Daily Caricature Sketch - Kim Jong Il

After illustrating Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday, I thought it might make a nice series to illustrate various leaders around the globe. I like the look of the subject in front of their country's flag.

Today I chose to create a caricature of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's leader. Apparently, he suffered a stroke in August of 2008 and it is unclear as to his exact health as he hasn't made too many public appearances since then. When he is eventually succeeded could that mean an end to the Communist reign in North Korea? Doubt it, as it looks like his son Kim Jong Un will be the new leader. If that is the case, let's hope his son is a walking caricature like his father. It makes for easier work for someone like me.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Vladimir Putin

On Tuesday, President Obama met with the Russian Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin. It's nice to see our current President reaching out to countries whose relations have been hurt by our former President.

I thought Putin had a great face for a caricature study. This time I wanted to illustrate it in a similar way to my painting style. I use an expressionistic style to try and evoke a feeling rather than an exact photographic rendition of the subject. The feeling for me? As a former KGB officer, Putin is a guy that you really don't want to piss off.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Ray Romano

Looks like dinosaurs can hold their own against giant, alien robots. The newest Ice Age came in a very close 2nd at the box office just behind Transformers. I thought it would make a great opportunity to draw Ray Romano who voices the character of Manny in the Ice Age franchise.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Johnny Depp

Even though "Public Enemies", starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, was released on July 1, I'm seeing more buzz around recent photos of Depp as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's version of "Alice in Wonderland" set to hit the theaters in 2010. The images for the movie look amazing but, let's hope it's a better outcome than their collaboration on "Sleepy Hollow" or "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Michael Jackson

Well . . . you just knew I was going to have to draw this one eventually. Love him or hate him, there's no denying that he was an amazing performer.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Shia LaBeouf

Things have been a little busy around here for me so, I haven't been able to post a new sketch in awhile. But, never fear, I had the chance last night to work on a new caricature.

I decided, with an unknowing suggestion from my better half, to illustrate Shia LaBeouf. After all, he is in the lead role of the current number one movie, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" which has raked in over $200,000,000. I haven't contributed yet to those box office sales as I wasn't a huge fan of the first Transformers movie but, I am a big fan of Mr. LaBeouf's work. I don't know if it is lame but, I thought his Disney show "Even Stevens" was a riot (I do have kids). Also, Hollywood and fame doesn't seem to have made him too egotistic yet. Let's hope that can last.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - David Letterman

I guess David Letterman was in a little hot water this week with the Sarah Palin camp as he made a joke about one of Palin's daughters that Palin found to be offensive to young women everywhere. I am by no means a Palin supporter, far from it, however I do agree that comedians should leave the politicians kids alone and focus only on the politician. In Palin's case, there is plenty of material to work with.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Yesterday, news channels were constantly reporting on demonstrations worldwide against the elections in Iran. Many Iranian citizens felt their votes were not counted and that the outcome of the election was controlled by current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy has a new movie opening up today titled "Imagine That".

I first saw Eddie Murphy on "Saturday Night Live". He had so many great skits on that show. It's hard to choose a favorite but, I might have to go with "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood". You can see it on Hulu.com if you haven't seen that one.

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Donald Trump

Donald Trump is in the news again. He has agreed to the firing of Carrie Prejean from her title of Miss California. My question: What took so long?

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, has said that President Obama's plan to fix the economy has "already failed". Why is it that we can give George Bush 8 years to destroy the economy and President Obama only 100 days to fix it?

ALL ART WORK AND TEXT IS COPYRIGHTED BY ROBBIE MCCORD, UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED TO THE RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNER, IT IS ILLEGAL TO PUBLISH OR PRINT ANY SUCH ARTWORK OR TEXT WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY THE ARTIST OR COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

Daily Caricature Sketch - David Carradine

It's sad to lose this guy. Loved him in "Kung Fu" when I was a kid. Loved that he scared the crap out of me as Bill in "Kill Bill".

Daily Caricature Sketch - Dustin Hoffman

No real reason for drawing Dustin Hoffman today other than I love the guy as an actor.

Daily Caricature Sketch - Angelina Jolie

When I read today that Forbes Magazine has announced that Angelina Jolie has replaced Oprah Winfrey as the most powerful celebrity in the world, I instantly thought of the Godfather. Or, maybe it would be more like the Godfather 2 since the Godfather is now being replaced. Either way I wanted to do a sketch of Angelina in the style of the Godfather movie posters. I think I'll work this one further into a more finished illustration.

Daily Caricature - Jon & Kate Gosselin

My subjects today are Jon & Kate Gosselin of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight". My only comment about these two is . . . why? Why is it that two people with absolutely no creative talent or real contribution to entertainment can get a show and make oodles of money? Why is it that every time you turn around they are on the news or a magazine cover? Why do they have security? Are they really of star status that they need bodyguards?

