Keelan's Blog

Interview with a Cartoonist...

2010-01-04T09:18:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I got an email request for an interview from David over at "David-Wasting-Paper" blog. David ( he of no last name), runs a really cool blog where he interviews well known cartoonists. I was very honored to be asked. I love the site, and have made it a regular read now.

Here's a snippet of my interview to tease you with:

Cartoonist Survey #33

Keelan Parham is a cartoonist from Florida who specializes in caricatures and comic book illustration. His work has appeared in many forms of media including children’s books, magazines and comic books. A member of the National Cartoonists’ Society, he is the author of “Let’s Toon Caricatures.” Keelan owns his own company, Caricature Connection which provides caricaturing for special events, corporate functions and individuals. Don’t live in the Florida area? Don’t worry, you can fill out the online order form and receive your caricature digitally or in the mail. If you are ever at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom you can stop into one of the Caricature Connections retail locations. Stop by Keelan’s website, his blog and also Caricature Connection.

You'll have to visit David's blog to read the entire interview:
http://david-wasting-paper.blogspot.com/2009/12/cartoonist-survey-33.html

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-02T09:15:00.001-05:00

Have a great, blessed, busy 2010. May God bless you and yours!

Ho Ho Ho!

2009-12-24T12:35:00.002-05:00

From the entire Parham family, here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

iPhone Drawing, pt 2

2009-12-18T11:08:00.001-05:00

Still working on it. I find the hardest thing to do with the Pogo Sketch pen I'm using is to get a smooth line. But I feel I'm making enough progress with drawing on the iPhone in a short time that I can consider it a viable "digital sketchbook".

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone sketching....

2009-12-14T16:07:00.002-05:00

Been trying to figure out how to sketch on the iPhone. It's a continuing experiment. Still haven't found what I'm looking for ( U2 reference). Best I've done so far is a couple of sketches like this one, with the iPhone called "Layers". I tried Sketchbook Pro on the iPhone too,, a fave program I use on my cintiq. But I didnt' care for anything I drew on it very much. Yes, they were all even worse than THIS one! LOL

BTW, I hate drawing with my finger, so I ordered a Pogo Sketch stylus. Kinda weird to use, but still better than my finger! I'll keep trying...

Dr. Sivana...

2009-12-13T15:49:00.004-05:00

Hey, look! It's a Shazam! series! Just doodlin' around with Dr.Sivana today. Ya know... DC Comics... if you want me to draw a Shazam book for you...

The Evil Mr. Mind!!!!

2009-12-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

Yep, one of Shazam's arch enemies was an evil genius WORM named Mr. Mind. LOL
Ya gotta love that. This was a quick warm up sketch that I threw some color on, Just playin around...

SHAZAM!!!!!!!

2009-11-24T10:42:00.002-05:00

With one mighty word.... SHAZAM!!!!!

I loved the live action version of Captain Marvel as a kid in the early 70s, as goofy as it was. Here's a sketch night tribute to the Big Red Cheese.

Take that, Evil Banks!

2009-11-23T08:52:00.002-05:00

Here's a recent job I thought I'd share. Hope ya like!

Getting Sketchy....

2009-11-19T21:05:00.003-05:00

Last night, best bud Ted Tucker and I ( http://tuckerarts.blogspot.com/ ) finally got together for a bit of "guy time". We sat around talking, eating, and sketching. Just quick stuff, nothing involved. Brainstorming with a pencil, really. This is one of mine from the night, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

I love Plastic Man, so I just had to draw him and his pal, Woozy Winks. Hey, that reminds me... go check out one of the blogs I follow, why dontcha? It's all about "Plas"...
http://plasticmanplatitudes.blogspot.com/

Me at ISCA 09

2009-11-14T16:58:00.000-05:00

2009 ISCA Awards Ceremony - Part one

I have to get all of those "ums" out of my speech pattern. Ugh! It's always horrible listening to yourself speak. But see, this is proof I was there! Told ya! Thanks for posting this one as well, Brian.

But "Keelam"? "Keelam"????LOL

Oh well, with my name you get used to it!

ISCA Caricature Convention 2009 - Part One

2009-11-12T16:01:00.002-05:00

All last week I was in beautiful Sandusky Ohio at the annual ISCA ( International Society of Caricature Artists Convention). I'll try to upload my photos from it just as soon as I get caught up around the studio here. It was a week of fellowship, learning, and generally maligning each other in caricature form. LOL Yeah, let me tell ya, don't EVER go to a caricature convention if you have a vanity issue! My forehead gets bigger, my nose more broken, my lips more "girly looking" each passing year in the drawings I get. I LOVE IT!!! It truly is " Caricature College".

There is a big competition factor to the convention, and a ton of amazing work is produced. Congrats to friends Glenn Ferguson ( overall winner... the "Golden Nosey") and Marlo Meekins ( second place... "Silver Nosey") and all the award winners.

I've competed a few times ( I got fourth overall one year), but haven't done so in five years or so. All that drawing, all that pressure... it just seems too much like my everyday life... like "work", ya know? So I made a firm deicision this year to just go and "hang out". I drew when I wanted, IF I wanted, and who I wanted. With no concern about "competing". So glad I did. It was a much needed "blast". My only regret is that I had many people tell me they wish I HAD competed this year, that they wanted to see more of my work. Thanks for telling me that. To be honest, it made me wish at times that I had drawn more and competed, but overall I feel I made the right decision. Maybe next year...

As it was, I got to spend a week just sleeping in, staying out late, and hanging out with tons of talented artists. I saw many old friends, and made many new ones.

