my own photographer with me so I could get a photo of each drawing so that I can fondly look back on them when I have a spare minute. And look, even the bride and groom finally had a minute to sit to get theirs done!

Caricatures that Celebrate

I drew today at two events. The first was a fundraiser for Village of Hope Orphans in Africa. The organiser had dancers from several different dance schools in Edmonton, a brunch buffet, silent auction and I did caricatures. The highlight of the morning was doing FaceTime with the village. One of the Edmonton dance groups danced for the kids at the orphanage and then everyone was treated to a couple dances by some of the kids at the orphanage. A pretty darned cool experience. Then I quickly packed up and headed to a big birthday celebration to draw for a few more hours. This young girl was my only set of braces for the day. I love drawing braces. Being able to capture a moment in time when someone is missing some teeth or wearing braces, I find it neat to draw that stage in their life. I guess it's capturing a stage in a person's life with each drawing isn't it.

Caricature

Caricatures at Fundraiser

I am doing caricatures Saturday, May 25, 2013 from 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. for Sharon Ryan's Village of Hope Orphans in Africa Fundraiser at The Royal Glenora Club. Please note that caricatures are with a donation to this worthy cause.

Tickets for this event can be purchased at EventFull.

Enjoy a champagne brunch. Expect to be amazed by the talented dance performers from Edmonton School of Ballet and the Victoria School of Performing Arts. There will also be a silent auction consisting of beauty and renovation services & products. The highlight will be a live performance via Skype from Village of Hope Zambia. Share this cultural experience with your children. Be prepared for tears of joy when the African orphans dance for us dressed in their traditional tribal attire.

Wonder Girls Camp logo

Here's a fun logo I did for Aime. I wanted to incorporate the positive feelings all girls should have. Their unique, they are all things they aspire to be! 

Aime does great things for girls. Oh how I love Girl Power and all things positive for girls! Check out Wonder Girls Camp in Calgary!

Wonder Girls Camp logo

Back at Western GMC

Back window painting at Western GMC for their Miles PLUS Event. I painted this in three different areas of the showroom. I may have done the red background a little too dark but I wanted to make sure the white wording showed up. I think I accomplished that. Going into Western GMC to paint definitely has a great comfort level for me after painting so many times for them! It's a nice feeling when I so often am hired to do caricatures, face painting or window painting at different locations for different clients. A bit of normalcy is nice every once in awhile. To know where you're going for the day's job, know where to park, know a lot of the staff, know where the washrooms are, feel comfortable walking into a staff area … it's always nice to be asked back!

Window Painting for Western GMC Edmonton

CARICATURES AT MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH

I was invited to draw at the Edmonton Hotel and Convention Centre for their Mother's Day Brunch. The day was a day to draw mothers and that's what I did! These two women are mother and daughter with the daughter being a mother as well. During a quiet moment right near the end, this chef came by. I looked at him and said, "Oh, you have to sit down and let me draw you!" He was so pleased with it … and so was I! 

Chef with his Caricature

Caricatures were not advertised on the Mother's Day Brunch material so it was a very pleasant surprise for moms to be able to walk away with a caricature. I hope to be back next year to draw for them again.

Mothers with their Caricature

A Holiday can Inspire you

I recently took my daughter to New York. A place she's wanted to go for a few years now. I'd been there when I was

19 and I think it's pretty cool that she is the same age when she got to go. Now I have to admit that I was really looking forward to not having to do any work for 9 whole days. And for me, no work means, no artwork. But once an artist always an artist because what was my favourite thing to do in New York besides simply seeing everything that is New York? It was having the privilege to see famous, jaw dropping masterpieces  I found myself overwhelmed with emotion at times wanting to stand in front of each one of them for hours. But of course, time didn't permit that. I mean look at this photo. I was able to see a famous Van Gogh. VAN GOGH! And not just one famous Van Gogh but a few of his mega famous ones: Sunflowers, A Starry Night. Oh my gosh! So what did I walk away with after my days in the museums and art galleries, besides sore feet? Two things. I deep yearning to come back and paint. And an epiphany of sorts: a reassurance that people STILL love and appreciate art. Art that was done by hand, by a painter's brush. Art is alive and well. The Met and MOMA were packed and that's a testament to the draw that art has in this world. I really hope I can find some time to paint, just for the simple joy of painting. Wish me luck with that!

unique buildings and their fire escapes

 My trip to New York was worth it. It was SO worth it!

I also found myself drawn to the unique buildings and their fire escapes. Some of them were truly beautiful and a piece of art too.

jaw dropping masterpieces

Caricatures at The Bay

 had a great time today doing caricatures at The Bay at Southgate Mall! I was part of their "Springtime IN Paris" promotion. They went all out with fantastic sales, a musician on the accordion playing classic parisian music, serving up croissants and cream puffs and had me doing caricatures! It was a great atmosphere to draw in and it's always rewarding for me in that moment when you hold up the finished caricature and see their pleased look on their face but the absolute best is when you draw a young child and when they see their caricature and they say, "THAT'S ME!" … then you know you've succeeded!

Here are a couple of my favourites from my day at The Bay:

Caricatures by Edmonton Artist Laurel Hawkswell

Bee Signs for John Janzen Nature Centre

I recently finished several signs for the Indoor Play Area at John Janzen Nature Centre.