I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on them though. It seems that anyone who puts out a litter of kids is in line for a reality show. And, truthfully they make great subjects for comedians and gave me something to draw today.

Daily Caricature - Conan O'Brien

I may have to rename this blog series as something other than Daily Caricature as I'm having trouble getting one drawn everyday.

Conan O'Brien premiered last night as the new Tonight Show host replacing Jay Leno. I thought he would make a good subject today.

Daily Caricature - Kevin Bacon

I read today, although I had heard this before, that Hollywood is re-making Footloose. This was the dance/musical movie of my generation and introduced me to Kevin Bacon. I've remained a big fan of his since then.

I had a little more time today to work on my caricature so, I decided to try a different style. Something more sketchy with more detail. I know this goes against my premise of trying to simplify my work but, I wanted to try something else.

Daily Caricature - Ben Stiller

Mr. Ben Stiller had a good holiday this past weekend as his movie, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", was number one at the box office bringing in $70.1 million.

Daily Caricature - Adam Lambert

American Idol Runner-Up Adam Lambert is my choice today. A lot of people are comparing him to the late, great Freddy Mercury of Queen. I, on the other hand, see a reincarnation of Ziggy Stardust.

Daily Caricature - Kris Allen - American Idol Winner

Since all the buzz is around American Idol Winner Kris Allen, it was an easy choice for today's Daily Caricature. Not an easy guy to caricature since he doesn't have any peculiar features that scream out at you. Things that I tried to focus on were his hair, square jaw line and crooked mouth when he sings. Drawing Kris gave me the opportunity to pay homage to one of my hero's, Charles Schulz. It was easy to see Kris sitting behind Schroder's piano and belting out a tune.

Caricature Series

Charlie Brown and Bugs Bunny are the reasons why I became an artist. This I know. I grew up in a small town in Illinois where art was not at the forefront of education. This was well before computers, internet and satellite T.V. We didn't have an art store in town. The closest we had to an art store was a stationary store.

I mention all this because the basis for my art education came not from grand Art Galleries or Artist seminars. It came from the Peanuts comic strip in the paper and numerous Saturday mornings watching Bugs Bunny cartoons and Schoolhouse Rock episodes. To me this was art that could tell a story or convey an emotion in a few, well thought out lines. The simple silhouette of Snoopy. The round head of Charlie Brown with black dots for eyes. The wonderful, oversized mustache and small frame of Yosemite Sam.

It was the masters of this medium who shaped the type of art that I would pursue in my career. Lately, I feel like I've been swaying from the basic premise that I grew up admiring. I need to keep things simple, both in my illustration work and my paintings.

With that thought in mind, I decided that I would like to do a daily (hopefully) series of quick 3 - 5 minute caricatures. Caricatures of people who might be relevant in the news that day or, maybe just random celebrities or politicians that strike a cord with me. Either way the point of this is to get me drawing something on a daily basis and to search for what made the 7 year old in me decide to become an artist in the first place.

For my first caricature I decided to draw Rainn Wilson, a.k.a. Dwight Schrute on "The Office". No real reason other than I enjoy him as an actor. His facial features are simple and lend easy to my style of caricature.

Illustration Friday - Parade

Toby sneered from underneath his towering hat. His ice cold eyes barely seen through the shadows created by the brim. "In every outstanding parade, he exclaimed, there is an exceptional marching band! In front of every exceptional marching band, there is a seasoned drum major. Symbolizing every seasoned drum major . . . is the hat. The hat that commands respect and order."

Bentley

It's probably no excuse but, I've been really busy working on Illustration and Design work as well as moving my office and studio around that I haven't had time to post anything new. (Bad Robbie) But, with that being said I finally have something new that I would like to post.

As I've mentioned in older posts, every year my wife and I donate design and illustration to a great organization called Support Dogs. They train and place highly skilled service dogs to individuals with disabilities. One of my donations is to paint a pet portrait for someone. This years winner was Marci Zimmerman who has a beautiful, black lab named Bentley.

Marci sent me photos of Bentley to paint from and immediately I could see that he was a dog with a very caring and calm soul. You could see it in his eyes. I really wanted to capture that spirit.

Illustration Friday - Fleeting

"A Fleeting Self-Control"

Original oil painting for sale on my newly established Etsy account. You can find it at:

mccordart.etsy.com

Talisman - Illustration Friday

The new theme for this weeks Illustration Friday is "Talisman". I wanted to look at the humor of believing in good luck charms. I also wanted to play with b/w lined art and type in the illustration.

Poise - Illustration Friday

Thought I would give Illustration Friday a try. http://www.illustrationfriday.com

Pics from Support Dogs' Tacky Ball

I thought I should post a couple of pictures from our night at Support Dogs' Tacky Ball. The theme was "Hooray for Doggiewood" and I decided that I was going to channel my inner Mickey Rourke. My date for the evening was Anna Nicole (aka. my beautiful wife Lynn).

