Caricature I did of local Athy actor Charlie Hughes, commissioned by Athy Sing and Sign. Presented after their performance at Ardscoil ns Trioniode in Athy.
(Third photo shows me smiling joyfully)
Live Wedding Caricature Entertainment
From a wedding reception in The Abbey, Athy. First drawing of the night
wedding caricature artist caricature brendan o’rourke
Live Wedding Reception Caricatures
At the drinks reception of Antoinette and Mark , at Marco Pierre White, Donnybrook.
Live Wedding Entertainment
At the drinks reception of Ger and Niall, in The Abbey Hotel, co Kildare. Live caricatures are a great way to keep the laughter flowing, and fill the time between the ceremony and the dinner. And everyone gets something to take home as a keepsake and reminder of the day
Wedding Entertainment
Beautiful sunny day at the Westgrove Hotel in Clane, for the wedding of Tracey & Paddy. I was there for the drinks reception. As the weather was so nice I set up outside on the terrace.
Unfortunately in a lot of the photos I took, the bright sun washed out the drawing. I hadn’t thought of that. Oh well, live and learn.
I still got a few nice photos. And everyone who wanted a caricature got one I think, which was the important thing.
I received an email enquiry the next week that started with “You were recommended to me by the Westgrove Hotel”, which was nice of them.
Interested in learning more or booking me for your event?
Link is [HERE]
Live Caricatures (Wedding)
At the Clanard Court in Athy, for the wedding of Grace and Paddy. I was there to entertain the guests for the drinks reception. Here are a few of the caricatures I did
If you are interested in learning more or booking me for your event
Link is [HERE]
And the mother of the bride was nice enough to leave a review …
Live Caricature Drawing (Corporate Entertainment)
I spent a day drawing the staff in DHL Swords, as part of their Staff Appreciation Week.
I realize now that I need a better camera, or maybe a lesson in how to take photos on my phone?
This trio were a good laugh
I think this was the big boss man?
When he saw it he said “My missus will love this”
Interested in learning more or booking me for your event?
Link is [HERE]
Live Caricature Drawing
I spent a day drawing caricatures in the offices of DHL in Swords, as part of their Staff Appreciation Week. Here are a few.
Interested in learning more or booking me for your event?
Link is [HERE]
Live Caricatures
I was drawing at the Picnic In The Park event in Maynooth Sunday 18th June. A queue formed pretty quickly and after that there was a steady stream of sitters, but I got a few photos
Interested in learning more or booking me for your event?
Link is [HERE]
Live Caricature Drawing (Corporate Event)
Caricatures I did at a Staff Awards Day for Thinkbait, in The Iveagh Gardens Hotel, Dublin.
How much does it cost to hire a caricature artist?
The cost of hiring a caricature artist for your wedding?
At the time of writing (2023) artists in Ireland are mostly charging between €100 and €300 per hour.
Why the variation?
- More experienced artists are more in demand.
- The time of the year can make a difference. Wedding season and Christmas party season are much busier for any entertainer.
- How late in the evening will you need them to stay?
- How far will they have to travel to your event?
When you ask for a quote, all of the above will be factored in.
Something to think about as well as price would be the style of drawing each artist does. Check on their website that the style is something you like.
Tip for hiring a caricature artist for your wedding
Some people ring about booking me to draw caricatures late in the evening after the meal. We can do that or course, BUT
I always suggest the drinks reception as the perfect time.
This is because that is when all the main guests will be there. The 'A-Listers' so to speak. Your family and best friends, and also anyone who might not be able to stay late. If you book caricatures for later in the evening, your artist might end up spending time doing drawings for people you don't really know well.
20 minutes cartooning a lady and her 2 small kids and making conversation I say “So how do you know the couple?”
“Oh I don’t know them at all. My husband works with the groom”
This is not ideal.
And it’s your money, so make sure to get the best value.
Hiring a Caricature Artist In Ireland. Frequently Asked Questions
Hiring A Live Caricature Artist: FAQ
A caricature artist is a great way to add fun to an event. And becoming more popular each year, especially for the drinks reception part of a wedding.
Here’s a few things you might find useful if you are thinking of getting live caricatures.
How much does it cost to hire a caricature artist? [CLICK]
How long does it take to draw a caricature?
Most live caricature artists take between 3 and 5 minutes to do each drawing.
At weddings nearly all of the drawings will be of couples, so each picture takes a bit longer.
At birthday parties people will want to be drawn in groups. The further into the night and the drunker the crew gets, the more friends they will want in each drawing. By 11pm they will try to get their whole extended family of 14 in.
(When I’m working at a late event I usually say 4 people max per pic)
After I book an artist, will I need to do anything else or provide anything?
Just let the venue know what’s happening. So they can be ready with a space where there’s enough light, and a few chairs. Hotels will often have had caricaturists in before, so they will be used to it. Pubs might not. Delays in getting set up could eat into your booked time, so it’s worth making a quick phone call to the venue beforehand.
Some artists bring their own lighting or ipads. In that case they might need to be beside a power outlet. Check with them.
Anything else to think about?
TIME
I would advise that earlier in the day is better for caricatures.
You will usually get nicer drawings from 3 to 5pm, than you will from 11pm to 1am.
Later in the night people will be drunker and they won’t sit still, and some start arguing, and they will want to include 17 people in each drawing. The lighting later at night will change to flashing disco lights, and the noise and distractions will be worse. Onlookers will stand beside the artist screaming into their ear ‘Draw the missus with bigger b**bs!’. People will grab at each others drawings and rip them.
