Bill Murray

Here's this week's entry in the Caricaturama Showdown 3000: my caricature of comic actor, Bill Murray. As comedians go, I admire Bill Murray for balancing out his slick commercial comedies with some very interesting arthouse films. Unfortunately, the only Bill Murray film I have in my DVD collection is the combination live action/animation feature, Osmosis Jones. While the bulk of the film is brilliantly animated and a clever satire on the way the human body functions (directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon), the live action sequences directed by the Farrelly Brothers are pretty godawful, with poor Bill Murray playing the part of a disgusting slob with a lot of gross-out humour. Not one of his better career moves, I'm afraid.

The Divine B.B.

Here is my new rendition of Brigitte Bardot as my entry for this week's Caricaturama Showdown. I'd caricatured her once before several years ago, but I think I like this new version better than the first one. I sketched this Brigitte while watching her in the 1962 French film, Love on a Pillow.

I like Bardot the film star, but I like her even better as one of the icons of early 1960's French pop music. I've got several of her CD song compilations from that era and there's such a fun, cute sound to her songs. Here's a performance of Invitango from a TV special she did in 1963:

Emily Blunt

This week's Caricaturama Showdown challenge was provided by last week's winner, Paul Moyse, who selected his fellow Brit, actress Emily Blunt. She's definitely a star on the rise, having played Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria, and costarring in such diverse fare as The Wolfman and Sunshine Cleaners. (I also recall she was singer, Michael Bublé's main squeeze for a while!) Alas, I have only seen her in one film, alongside Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, but it was a standout performance. Here then is my interpretation of her character, appropriately named Emily, the snarkily nasty assistant to Meryl Streep's dictatorial fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly.

Addendum: My entry actually won this week's round, so that gives me bragging rights and getting to choose the next subject for the Caricaturama Showdown challenge......Brigitte Bardot!

Tommy Lee Jones

Yep, ol' Tommy Lee Jones is the subject this week on Caricaturama Showdown 3000. I quite like this guy, despite the fact that he has a reputation for being a miserable bastard who makes life tough for anyone trying to interview him. He's got a face and persona just made for caricature, though. Oddly, both he and the last subject, James Cromwell, I mostly sketched from watching the same film, Space Cowboys. Although I found I needed to see more of him to get the likeness to my satisfaction, so here is the video clip that I found online that seemed to help me out.

James Cromwell

The subject of this week's challenge at Caricaturama Showdown 3000 is James Cromwell, the veteran character actor. Oddly enough, despite his extremely notable facial features, I had a tough time getting the likeness to my satisfaction. The caricature was primarily sketched while watching him in Space Cowboys, which starred Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and my favourite actor, James Garner. Cromwell plays an officious head at NASA who is none too happy about letting the quartet of past their prime, ex-fighter pilots/astronauts set out on a shuttle mission to fix a Soviet communications satellite, as there has long been bad blood between he and Eastwood's character.

On the subject of caricature, please take note all local caricaturists, that there will be a first time get together of the new Canadian Chapter of the ISCA this coming Wednesday, Feb. 2. It will be held at The Firehall Cool Bar Hot Grill, 2441 Lakeshore Rd. W. Oakville Ontario (near Bronte Rd.). If you're already a member of the ISCA or are interested in perhaps joining this organization, this would be an opportune time to meet fellow caricaturists in the Greater Toronto Area. I'm planning on going, so hopefully we will see you there!

The Look Of Quiet Desperation

This week's subject on Caricaturama Showdown is comic actor, Steve Carell. He's got such a great face for caricature and, after searching through many video clips on YouTube, I finally decided to draw him in his most familiar role as Michael Scott on The Office. Ironically, even though The Office is about five years into its run and Steve is about to leave the show, I am only just now starting to follow the series. I recently bought Season One to see what all the fuss was about, and I must say I can see why so many people like it. Steve Carell and all of the ensemble are just great.

Caricaturama Showdown 3000

After many months of looking at all the fun stuff being posted up on Caricaturama Showdown 3000, I finally got around to joining this Facebook group. It's really intriguing to see all the different variations on achieving a likeness of the same subject. In hindsight, I really wish I'd gotten in much earlier, so I could have drawn such subjects as John Cleese, Sophia Loren and Michael Caine.

Anyway, I have now thrown my hat in the ring and here are my first two entries, Amanda Seyfried of Mamma Mia and Chloe fame, and veteran rocker David Bowie: