I often tell myself that if I could draw or paint, I would throw my camera gear in the garbage can. I have absolutely no skill at putting a mental image on paper or any other media. I have never really practiced at it, but for some reason, I just don’t even feel comfortable trying. Watching other artists work fascinates me. I can do it for hours. This afternoon at Oktoberfest, I watch artist Bill Leaseburg for quite a while as he created caricatures for people. He’s been here every Oktoberfest for the last several years, and I have watched him at length in the past as well, with no less fascination.

While I was watching Mr. Leaseburg work, I made the comment about tossing out my camera gear if I could just draw, and he overheard me. He said that he had tried his hand at photography without much luck, so I guess it may go both ways. I have always wanted to have a caricature done, but never bothered to do it. Bill is so good at what he does, there is usually a pretty long wait to get one from him at Oktoberfest. He does black and white or color caricatures for $10 and $15 respectively, and I have never seen him idle. As I was standing around watching him work this afternoon, I noticed that the line wasn’t too long, so I decided to get in the queue and get my own caricature made.

This is a quick photograph I made of the drawing. It’s 11×14″ so I need to get a mat cut for it and put it in a frame soon. I’ll get a nice smile every time I look at it :)  I encourage all of you to get one of these at some point in your life!

1000 Faces, My Town