Anyone may ask Steve Forrester to draw their portrait, but they should be prepared for the finished product. He finds his subjects’ most notable facial features and exaggerates them — all while capturing something of the sitter's personality.
“It’s like a cartoon portrait,” he said.
Forrester makes a living as a caricaturist. In a way, a caricature is like looking into a funhouse mirror. It distorts reality and exaggerates features that are already there.
A lifelong artist, the 59-year-old has some cartooning and a good deal of graphic art experience. Six years ago, he decided to revisit something he had tried years ago in high school. He began to study the craft of making caricatures.
For the rest of the summer, Forrester will be plying his craft at the Tucson Mall. He has a booth on the ground floor between Cinnabon and the Perfume Paradise. After the summer, it will be on to Old Tucson Studio for Night Fall.
Forrester is precise. A sitting takes about 20 minutes, so as an alternative, he will take a photo of his subject, draw it first with a light pencil and then go over it with a pen and black ink. This allows the subject to shop and then come back later for it. This way is especially important when the subjects are children. It also prolongs the anticipation.
“(People) will sit there and say, ‘Let me see, let me see,’” he said. “They get impatient… (Then) they see it and they’re happy.”
Forrester taught himself the craft, and explained that everything is based on shapes.
“Basically, I just got a drawing book from the school library,” he said. “It showed me that to draw a tree you draw a circle. Then the circles become the leaves. When you realize everything is a shape, that’s half the battle.”
Forrester began making the drawings as a lark. He said he would go to restaurants and draw the servers, who liked what he did. He began drawing more caricatures and people responded positively.
“I got confidence from the feedback,” he said.
The skill took Forrester around the country and internationally to the Philippines. When he moved to Tucson about four years ago, he made the decision to pursue it as a career.
Although it can be nerve wracking to work for yourself, Forrester likes it.
“It’s fun,” he said. “You’re your own boss.”
Cost for an adult to have a caricature done is $25 and for children 10 and younger it’s $10 per child. When customers sign up for Forrester’s mailing list, they get a coupon for 20% off.
Forrester is also available for hire at corporate events, parties, weddings or anywhere people gather. The going rate for that is $100 an hour or $25 a caricature.
In his other life, Forrester is in his last year at Pima Community College, where he is working on a degree in graphic design.
More than anything, he wants this to be an enjoyable experience.
“I have been doing this for such a long time and I really love people,” he said. “I try to make it fun for them. When I see their smiles, it makes me happy.”
A caricature also makes a great gift.
“If you don’t know what to give somebody for Christmas or their birthday or Valentine’s Day, think of a caricature,” Forrester said. “It’s cheap, quick. It doesn’t melt. It’s gluten free. If you’re allergic to paper, well, I can’t help you there.”
Steve Forrester Caricatures
Tucson Mall
4500 N. Oracle Road
571-486-0920
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
bit.ly/SteveForresterGraphic
