Caricatures by Justin Galloway

Two More Corporate Commissions

2009-11-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here are two more commissioned pieces from companies who wanted to use them as gifts for colleagues who were either moving away or retiring. Both are done on 16X20 illustration board using ink. The top one was commssioned by the Coca-Cola Company, and the bottom one was commssioned by the Centers for Disease Control, both in Atlanta.

95.5 The Beat T-Shirt Design

2009-07-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Meet The Beat, (11X14, ink on paper). This is a T-Shirt design commissioned by Atlanta-area radio station, 95.5 The BEAT, "Atlanta's New #1 for Hip Hop". They wanted a line drawing image of all their DJ's grouped together as a sort of dysfunctional family. I received great photo reference, and the client was a pleasure to work with, but I was in Panama City Beach, FL. working at my retail location when the job came in, and not in the comfort of my studio. I did the entire drawing in the wee hours of the morning, while sitting on a bed in the condo I rented, using a basic drawing board, markers, and scratch paper. Sometimes you just have to make due with what you have and where you have it.

Classroom Illustration

2009-07-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

Class of 2006-2009, (16X20, ink on illustration board. This was commissioned by a company called Dynamex in Kennesaw, GA. It's a retirement gift, and they wanted the honoree to be portrayed as a teacher, and the colleagues as students. I came up with the idea of turning them into children, partially to help with the complicated composition of the drawing, but also because I think it makes it a funnier piece.

New Retirement Illustration

2009-07-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

Beach House, (16X20, ink on illustration board).
This is a retirement piece commissioned by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. It's a basic group shot with personal elements added. I wanted to show the retiree sort of surrounded by craziness and ready to retire, in a playful kind of way.

New Commission from the Coca-Cola Company

2009-05-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hockey Golfer, (16X20, ink and watercolor on illustration board). Here is another commission from the nice folks at the Coca-Cola Company to honor a retiree, or someone who is accepting a job elsewhere in the company. They wanted to show both of his interests in golf and hockey, as well as a reminder of Coca-Cola. I recently drew at an event at the Atlanta Athletic Club, where the legendary Bobby Jones used to play, and saw all of his trophies and awards and old photos and paintings. I wanted this piece to look a bit like the traditional paintings of Bobby Jones I saw there.

Wedding Illustration

2009-05-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bride and Groom with Dogs, (11X14, ink on illustration board). This couple wanted a very funny illustration done for their wedding to reflect their whimsical personalities. The girl is a cheerleading instructor with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the guy is apparently really into vampires. Any time I can draw dogs, I'm happy.

Beach Caricature

2009-05-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Beach Family, (16X20, ink, acrylic on Illustration Board). This piece was commissioned by a client as a gift for her mother on Mother's Day. These are all the grandkids playing on the beach, obviously. I do a lot of beach scenes so it's getting easier and easier to draw sand and water. I've always hated drawing feet, because I think they're really hard. So I really tried to focus on them with this piece in an effort to get better.

New Commission

2009-05-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Talladega Couple, (12X16, ink and wash on illustration board). This guy commissioned me to do this piece for his girlfriend's birthday. The setting is the Talladega Speedway in Alalbama, a popular diversion for folks here in Atlanta. Also, they are wearing hats from The Varsity Drive-In, a beloved and historic fast food joint in downtown Atlanta. Remarkably, this guy happened to live within five miles of my house, making him, I believe, my closest proximity client ever. I didn't know where he was from until we arranged the delivery. Weird.

Arlington, Texas Map

2009-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Arlington Map, (8X8, ink on Bristol). This was commissioned by the good folks at MapCo Marketing for a client who needed a map to his parking lot for clients attending events at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. The final was to be reduced to 4X4 and printed on the back of parking permits. I gave them a color and a b/w file in case their needs became different. This was a fun job because I used to live near Arlington and have driven every one of these roads personally. Plus I've witnessed the new stadium going up for the past few years when I've travelled back there for the Texas State Fair. I even got to draw Six Flags, where I first got my start in caricatures. Talk about deja vu.

New Retail Location!

2009-03-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my new retail location at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, FL. I just returned from working a few weeks of Spring Break there myself. It's a one to two artist sidewalk location on the boardwalk just across the street from Tootsies Orchid Lounge and a stone's throw from the beach. I drew Spring Breakers from as far away as Canada and as close as Alabama. Fellow artist Wade Collins will be finishing up the next two weeks and then we are under contract for the summer months when we will be utilizing other artists.

Another Holiday Commission

2009-02-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Golf Cart Kids, (11X17, ink and acrylic on illustration board). Here's another one from last Christmas that I forgot to post earlier. The client wanted to get a caricature of his kids to give to his wife for Christmas, and wanted a whimsical depiction of them riding in their golf cart. The little boy really did have an Alfalfa spike in his hair.

Line Drawings

2009-02-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

Here are two seperate line drawing pieces which show different uses for caricature illustration. The first is Great Food, Great Times, ( 8.5X11, ink on illustration board). These guys were opening an Italian restaurant and contacted me for a caricature they could use for promotions and menus. They let me decide on the theme and they were quite happy with the result. Just Married, (8X8, ink on illustration board), was commissioned for a wedding in Birmingham, AL. The client booked me to draw at their reception, but also wanted the bride and groom drawn ahead of time so that the image could be pre-printed on the paper that I would be using. That way, everyone who was drawn would always remember the happy couple.

