History of Caricatures

Caricature! Even the name suggests an exaggerated portrait. Who would want a boring, strait-laced portrait when they could have a vibrant, jaunty, hilarious caricature? Cartoonists across the UK were rocked by waves of disappointment recently when the nation's best known artist and cartoonist, Rolf Harris was commissioned to paint The Queen. It was a good portrait, yes, but was it funny? No! He could have so easily produced a wild, wonderful and irreverent caricature.

A portrait is a work of art. And that's it. A caricature is a work of art, a hilarious joke and an entertaining conversation piece for years afterwards. A way of animating a person in an expressive way with an eye for the humorous potential.

And there's a reason why caricatures are so effective. It is all based on "recognisability", if you'll excuse that torturing of the English language.

In fact, it is because all human beings are caricaturists. Yes, even YOU! In your brain, at least. The very reason that we recognise different people is that we all, subconsciously, store away exaggerated memories of their faces. So, you will recognise Matt Lucas because he is bald with thick lips; Sarah Jessica Parker because of her curly blonde hair, long face and huge nose; Bob Geldof because of his shaggy hair, bulbous nose, baggy eyes and (again) thick lips. We all take a mental note of such features. So it's no wonder that those of us who can put such exaggerations down on paper are held in such reverence and awe!

It is no wonder that caricatures are such a hugely popular novelty gift, especially for that difficult-to-buy-for person.

From a photographic reference the studios of Creative Caricatures provide an A4 colour high quality print with a FREE digital image emailed to your computer that you could use as a desktop background and/or as a letter head. How cool is that!