The trick was to make the images of the bees correct but also appealing to children.

Here is an example of one of the bees that appears on "The Busy Life of Bees" sign.

The Life of Bees sign for Edmonton's John Jansen Nature Centre

Designed by Edmonton Artist Laurel Hawkswell

Mill Woods Bicycle Festival design

I think this turned out pretty sweet, even if I do say so myself. Fun and lighthearted.

I hope it works well for The City of Edmonton's Community Services and their Mill Woods Bicycle Festival.

I think my favourite character on it is the little dude on the scooter!

Edmonton artist Laurel Hawkswell

Caricatures at a birthday party

I Spent the evening drawing caricatures at a birthday party. I Enjoyed drawing several generations of friends and family. Here's one of my favourites! … brothers that I really enjoyed watching how they interacted with each other. I could tell that they thought each their brother was pretty great. Dare I say that it was pretty darned sweet! They'd probably groan if they heard that!

The Busy Life of Bees - sign

I recently finished up numerous Bee illustrations for the City of
Edmonton's John Janzen Nature Centre for signage in their Indoor Play
Area. I got to know bees pretty well. My favorite illustration is
this one with some extra character of the worker, nurse, guard,
foraging bees!

It was a bit of a challenge to give the bees some character and at the
same time keeping them fairly anatomically correct.

Sign by Edmonton Graphic Artist, Laurel Hawkswell

caricatures at Pop Culture fair Edmonton

I had a fun day drawing at the Pop Culture fair held at Edmonton's Kingsway Hanger.  There we a lot of people out having a good time browsing the many vendors and a few had time to sit down and have me draw them.  One girl had me draw her with Justin Bieber, he wasn't their but, she had a 'few' pictures on her phone...

Girl with her caricature in her Superman T-shirt

It was nice to meet some MacEwan University art students and get a chance to talk shop.

Members of Edmonton's Dungeons & Dragon Improv team 

Caricatures by Edmonton Artist Laurel Hawkswell

Ringette Alberta caricatures

I was drawing caricatures at Ringette Alberta's Provincials for their 2012-2013 finals in Sherwood Park Alberta.  the girls and the families all looked like they were having fun

Ringette player with her caricature

Ringette Alberta player with her caricature

Edmonton Oilers Facepaint: Artist Laurel

I was face painting some Edmonton Oilers fans yesterday before the game.

Edmonton Oiler fan with facepaint

Edmonton Oiler facepainting before the game

Edmonton Oiler boy with facepaint

Edmonton Oiler fan with facepainting

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Caricatures at eWomen Network event

I drew caricatures at Edmonton's chapter of the eWomen Network's MEET AT THE CAPITAL event this past Friday.

Edmonton woman with her Caricature

It was quite the treat to listen to successful women speak on issues of wellness and career tips on reaching your goals. Here are two of the women I drew that day. Please check out Awakening Goddess and all the good things Aime is doing.

eWomen Network caricature

Caricatures at a Birthday Party

Drew lots of little kids today at a birthday party. It was really interesting because the first little guy I drew was NOT interested at all in sitting for me, "When are you gonna be done, why is it taking so long" over and over again. So I thought that would be the last I saw of him the very second I said I was done but he ended up watching me draw and helping me almost the whole time. In helping me I mean, getting the next piece of paper, getting the next person I was to draw, etc. So someone who I thought I'd go home saying, "UGH, I had this kid who was so not interested in me being there …" ended up being a cheerful, bright spot in my afternoon! Never good to judge too quickly.

Caricatures at Baturyn Community League's Volunteer Appreciation Night

It was a great night to do caricatures for Baturyn Community's Volunteers! They were expecting a complimentary dinner but also got a caricature to take home!


As a volunteer myself, I can say that it's always good to show volunteers that they are appreciated. Hopefully they enjoy their drawings for years to come.

Window Painting GMC's Chrome Event and $500 Gas Card

I was back at Western GMC again this week to paint 3 windows with GMC CHROME EVENT and two windows with $500 GAS CARD. They keep me out of trouble that's for sure! I was there for two days and I realised that when I woke up on the second day, that I looked forward to going. Not necessarily for all the work that was waiting for me but because the atmosphere there is so positive.
They are busy (hence the fact that they can say they are Alberta's #1 GMC & Buick Dealership) and friendly and welcoming to me.

These two graphics were taken from their official promotions so I tried to make them look like the company's official graphics as much as possible.

Edmonton Western GMC CHROME EVENT - window painting

Western GMC - window painting

Edmonton's UofA Campus Hudsons window painting

I was back at Hudson’s for a second year, painting shamrocks for their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

I feel like the shamrock expert now! Here’s a close up from the inside to see the brush strokes. The real trick here is to NOT get bored of painting the same thing over and over again! It’s a bit like meditation because you can only go at a certain pace and you don’t have to think too hard because well, once you’ve painted one shamrock you know what you’re doing … but you still need to be on the ball enough to NOT fall off the ladder or stool you’re standing on! AND at the same time, still want to do a quality job, always wanting to be proud of the work you’ve done. And thankfully Hudson’s plays good music! Another added bonus while working. I hate to admit it but its a little bit like torture when I’m working on location and they are playing country music.

 So, to make a long story short, today’s result is … a whole bunch shamrocks for passers by and patrons to enjoy!