Ink Wash Illustration

2009-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

Down on the Farm, (11X14, ink wash on illustration board). This was a commissioned piece by a lady in Alabama for her parents on their anniversary, and she was nice enough to send in this wonderful picture of them receiving it. The copy shown here isn't fully faithful to the original, which had lots of subtle tones in the wash. I get a lot of requests for tractors in my illustrations, and in fact they have even surpassed motorcycles in popularity.

Charter Business Caricatures

2009-02-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is a series of small 5X7 ink caricatures I did on Bristol Board for Charter Business which they used in some sort of presentation package. They wanted something in each drawing to convey the subject's interests or region in which they work. Some were easy and some where very difficult based on the sometimes limited information I was given. I'm usually not a big fan of putting names on caricatures, because I feel like the caricature ought to look enough like the subject to render the name moot, but this is what they wanted so I had a bit of fun making up different fonts for the names.

More Charter Business Caricatures

2009-02-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

Recent Commission

2009-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

PFE International Team, (24X36, ink on illustration board). This was a large piece commissioned by PFE International. They wanted an illustration showing all their employees standing around their envelope-stuffing machine. I went to their office and took pictures myself of all the employees. They wanted two people who no longer worked there to be included in some way, so I decided to make it look like somebody drew their pictures and taped them to the machine. The American flag was the client's idea, since PFE has operations in many countries, and I have to say that it really worked out well in tying all the figures together. Sometimes I have good ideas, and sometimes my clients have good ideas. In this case, we both did.

And Another Commission

2009-01-13T06:42:00.000-08:00

Putt-Putt Golfing, (11X14, ink and acrylic on illustration board). Here's another gift caricature commissioned by a lady for her father's birthday. I was given photos of the man and his wife and their dog and asked to create a funny golfing theme. I decided that miniature golf would be pretty comical, especially if the man of the hour was swinging and missing the ball while his wife is dutifully recording his score. I was really happy with the bodies and the color contrast I achieved in this one.

And Still ONE MORE Commission!

2009-01-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Family Caricature, (16X20, ink on illustrati0n board). This family has commissioned me several times for illustrations, but this is the first with their two kids. This one was commissioned by the wife for her husband for a Christmas gift. She delivered the baby literally a week before I delivered the project!

Holiday Piece

2009-01-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve at Rockefeller Center, (10X24, ink on illustration board). This client was wanting an illustration that could be separated for different members of his family, so they could each own a piece of the original. Apparently they were all going to meet in NYC at Rockefeller Center. This was a challenge because I needed to portray them all in this horizontal format, while still making it look like they were in Rockefeller Center amid the tall landmarks. I added the famous Christmas tree, the flags, and the sculptures of Prometheus and Atlas, and then tied each group together using the Christmas light string. I think it worked pretty well visually. Below are the three separate drawings. Above, they are all together.

More Maps!

2008-12-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Here are two more examples of caricatures of landscape. The first is a screen capture of work I did for a Georgia Department of Transportation project involving cartoon maps on interactive touch-screen kiosks that has since been tabled due to the massive state budget shortfall. The second is a map of East Haddam, CT. Both are hand-drawn, with digital embellishments.

Cartoon Maps

2008-12-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

Cartoon Maps, (27X35 original, 24X30 printed, ink on illustration board).
Here are a few close ups I took of some of the cartoon maps I've illustrated over the years. They are hand-drawn and colored, and the graphic work is done on the computer.

Two New Retirement Illustrations

2008-12-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

National Peanut Board Retirees, (16X20, ink, acrylic wash on illustration board). Here's two more commissioned by the National Peanut Board through the ad agency Lawler, Ballard, Van Duran, in Atlanta. The fellow on the top is a chef and world traveller, so I took the liberty of including a few well-known architectural icons in the background. I originally drew the Eiffel Tower, but they said he had never been to Paris, so I had to substitute the Statue of Liberty instead. As far as the second piece goes, I have no idea what anything means. I just drew what I was told to draw.

Carabiner Employees

2008-08-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

The next few posts contain caricatures of Carabiner Communications employees commissioned for use in a new section on their website. The following is an excerpt from their news release:

Carabiner Caricatures and Fun Bios Capture the Agency’s Lighter Side
Summer Heat Making Your Office Feel Stiff? Atlanta Caricaturist Justin Galloway Gives PR Pros a Chilled Essence
ATLANTA (August 4, 2008) – To celebrate summer and provide a fun way for clients and co-workers to get to know each other, Carabiner Communications, a public relations firm that serves start-up and fast-growth technology companies, launched a new “Fun Bios” interview series online. The new website section features employees’ caricatures by Atlanta artist Justin Galloway and discusses the “carabiners’” first careers, their first cars, favorite celebrities and which rock star they’d love to be for a day.
The Atlanta agency’s growth brings together account directors as far flung as California to resources in Florida, Tennessee and the Georgia coastal region. According to Peter Baron, principal, Carabiner Communications, the fun bios were the perfect way to connect carabiners across the distance. “Sharing the caricatures and fun bios help co-workers and clients get to know more about our talent beyond just our serious sides,” said Baron.

