A Hard Day at the Office

I have now been doing live caricaturing for a couple of months and most days are quite good although it would be nice to have a steady stream of clients rather than spells of inactivity and then mad rushes before its time to close, but the other day I had a "Bad Day at the Office". It all started early on with a lady saying she thought I was drawing her daughter to old? I had only drawn an eye and two eyebrows? I said why didn't she wait till I had finished and if she did not like it she did not have to pay for it, but she was still not happy. Luckily God intervened and opened the heavens on all of us including the drawing which was ruined. With this I suggested we part company as I do not think we were ever going to agree. I then went on to produce a couple of just OK caricatures of customers that I got that feeling they did not really like them but that is my fault and I probably should of taken a break to recharge but I soldiered on. Then a couple came who have been my worst customers so far. They wanted a double colour caricature which I was happy to do and the lady sat down and gave her list of demands that I had to make her look beautiful she wanted to be drawn with her hair down but was not prepared to put it down, don't do me with a big nose, chin, or forehead of which she had all 3. I started but within about 2 seconds she was moving all over talking to her boyfriend so I could only see the back of her head? I asked if she could just stay still for a minute so she tried but put her hands over her face, she then lent forward to look at what I had done and said i had given her a big nose and she didn't want it and wouldn't pay. We then chatted about if she really wanted this and agreed to not continue. Her boyfriend on the other hand really wanted one and I drew him and coloured him in with a constant barrage of abuse from his girl friend ending in him loving it but his girl friend saying it looked nothing like him and I had deliberately given him a big nose and pointy chin. With this I asked the crowd if anyone thought it looked like him and was it any good? they all told her it did and was very good! Thank you crowd. I know the professionals out there would say I have to man up and take it and I need to improve but it is very easy to fall into the trap of producing cute, nice drawings that will not offend and I hear the comment all the time, its a cartoon version of the person not a caricature? I do change my style depending on who sits down in front of me and how old they are and generally only do more extreme Caricatures on older men after asking them first if they want me to go mad.  Any way enough moaning from me its just good to get it off my chest as a way of therapy. Here are a few examples of what I have been up to with what can only be said are extremely nice people.

That's all for now folks keep stopping by and sorry for my moan.