It was great to see how everyone, despite the current economy, was opening up their hearts and their wallets to give to an amazing organization. To see how these dogs are trained to help the disabled and how much they love being able to do so is inspiring. We also get to hear a couple of stories from people who have received a service dog and how their lives have been helped in the process. It seems to me after hearing their stories that these amazing animals do more than what they are trained to do. They offer a friendship and companion that is often needed more than anything else.

For the past three years I've donated illustration for this event as well as a chance to win a commissioned pet portrait which is auctioned off in the silent auction. I'm very excited to paint pet of this year's winner because, he is a service dog named Bentley . . . a very cute black Lab. Once I finish the painting I will post it here on my blog. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Ruff Houzen Press Release on stltoday.com

Two days ago I took some time to send out a press release on the recent painting I did for Ashley Paige's Ruff Houzen Benefit. I sent it to various local papers, magazines as well as a couple of national sources. Today, I saw that it been posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch site stltoday.com.

http://www.stltoday.com/pr/arts-entertainment/PR03300911092443

Support Dogs Illustration

There is a wonderful, non-profit organization in St. Louis called "Support Dogs". They train and place service dogs to help those with disabilities and therapy dogs to help in the community.

Every year at this time they have a Tacky Ball Fund-Raiser to help offset the cost of running their company. For the past 3 years I've had the great honor of being asked to create an illustration to be used to help promote the event. Each year they have a different theme for the party and hold the event at a fun, unique place around St. Louis. This year is their 25th year doing what they do, a silver anniversary, so they decided that a Hollywood theme is in order. Or, as they put it, a Doggiewood theme complete with "Puparrazi" and a "Woofgang Pack" dinner.

Here is the illustration that I came up with.

Bradfield Organics Illustration

Here is a new illustration that I created for a Bradfield Organics Advertorial. The basic idea of the ad was who are the soil microbes that are fighting to help you have a healthy, organic lawn and garden.

Ruff Houzen Benefit

It is an extremely gratifying and euphoric feeling for an artist when the recipient of a piece of your artwork is so appreciative and elated with what you have created. I was fortunate enough to have that experience on March 6 when I attended the "Ruff Houzen" benefit in L.A. with my wife Lynn. As I mentioned in my previous post, I created a painting exclusively for this event of a rescued dog named "Petunia" who was given a second chance by Ashley Paige, celebrity swimsuit designer and founder of the animal rescue organization "Ruff Houzen". Along with Ashley Paige, we were also fortunate enough to meet Ashley's mom, Leah Johnson, American Idol celebrities Carly Smithson and Kimberly Caldwell as well as Dancing with the Stars' Lacie Schwimmer. I've attached a few pics from the event at Studio 944 in Los Angeles, CA.

Bailout

I read yesterday that the Government is going to give more taxpayer money to AIG for a bailout. It is pretty frustrating that they continue to pump our money into the same companies that turn around and buy corporate jets, remodel new offices and and give large bonuses. That was my thought behind this ad campaign I designed for "Recycling Rover", a local animal rescue organization.

Making of Petunia

Here's a time lapse video of me painting "Petunia".  I hope to be able to do more of these. Growing up in a small town where access to art education was almost non-exsistent, I had to find my own ways of honing my craft.  My way started with drawing the characters out of the comics section in the paper, watching cartoons on Saturday mornings (good excuse, huh) or, through books that I would find at the library. Now the internet has opened up a whole new way for kids to learn about and develop their love for art.  Although this video is not a how-to video (of which I can't stand anyway), it is a demonstration of painting.  It has always helped me just to watch an artist work and see how they create their art.  Not telling me "this is how it is supposed to be done" but, "this is how I like to work".  I discovered a great quote by Jackson Pollock one day when in an art store.  He said, "It doesn't matter how the paint is put on, as long as something is said".  Hopefully this video of me painting, or perhaps one in the future will inspire a kid to paint just like Bugs Bunny and Charlie Brown inspired me to become an artist.

"Petunia" - Oil Painting Demonstration from Robbie McCord on Vimeo.

Petunia

Well, this is my first post. Fortunately, it's a good one.

I was asked if I would donate a painting to a celebrity auction that will benefit "Ruff Houzen", an animal rescue organization started by celebrity fashion designer Ashley Paige.  Some of you may recognize her from her show on TLC titled "Bikini or Bust".  But, rather than just donate something I already had, I decided I wanted to create a new painting for the event.  I wanted a subject that was a good example of what "Ruff Houzen" is all about.  After contacting Ashley, she thought of her dog "Petunia".  This is the painting that I came up with.  For those who are interested you can check out more information on "Ruff Houzen" at www.ruffhouzen.org.