2008-08-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

2008-08-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

2008-08-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Two More Activity Book Covers

2008-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here are two more book covers for my eye care client. One is geared toward middle school students and the other toward elementary age kids. Again, I did everything but the title fonts. These are just small ink drawings on illustration board, maybe 6.5 X 10 inches. Again, the client let me create all the characters, and they basically went with my first ideas, so it was a fun job. I managed to sneak in a Celtics jersey in honor of their recent NBA Championship!

New Illustration!

2008-08-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Atlanta Tourist, (12X16, pencil on paper). This client was temporarily living in Atlanta and wanted a caricature to remember the city when she moved back to Brazil. She trusted me to include whatever I thought represented Atlanta in the background, so I included iconic landmarks such as the World of Coca-Cola, the Margaret Mitchell House, the Fox Theatre, etc. I also wanted to show a lamp pole with two Peachtree Streets since the city is known for having dozens of streets with that name. She was very pleased with the result and promised me it would hang in her living room in Brazil, so I've got that going for me...which is nice.

CDC Retiree

2008-07-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

I Have Just One Question... ( 16X20, ink and acrylic on illustration board). This fellow was retiring from an interesting career at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. They had a lot of elements to incorporate in the piece, but I'd rather have that than a lot of "filler space". I don't have space here to elaborate on the meaning of all the "in" jokes, and I was completely in the dark myself while creating the drawing. But when I delivered the final illustration I had to ask about "Nurse 14" and I wasn't disappointed with the answer. Suffice it to say I wouldn't want her taking care of me.

Porsche Cars President Illustration

2008-05-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Porsche President, (24X30, ink and acrylic on illustration board). This piece was commissioned by Porsche Cars North America as a gift for their retiring President and CEO, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who was named to the management board of Audi AG. The company wanted him driving a Porsche Spyder across the Atlantic to Germany where he would begin rebuilding struggling Audi. I can't say enough good things about this client. They were super professional, accomodating with their photo reference, and wrote me a sterling letter of recommendation. My check arrived in a box with a Porsche cap and a little die-cast model of a Porsche Spyder. So I can say they paid me with a car!
(Thanks to Mike Hasson at About Faces for the lead.)

Georgia Tech President Retirement Caricature

2008-05-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Buzz at the Smithsonian, (16X20, ink and acrylic on illustration board). Georgia Tech commissioned this piece as a gift for University President G. Wayne Clough who is moving on to become the new Chief Executive at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. As Dr. Clough looks on, the Georgia Tech mascot, Buzz, is climbing the main Smithsonian tower and placing the T from the Georgia Tech Tower on top. The school wanted to present Dr. Clough with a whimsical reminder of his days as Tech President. Hopefully he will hang it in his new office, so I can say my artwork is in the Smithsonian!

Illustration by Stephanie!

2008-04-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Life's a Beach..., (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). I've included this piece on the blog to show that I'm not the only person in my family who draws professionally. My wife, Stephanie, is an artist and art educator, and this piece shows she is a top-notch caricaturist as well. The subject is a retiring teacher who likes cats and the beach. I thought Steph did a great job on the cats, (especially the black one), and her color choices were perfect for this beach scene.

New Caricature Map

2008-04-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Black River Country, (ink on illustration board, 27X35). This is another one of my caricature maps. This one is for Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Whenever I receive the printed copies of the maps, the color never quite looks right, so I've started taking photos of the original artwork. I found out that when the printer receives the artwork, they cut it up into pieces and scan each one. So all of my original maps are destroyed in the process. I guess they just throw the pieces away. I always put my wife and dog and I in every map. In this one we're canoe-ing in the Black River

Two More Commissioned Illustrations

2008-04-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Dancing With Buzz, (ink on paper, 16X20). This piece was commissioned by Georgia Tech for a retiree gift. This fellow is an exceptional ballroom dancer, a chemist, loves to cook, and makes a mean puttanesca sauce. I think I got everything in there. Boating Couple, (ink on paper, 16X20) is another engagement/wedding illustration. The interesting thing about these two pieces is that I was working the Texas State Fair in Dallas when these jobs came in. I would work 10AM-10PM at the fair, drive back to where I was staying, work from 11PM-2AM on these projects, and then get up at 6AM and do the 10AM-10PM again at the Fair. So these were both "middle of the night" pieces.

Team Tatsumi Illustration

2008-04-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Team Tatsumi, (16X20, ink on illustration board). This piece was commissioned by Tatsumi Intermodal (USA), Inc. in Gainesville, GA. It's a retiree gift for the fellow in the middle. They checked out the blog and liked what I did with the Marriott project, so this one ended up fairly similar to that one. Once again, the client submitted awesome close up photo reference of everybody, so it made my job alot easier.

Event Photos!

2008-04-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

The photos from the following posts are all from an event I worked at Savannah State in March. It was great weather and I was outside. The students were awesome and many thanks is due to them for allowing me to snap their pictures and caricature their faces.