All of this is fine by me of course - I don’t mind a bit of chaos!
But if you are hoping for carefully done drawings that your guests will take home and frame, then earlier = better
For a wedding, the ideal time for a caricaturist is at the drinks reception, to keep the entertainment and laughter going while the couple are off getting their photos done.
KIDS
Small kids don’t really understand caricatures or what they are about. And they won’t value them as much as adults.
My attitude is - if the kid is asking for one, then that’s great, they understand them. But if the parents are having to drag them over and make them sit still, it’s probably better off leaving it. It’s using up your time for something that won’t really be appreciated.
And be aware some parents at your event might try to leave their kids in a queue for a caricature as a way for them to escape to the bar. As in, make the artist a babysitter that you will be paying for.
WHO’S UP FIRST?
Sometimes it’s a struggle to get the first person to volunteer for a drawing. We could lose 1 5 minutes trying to coax someone. This is understandable as the guests don’t always know what to expect.
My solution to this is once I get set up I start by drawing 2 caricatures of nobody in particular, a man and a woman, and stick them up on the wall beside me. Just as a warm-up. This at least lets people see the style of the drawings.
Another way is to ask one of the staff to volunteer to start things off.
But if you could have someone from your party told in advance and ready to step up (your maddest friend!), that will get the ball rolling straight away.
And soon enough there will be a queue forming
How to find a caricature artist in Ireland?
With any entertainer, word of mouth recommendation is usually the best. Or if you saw someone you liked working at a wedding or party, you could look them up.
If you are finding an artist using the internet, just make sure to look at a few examples of the live drawings on their website. So that you can see if they draw in a style you like.
[LINK] You can see some of my work by clicking here
Pay attention to where each artist is based. Booking someone who lives nearer might mean a better price, rather than getting someone who will need to drive for hours.
Okay, good luck with your event! I hope some of this was useful :)
If I book a live caricature Artist, are the drawings going to be insulting?
No.
The caricatures you see in a newspaper, of politicians or famous people are often mocking. But the ones drawn live at a party or wedding are usually not. Most live caricature artists that I know of (in Ireland) try to do flattering pictures. We want people to enjoy the event, and we want to get recommended and booked again. So ideally I would try to give every guest a drawing they will like.
A good artist will develop an instinct for spotting the type of person who might be self-conscious. And in that case will just do them a fun cartoon. It may not even be the greatest likeness ever, but will please the sitter. This keeps things moving, and then it’s on to the next person who will more than likely be up for a laugh (most are).
The vast majority of guests love getting their drawing done. Plenty of people report back afterwards that they got their caricature framed.
At the very least it’s a novelty act they don’t see very often. Get pic - roar laughing - move on with their night.
And some people will be pleasantly surprised. They say “Oh thanks for not drawing my big nose!”. Fact is they probably didn’t even have a big nose. We are all very self-critical about our own faces.
A caricature drawn live is a unique item to take home and treasure
And the odd guest who says he didn’t like his drawing can usually be spotted taking it home at the end of the night. It grows on them.
Some artists are better than others of course, and they draw in different styles. You should look at samples before booking. Look around and there will certainly be someone to your taste.
(You can see examples of my work on this page and elsewhere on the site)
What is a Live Caricature Artist Exactly?
Someone who comes to your event and draws exaggerated light-hearted portraits of the guests, on the spot. Artist sets up like this, with two chairs and an easel
Guests sit for about 3 - 5 minutes each …
And they get a drawing like this to take home …
Hopefully there will be laughter all round!
There are exceptions, but usually …
The drawings are done with quick-drying markers, so no risk of smudges on hands or clothes. Some artists start each sketch in pencil first and then go over it with marker.
Paper will be either standard A4 size, or the larger A3 paper (A3 is double the size of A4)
Artist normally sits at the easel, but a few like to walk around among guests
Takes about 5 minutes for each drawing
Guest get either an elastic band to roll up their drawing to take home, or a clear plastic sleeve like this …
You can usually arrange with the caricaturist beforehand to have your logo or a message put on each sheet. Eg if you are having a live artist at your wedding you can get (“Wedding of Gary & Elaine”) printed on the bottom of each sheet.
Most caricature artists you can book by the hour.
Caricature artists are suited to work at parties or corporate events. Often a caricaturist is booked as the unexpected wedding entertainment, waiting for the guests at the hotel to entertain them while the wedding party are having the photographs taken
[CLICK to see examples of my live work on this page] and elsewhere on the site.
Live Caricature Art
Some drawings I did at 'The Happy Human Christmas Experience' in Wolfhill, Co Laois. Outdoors on December 09th 2022, maybe the coldest night of the year!
I was invited by Athy sing and Sign Club.
We didn’t get many photos, just a few before my hand froze.
A lot of the kids asked about my ‘artists table’ as they called it. On girl asked how long I had been drawing. I said twelve years, she said “WOW!”
Live Caricature Drawing
Some photos from a live caricature drawing gig I did in Clancy’s Bar Athy on Dec 03.
Commission of Paul Day for The Duke Pub, Athy
Brendan from The Duke commissioned this cartoon of Paul Day, who sadly passed away in December. It was an honour to be asked to help with this tribute. For the video I picked the heaviest sounding rock music youtube had available, since Paul was a lifelong heavy metal fan
Caricature of Dave Grohl
Quick caricature of Dave Grohl using markers and crayon
Caricature of Des Cahill
Continuing with the RTE Sport theme. Des Cahill, markers and pencils. This one took about 10 mins