By: Samantha Nolan
Caricature is a word originating from two Italian words carico and caricare which mean “to load” or “to exaggerate.” Some people may wonder where caricatures came from and the answer would be from two Italian brothers in the 1590’s who were said to have applied these words to portrait sketches that they had made exaggerated to mock their normal artistic theories.
A caricature by definition is “a drawing of a real person which distorts or exaggerates certain features, but still retains a likeness.” It is basically an exaggerated drawing or piece of portrait art, and it has become one of the most populist forms of art for our generation.
A caricature just drawn by BeeJay Hawn showing student Samantha Nolan (Sophomore) Credit: Samantha Nolan
Caricatures are always very amusing to look at when they’re done, and also fun to make for the self-proclaimed professional pencil pusher, BeeJay Hawn, the sketch artist who drew caricatures for various Saint Leo students Thursday, January 24.
Hawn currently works for a company called “Speed Sketchers” which reportedly has some of the fastest caricature artists in the country; they perform live at any and all types of events and can draw up to 120 faces in three hours.
“I’ve been doing [caricatures]professionally since 1997,” Hawn explained, “I draw everybody in about a minute.”
Hawn emphasized that speed caricatures take a lot less time to draw compared to regular caricatures which she stated take about five to seven minutes to draw depending on how many accessories a person may have on. She also draws full body caricatures which take her anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes at a time.
Caricatures are not the only type of art that Hawn has participated in. She explained that she had participated in various comic conventions.
“[I’ve written] a couple of comic books and I like to do Ninja Turtle fan art,” Hawn stated. She goes on to explain that she is pretty well known for her fan art and loves making it in her free time.
Students were lined up behind Hawn during the event to get their caricature done, Maurqise McGill, a senior secondary education major, being one of them.
Maurqise McGill (Senior) poses with his caricature. Credit: Samantha Nolan
McGill explained that his favorite thing about caricatures is “how realistic they are but also cartoon-like. It’s always just so funny to look at yourself as a cartoon.”
After being asked what McGill was planning to do with his caricature afterward, he stated that it was going right in his room to be hung up so he could look at it every day.
Caricatures have been at several on-campus events here at Saint Leo prior to Thursday’s event outside the SCC Boardrooms. Many fun events like this take place on campus every week and leave students with smiles on their faces.
“[Students] need to get out of their rooms and come find these fun activities on campus,” stated Sydney Drummings, a junior lacrosse player for the Saint Leo Lions. “Most of it is free and a great way to meet new people.”