More Photos from Savannah State University

2008-04-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

Even More Photos from Savannah State University

2008-04-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

Justin Makes the East Providence Post!

2008-03-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

These are some East Providence, RI. Chamber of Commerce press releases that ended up in the Chamber's insert in the East Providence Post newspaper. The photos show the grand unveiling of the caricature map I did for them.

Justin makes the Savannah Morning News at Savannah State University!

2008-03-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

New season, new fling
Artist Justin Galloway of Atlanta has a litte fun caricaturing Ahmad Williams, a Savannah State University sophomore from Midway. (Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

New Quick Sketch Commission

2008-03-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

70th Birthday, (ink on paper, 12X16). This is a good example of my "Quick-Sketch Illustration" style. I worked from photographs and completed the drawing in about 20 minutes. This lady was turning 70 and her kids wanted to do this for her. She apparently grows yellow roses, so I added them in. For a Quick-Sketch I usually don't add in theming, backgrounds, or bodies, and the client does not receive a proof.

New Illustration

2008-02-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

Cyclist, (ink, acrylic on illustration board. 8 1/2 X 11). This piece was commissioned by the American Jewish Committee to be used as an invitation cover for an event honoring this gentleman. He actually worked with me to develop what was going to go in to the illustration, and he provided me with tons of useable photo reference.

Activity Book Covers

2008-02-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

These are a series of activity book covers for a vision company. They specialize in providing optometrists and eye care specialists with custom caricature activity books for kids. The doctors are able to upload a photo of themselves and they appear in the activity books so kids can see their doctor in the books. I did male and female cover templates, as well as loads of internal illustrations for the books. I didn't do the title fonts, however, and I feel they should have made them a little bigger, but that's just me.

More Covers

2008-02-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

Midwest MiniCon Caricatures!

2008-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

2008-02-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

2008-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

2008-02-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

This was some of the work I did back when I attended the 2007 Midwest MiniCon in Bowling Green, OH. It's only taken me a year to get these up here. Caricature conventions are a lot of fun, especially when they're held in interesting places around the world. Unfortunately, they make everything a competition and people end up trying to top each other by drawing cruder and more outrageous images so they can win. It's sort of like the NBA's slam dunk competition. Of course, if I ever win anything my perspective might change.

Another Recent Commission

2008-02-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

The First 50 Years, (ink on illustration board, 12X16). This illustration was commissioned to commemorate this guy on his 50th birthday. All the figures in the drawing are of him throughout his life. This was inspired by the famous painting of Sir Winston Churchill sitting in his chair being toasted by earlier versions of himself. In fact, I lifted the chair, lamp and table straight out of the original.

More Event Photos!

2008-02-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some more happy people with their caricatures from a recent event I worked in Atlanta. They were one of the nicest groups I've ever worked for, and it looks like they all liked their drawings.

Caricature T-Shirt Design

2008-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

This bizarre illustration was commissioned by the Allison Smith Co. for use as a T-Shirt design at their annual company party. I've been drawing caricatures at their event for years, so I was glad to help them out on this-though I have absolutely NO IDEA what the hell is going on in it. I chose not to ask too many questions...sometimes it's better that way.

Promotional Card Caricature

2008-02-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is a promotional card I did for my wife. (Yes, occasionally I do find the time to do projects for loved ones). She teaches art and wanted a promo postcard image that was fun and artistic. The piece is approximately 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 (you learn to draw small when you're not getting paid) and I used the computer for the text boxes. (ink on illustration board).

Retirement Caricature

2008-02-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

We'll Miss You, (ink on illustration board, 11X14) was commissioned by OEMCtrl as a going away present for this guy. They gave me lots to work with, so it was an easy project. Incidentally, the stain on his shirt is meant to be there. Apparently he always has a little trouble with salsa.

Ratz In The Attic

2008-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

These guys are a local band around Atlanta who have hit it big on some kind of American Idol type show sponsored by Simon Cowell. I worked a gig where they were performing and during their break they came over and I drew them. They loved it and decided to use it on their website. They're a great band and nice guys, too.

Event Caricatures

2008-02-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

These are some quick "on the spot" caricatures I did at a corporate party. They were all done in graphite on 11X17 paper.

Event Sketches Part Two

2008-02-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

More 5 minute caricatures from the event.

Crapitol Hill Caricatures

2008-02-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

These political caricatures were commissioned by a right-wing website called Crapitolhill.com. They assured me they would be wanting unflattering caricatures of Republicans, as well, in the interest of being fair and balanced, but so far my phone hasn't rung.
They had me design the logo for the site, but I can't really take credit for it. They knew EXACTLY what they wanted, which is always good for me. When clients don't know what they want, you waste a lot of time.

This was actually a dream job because the client kept wanting me to make the subjects more and more unflattering, and I am used to having to be reigned in by most clients.
The subjects here are probably pretty obvious. President Bill Clinton is shown with "The Dress" (although I distinctly remember it being a DARK BLUE dress, the client insisted on the light blue). I wasn't sure how I was going to render the white "stains" until my wife suggested White Out. Sen. Hillary Clinton is portrayed as shrill and maniacal (and rather Simpson-esque). Sen. Ted Kennedy is equipped with his Bourbon and steering wheel straight from Chappaquidick. And Rep. Cynthia McKinney, known for her bizarre behavior such as hitting a Capitol Hill police officer with a cel phone, and introducing legislation concerning investigating the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, is shown ready for battle.

(Not shown are John Kerry windsurfing and Robert Byrd in his KKK outfit)

Driving Music City Book Cover

2008-01-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

This illustration was commissioned by singer/songwriter Diane Durrett for the cover of her book Driving Music City. The book chronicles her early experiences in Nashville as a limo driver to the stars. She knew exactly what she wanted, and that made my job very easy. I was given a list of the celebrities and did rough pencil mock-ups, and she chose the ones she wanted for the cover. The rest ended up peppered throughout the book. From the top: Elton John, Faith Hill, Greg Allman, Sting, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Steven Tyler, Jimmy Buffett, Mick Jagger, and Diane Durrett. (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 2007)

Caricature Maps

2008-01-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

Caricature Maps (ink on Illustration board, 28X35). These are caricature maps of cities I've done for a local graphics company. They are a major client of mine and I do several each month for them. I've drawn cities and communities in California, Texas, Georgia, Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, and Rhode Island...all from the comfort of my studio. These two are East Haddam, CT., and Goshen County, WY.

Four Different Types of Illustration

2008-01-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Snowpeople (ink on illustration board, 11X17) was commissioned by Henderson-Shapiro, an ad agency for their client, a major pharmaceutical company, to be used as a holiday card. I did seven or eight different concept sketches and the company settled on the most boring one. It happens.
The Groomsmen (11X17, ink, acrylic on illustration board) was commissioned by an individual as a gift for his groomsmen. I was given loads of information about these guys so I could develop a funny drawing full of "in" jokes.
Lady on Horse, (12X16, graphite, airbrush, on paper) was commissioned as a Christmas present. Apparently the saddle was VERY important to the subject, so I had to make sure I got all the details.
Prom Couple (8.5X11, ink on paper). This guy commissioned me to draw him and his girlfriend as a present for her on her graduation. I used a specific type of marker on a specific type of slick paper to get the smooth effect. Sadly, I believe this type of paper is no longer made and all other types I've tried allow the marker to bleed. It's a great look and can be done quickly and "on the spot".

2008-01-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Waving Man (ink on illustration board, 4X4) is a caricature that was used on a business card. Everyone in his office loved it except him.
Pablo Turns 50, (ink, acrylic on paper, 24X36). This was a commission for a man turning, well, 50. The client provided me with a large roll of paper and instructed me to draw the image at the top. At the party, everyone would be drawing their own caricatures of Pablo beneath it. Apparently this is some kind of Italian tradition. The main problem I ran into was that I couldn't cut the paper down to a managable size, so it had to roll off the bottom of the table in front of me, and I had to make sure I didn't crease or mar the paper while doing the drawing. Also, I only had one night to do the project.
Girl with Bassoon (12X16, graphite, airbrush on paper). Cute little girl, fun drawing, AND I got to draw a bassoon.
Marriott Group, (ink on illustration board, 16X20). This was a retirement or appreciation gift for the man in the center. They provided great photos, and I think I really got good likenesses on all the people. My favorite was the African-American man in the plaid shirt. Normally I do seperate sketches of each person for group shots, but I remember on this one I just dove right in and started right on the board.

Holiday Card Illustration

2008-01-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

I drew this couple at the State Fair of Texas in 2007 and they were so happy they wanted me to do an illustration of them with their pets for their Christmas card. I really don't like cats, but I do like the way the cat turned out. I think he's the best one in the drawing, (graphite, airbrush, 12X16).

2007-08-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

2007-08-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Diner, (11X14, ink, acrylic on illustration board). This is a promo piece I created to show composition, character development, mood and humor. It was also my first attempt at the acrylic wash technique I use all the time now.

Ink Illustration and a Few Event Pictures

2007-08-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Zonk Group Christamas Card, (24X36, ink on paper). This is one of a series of Christmas cards I did for an electronics packaging company in Dallas, TX. The employees are hijacking Santa's sled and each one has either a personal item or some "in" joke associated with them. These pieces were huge and I did them all with pen and ink, so they took forever.
Event Photos (graphite on paper, 12X16). Obviously these were done "on the spot" at an event. It usually takes me 5 minutes per face when I'm at an event. Unlike the studio work that I do, these are one shot drawings and you have to get it right the first time (no sketching). Plus there's usually a crowd gathered watching your every move. I cut my teeth on this type of caricature working in theme parks for 13 years.

I've also done events where I'm drawing animals, or animals with people. This was the Second Annual Doggie Dash in Powder Springs, GA. I was slammed the whole time, even though the weather was bad. I really like drawing dogs because I have a soft spot for them. They are usually more still and attentive than your average person, and they'll usually let you pet them when you're finished.

Color and B/W Commissions

2007-08-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sweet Sixteen, (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 12X16). I'll always remember this caricature because I drew her with red hair and when I got to the event I found she had brown hair. Good photo reference is SO important.

Bike Riders, (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This guy commissioned this piece for his girlfriend to commemorate their bike rides through Taroko National Park in Japan. I think this caricature was a small piece of the total "Will you marry me?" puzzle, and I only hope, for his sake, that I didn't screw it up for him.

Thomason 50th Anniversary, (ink on illustration board, 18X24). Since this couple grew up in the Dust Bowl era in West Texas, I decided to go with the Grant Wood American Gothic theme on the basis that they might be familiar with it. The family wanted to include all 49 kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in the picture. I solved that compositional nightmare by putting their heads in the big 50.

Ashley and Blake..., (ink and acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). These two were apparently huge University of Georgia fans and probably alums, and they wanted to show that in their wedding caricature. The bulldog is the school mascot, and the arch is a popular landmark on campus.

Yearbook Staff, (ink on paper, 11X17). This was a high school yearbook staff who wanted to have a group caricature drawn to put in their yearbook instead of a photo. From left are: The Artist, The Navy Recruit, Wonder Woman, The Cheerleader, The Ringleader, Romeo and Juliet, The World Traveller, and The Opera Diva.

2007-08-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Rapper with Pole, (ink, acrylic, colored pencil,on illustration board, 6X6). This illustration was commissioned as a CD cover for this guy, who raps in Atlanta. The space in the upper right was left so he could drop in his title. I asked him to send me a CD when it came out, but I guess he forgot.
Re/Max Retiree, (graphite on paper, 11X17). I did this retiree caricature while sitting at my kiosk in an area mall during the Christmas season one year. I had to squeeze it in between walk-up customers, so the whole thing took me all day. Sometimes you don't get to pick the optimum setting or time to do projects. You just do them when you can, under the circumstances given, and hope everything comes out right in the end.
Sapelo Station, (ink on illustration board, 11X17). This was my first serious experimentation with using markers for an illustration. Some things worked, and some things didn't. I firmly believe you have to keep experimenting and bumping yourself out of your comfort zone if you want to stay relevant. Otherwise, no matter how much money you make you're just wasting your time. I like this drawing because I can see where it led me later.
SAT 1, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was commissioned by Southern Accessories Today, a high end furnishing company located high above downtown Atlanta. They were giving this as a gift to their boss on the night of their open house. They also had me draw at the event, which was a blast because they had an eclectic blend of entertainment including female impersonators. I even got to meet the Dolly Lama.
Six Sisters, (ink on illustration board, 11X14). These really are six sisters. The one in the bonnet commissioned the work as a gift to her siblings. Her only stipulation was that she wanted them all to be dressed in some type of period-garb. I remembered all the reference I had compiled for my previous Charles Dickens project, so I recycled the dresses. I figured these ladies didn't need to know that there were other women out there in illustration land wearing the same dresses.

2007-08-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Wedding Couple on Beach, (ink,acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). These two were awesome clients and I think this might be the most beautiful illustration I've done. They wanted to look like super heroes so I had to change the way I normally approach the drawing and make it less cartoony and more comic bookish. I was really happy with the poses and the landscape. The sunset is airbrushed, of course, but the water is done completely with Prismacolor markers. I even got his Florida Gators Championship ring.
Sad Dog, (ink on illustration board, 6X6). This is just a quick little b/w drawing that was used by the client as an invitation to a holiday party. They wanted their dog on it, so I obliged. When I actually showed up to draw at the party, I was most interested in meeting the dog, who curled up under my table and stayed there the whole time. I guess he liked the drawing.
Handyman, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). This was another gift commission. What do you get the man who has it all? A caricature, of course.
Fearless Leader, ( ink on illustration board, 16X20). This was commissioned by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for a retiree gift. They suggested the theme and I ran with it. I used a combination of warm greys and french greys, and was quite happy with the way the sky turned out. I knew that if he was going to be in The Collosseum I had to include a lion or tiger, and I figured that Hobbes fit the bill. Apologies to Bill Watterson.
Four Shrinks, (ink on paper, 11X14). Sometimes there are projects that never happen. And this is one of them. This idea was commissioned by a local TV station ad department for their clients, a group of California-based radio call-in psychologists a la Frazier who wanted a humorous image for billboards, T-shirts, etc.. This was the concept sketch I submitted. Each psychologist liked how the other three were drawn, but none of them liked themselves. I wonder what Jung would have said about that! Anyway, the project was tabled and ultimately scrapped. One of their comments I found amusing was that the big guy didn't want to be seen as being overweight, as his area of expertise was helping people with eating disorders.

More Freelance Work...

2007-08-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Couple on a Bridge, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). Again, the client came up with the gag...I'm not responsible. Apparently this was well received by the couple, especially the female who loved the ample cleavage. I'm sure the guy did, too.
NCC Coffee, (ink on illustration board, 8X10). This was done for a church as a promo for one of their outreach programs. They were having a coffee-house get-together and this image was used in promotional literature as well as on styrofoam coffee cups. This is a straight cartoon illustration with no caricatures of actual people. I had fun with the band.
Hercules, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). This is one of a series of gift caricatures commissioned by The National Peanut Board through the ad agency, Lawler, Ballard Van Durand. This guy apparently is super human when it comes to marketing and promotions. So why is he destroying them?
Peanut Butter & Co., (ink, acrylic on illustration board). Another National Peanut Board honoree, this guy owns Peanut Butter & Co., which seems like a weird name. Peanut butter AND company?! The field behind him is supposed to be a peanut farm. If you look closely, the guy on the tractor is from one of my earlier Georgia Tech Foundation pieces. (I just like doing that sometimes.)
The Osbourne Family, (graphite, airbrush,ink and colored pencil, 8X10). This was my very first freelance caricature illustration from way back in 1995. It was for a family Christmas card. Apparently they sold albums and frames. A sad note: Between the time I started the drawing and the time I delivered it (a week or so), ...the dog died.

2007-08-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Woman and Two Cats, (ink on illustration board, 8X10). Sometimes I get commissions for pets, or people with pets. This is an example of a quick pet caricature illustration. It's all done with markers, and probably took about an hour.
Man with Dante and Milton, (ink on illustration board, 12X16). This fellow knew exactly what he wanted in the drawing, down to the last detail, even the names on the books. I love it when clients are that specific, because it makes my job so much easier. The client runs a Mormon-based website and told me that he would pass around my name to a lot of really big families of the faith. He assured me, tongue-in-cheek, that each big family had only one wife. See, Mormons can be funny!
McDonald's Engagement, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). I've done a lot of engagement and bride/groom caricatures and they're always fun. These two got engaged at McDonald's and wanted me to show that she's going to be a teacher and that he played basketball for Cincinnatti. I thought it would be fun to have him holding the fries too high for her to reach, and her keeping the basketball away from him. They wanted their dog in the picture, too. The Hamburgler was my idea.
The A Team, (graphite, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This was another one of those projects where I only had a few hours to finish it. Sometimes clients call and want you to give them the moon...oh, and we need it tomorrow. They usually don't think about what the artists work load might be, or how long something like 18 people in color might take. I stayed up all night and even hand delivered the project to the client. It took them over a month to pay.
It's No Big Whoop!, ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This is one of my favorite illustrations. The guy was retiring from the Physiology Dept. at the Moorehouse School of Medicine and his team wanted to send him off with a group caricature of the department. The guy had a great face, and it went perfectly with the theme. I was really happy with the composition of the piece and only wish I could plan out every piece as well as this. I have a couple of Jack Davis inspired feet in there as a tribute to one of my favorite artists.

2007-08-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

The Houks, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). These are friends of mine and I drew this for them for their anniversary. They are the sweetest and most fun-loving people I know, and I wanted to convey that in the drawing. They own a chocolate store called Chocolate Mountain Images in Kennesaw, GA. and this caricature is proudly displayed there. The chocolate is fabulous, by the way.
You Need an Inspection Sticker, (graphite, airbrush on paper, 12X16). I did this early in my career. It's one of a series of four I did for a client and I have no idea what the gag means here. This graphite/airbrush style is typical of the way we produced caricatures in the theme parks I worked in. The guy probably took ten minutes to do, but I spent a little more time on the truck.
This was a commission from an event planning company that regularly books me for events. Its a promotional illustration showing some of the inflatables, games and services they offer for company picnics. If you look closely you'll see me drawing caricatures at the picnic. (I couldn't resist).
Irish Wedding Party, (ink, acrylic, colored pencil on illustration board). The bride and groom commissioned this work and they also had me draw at the reception. I was really pleased with this drawing. My favorite caricature is the bridesmaid second from the left. They wanted me to make sure the redhead had big boobs, and they loved what I did with her. It was great to work the event because I got to meet the whole wedding party and see how well I got their likenesses. I was disappointed because the redhead had become a blonde and I didn't think it looked like her anymore. She really liked it, though, (especially the boobs) and I got to draw her during the evening. Incidentally, she's a "duelling pianist" in Vegas. Weird.
Johnson Wedding Party, (graphite, ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X17). One of the dangers of working from photos is you never really know if the people still look like they did when the photo was taken. The guy on the far right ended up being WAY fatter in real life than he was in his picture so my drawing didn't really look like him. Also, since the wedding was being held in a strictly fundamentalist church and the drawing was to be displayed, the church elders actually had to convene a meeting to decide if the drawing was appropriate or not before it could be displayed. They apparently had a problem with the wine bottle. I told them I was an artist, not a miracle worker. Otherwise I would have turned the wine into water. They ultimately compromised by agreeing to display it in the hallway, but not in the reception area.

2007-08-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

Gone Huntin', (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 12X16). Obviously another Georgia Tech Foundation job for a retiree, this project almost didn't happen. Due to miscommunication, the due date got messed up on this. I thought I was waiting on a final confirmation of the sketch from the client, and they thought I was finishing the final coloring. I got a call one morning and the client said they needed the final THAT DAY. I rushed to get it finished and delivered by that afternoon. It's the fastest turnaround I've ever had, but these things happen in the illustration world.
Chips off of the Ole Block, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 11X14). This guy repaired lawnmowers and I took mine in to be fixed. When he found out I was a caricature artist, he showed me an old caricature he had gotten done of himself with the go-cart background and wondered if I could add his son in. I told him it would be easier to just redraw the whole thing (especially since the original caricature didn't look a thing like him). So I took a few photos of both of them and did the illustration. We ended up trading a caricature for a lawnmower repair.
Golf Wedding Party, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was an older couple who were getting married and the son (pictured) and his wife wanted to give them something fun and whimsical.
Yankees vs. Red Sox, (ink on illustration board, 16X20). All these guys apparently went to Georgia Tech but the guy in the middle is a Yankees fan, while his buddies are Red Sox fans. The Yankees guy's wife commissioned the illustration. I was really happy with the backgound gradation, which I did entirely with Prismacolor markers.

Galloway Holiday Card 2006, (ink on illustration board, 8X8). We always try to do a caricature holiday card but sometimes I get overloaded with client work and it doesn't happen. This one is my favorite from the past 12 years.

Five Seperate Commissions

2007-08-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Family With Dogs, (ink on illustration board, 11X17). This was the second illustration I did for this family. The first was a large wedding scene with the church in the background. Just for fun, I included the wedding picture in the background.
Fuller Wedding Party, (ink on illustration board, 11X14). This family commissioned the illustration and then had it framed and displayed at the wedding. They also booked two caricature artists through me to draw at the event. I think my wife and I were in Italy at the time, so I couldn't work the event myself.
Home of a Yellow Jacket, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 16X20). This was the first of a long line of commissions I've received from the Georgia Tech Foundation. This one is a typical retirement caricature. I bought a book on John Deere tractors and I'm glad I did. Next to motorcycles, it's the most popular vehicle I draw.
Georgia Tech Holiday Card, (ink, acrylic on illustration board, 8 1/2 X 11). Another Georgia Tech Foundation commission. This one includes their beloved mascot, Buzz and the Ramblin' Wreck car. Georgia Tech always specifies that there is to be NO RED color in the illustrations, a partisan nod to their long rivalry with the University of Georgia.
Gardening Lady, (ink, acrylic, 8 1/2 X 11). This lady was retiring from the public school system in Arlington, TX. and the staff wanted to give her a present showing what she would be doing in retirement. I recycled the pose from an earlier project because I thought it was funny. Apparently she did too.

Various Commissions

2007-08-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

Charity and Michael... (ink, acrylic wash on illustration board, 16X20). This is a typical Engagement/Wedding illustration. These two were going to have a laid-back wedding and reception in their backyard, and I think he was actually going to be wearing that shirt. The Bride was really cute...she didn't want him to see the pictures of the wedding dress, so she sealed them in an envelope when they gave me the reference material.
Charles Dickens Christmas (ink on paper, 24X36). One in a series of Christmas Cards for a company. They wanted a Charles Dickens theme. I did a lot of research for this one. The dresses are all taken from old period drawings from the 1880's and I tried to give it the feel of those French Daumier lithos while making it look like a wood-cut. I love working with ink, but after this I was ready to put it away for a while.
Eddie Jones, (ink, acrylic wash on illustration board). This caricature of the NBA star was commissioned by a member of his family. I LOVE basketball so it was a dream job, but I could only do so much because I only had a few hours to complete it. The family member said Eddie loved it and he would try to get the Miami Heat star to call me and tell me himself, but it never happened. Still, they say Eddie has it hanging in his game room in one of his houses, so that counts for something.

Two Birthday Gift Illustrations

2007-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

The 100 Year Old Man, (ink, acrylic wash on illustration board, 11X17). This was a great project. The client wanted to give it to the subject on his 100th birthday. The images are of the subject at various times in his life. Apparently, he was still going strong at 100, and went out to dinner every night with his 80 year old son.
50th Birthday, (ink on illustration board, 16X20). This is fairly typical of the type of gift illustration I get commissions for. There are lots of personal items in the picture and even the house he grew up in. For some reason he liked both the Packers AND the Bears. The film spool coming off of the antennae is a reference to a movie the guy was in called "Threshold".

About the Artist

2007-08-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Justin Galloway is one of the most creative, original, and talented professional caricaturists in the United States. He has developed his distinctive and unique style of caricature by drawing more than twenty thousand delighted and diverse customers and guests at parties, theme parks, malls, festivals, trade shows, conventions, and universities across the country. His friendly and outgoing demeanor, as well as a wry sense of humor, puts his subjects at ease and provides light-hearted entertainment for the crowd of onlookers which invariably assembles to watch him work his magic. Since 1994, Mr. Galloway has been professionally working full-time making people smile through his incredible “on the spot” caricatures and expertly-crafted freelance Specialty Caricature Illustrations. His corporate client list includes IBM, AT&T, General Electric Lighting, Delta Airlines, The Georgia Tech Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, and the NFL. He regularly conducts college-level workshops, is a recurring lecturer on caricature at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and managed the caricature operation at Six Flags over Georgia from 1999 through 2006. Mr. Galloway currently manages the caricature operation at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park. He resides in the greater Atlanta area where his caricature services are constantly in high demand.

2006-08-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

2006-08-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

About Me:

2006-08-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I am a freelance caricature illustrator in the Atlanta area. I am using this blog as a portfolio gallery. I hope you enjoy it!