The video here was made by fellow ISCA member Brian Vasilik. Thanks so much for shooting it, Brian. And thanks to good pal Kenny Durkin for alerting me to it's existence. Kenny and Jim "Daddy" Durkin and myself show up at just before the four minute mark, if you're looking for us. If you've never been to an ISCA convention, what are you waiting for? The next one's in Vegas, baby! Viva Las Vegas!

Cute Cute Cute

2009-11-10T21:08:00.002-05:00

A draw for a magazine client of mine pretty regularly, where the editor has me draw him in various scenes for his column in the magazine. For this issue, he wanted me to do a piece for them in a "Mary Blair-esque" style. No problem! I LOVE Blair's work. So, I drew him in a "Small World" ride scene, since that ride was inspired by Mary Blair's designs. I love her simple, bold, yet CUTE designs.

LiveDraw: Leany

2009-10-30T14:56:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Been really busy. Been doing a few "Live Draw" gigs, where the client hires me to draw people "in action", even without them knowing it. Pretty cool. I draw them from any view, side, rear, straight on, whatever... with very little posing. Actually, often with NO posing, like this guy. Total "Hit and Run". I went and gave him his drawing when I was done. This one was done at a convention for Staffing companies. Great group of people who really liked the "Live Draws".

Yeshua

2009-10-05T15:14:00.002-05:00

Drew my main man awhile back. Was from an old sketch, but a client contacted me for a bunch of biblical images, so I redid and colored this one. Hmmm... been reading about talits lately ( the scarf ), and now realize I should redo His on this piece. Gotta remember to do that....

Rodney Howard Browne

2009-10-01T15:48:00.003-05:00

I went and heard this anointed man of God, Rodney Howard Browne, teach at a local church last Sunday. Rodney is from South Africa and feels that God has sent him to be a missionary TO AMERICA. Tens of Thousands ( hundreds of thousands maybe? ) have come to Christ here and abroad through his ministry. Really inspiring.

This, by the way, is my ballpoint pen caricature of Rodney as he taught. Yeah, drawing in church. LOL. Actually, whether you want to blame it on the ADD one doctor told me I have, or just on my "artist's brain", I pay better attention WHEN I'm drawing. I'm guessing a lot of artists are that way...

Flyleaf - All around me (NEW VIDEO)

2009-09-29T10:33:00.001-05:00

Love this song.

Hot off the Wacom: Hiking Couple

2009-09-23T09:46:00.002-05:00

Did this job recently for a new client. This is one of a series for various usages, including on their website. The description I had for this illo was that it was just supposed to be a young, twentys-ish guy and girl out hiking.
This was my original sketch. I liked the guy's hair here, but they didn't. Oh well. So, I changed it for them on the final.

Lex Luthor!

2009-09-19T12:28:00.004-05:00

When "The Toony Bin" http://toonybin.blogspot.com/ character design challenge site had "MAD Scientist" as their challenge, I HAD to try a toony Lex Luthor. Soon, I'll try to color and post the Superman I did as a companion piece. Hope you like my Lex!

Life Springs 10 Days Baja Mission Trip

2009-09-10T13:23:00.002-05:00

Me and the fam are in this video a couple of times. See if you can spot us!

Recent Work: Greg Tipton, Ten Days Missions

2009-09-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

This is a caricature I did recently for a friend and real inspiration of mine.
Gregg Tipton is the founder and director of Ten Days Missions http://www.tendaysmissions.org/ , the organization we recently went to Baja Mexico with. I wanted to try a colored line technique I've been working on, as well as a bit more layered, watercolor look to the coloring. Hope ya like it!

The newest artist in my house...

2009-09-05T19:45:00.002-05:00

There must be something in the water in my house. Here's my youngest daughter a few months ago... before her third birthday this month... with her self portrait. I was amazed when she picked up her "Magna Doodle" and when I asked her what she was drawing, she said "I Draw Me". This is what she produced:

It's even funnier when you realize that up to a few months before this, she really had very little hair. Her hair did look a bit like this, just a spot on top. I was blown away. She draws all the time and her Pre-K teachers have already pegged her as "the artist" in the class. Too cool.

Thundercats!!!

2009-09-05T15:02:00.002-05:00

This is just me playing around with a cute, toony version of one of the Thundercats characters for The Toony Bin character design site.

BajaDos, part 3

2009-09-02T12:14:00.002-05:00

It's funny, in "real life" I "need" a comfortable chair, and my fancy easel, and my special drawing paper that's just the right size and weight. Well, maybe it's not so funny, ya know? On the mission trip to Baja, I was perfectly content in the BLAZING sun, no shade for miles, sitting on two concrete blocks in the middle of a sandy field, drawing on a sketchbook barely bigger than my hand. And the people loved the drawings, as a bonus.
When you're using your talents for the one who gave them to you, it's incredibly fulfilling.

I told my wife, I've never felt so fulfilled... so confident that I knew I was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing... in my entire life.

Baja Dos, part 2

2009-08-30T19:18:00.002-05:00

Here's a pic of our mission team from our local church, HighPoint Church, here in Orlando Florida. This was taken at the Orlando airport before we flew to San Diego, and then got on a bus to Rosarito Beach in Baja Mexico.
Each morning, we were bussed out again to a small village named Terazzas. We built a church, built a house, fed a vileage full of people, and told people about the love of Christ. This first day, though, all I wanted to do was hide behind my pen and paper!
I drew lots of caricatures of the locals while I was there. Nearly 200 of them, most of them on two different days.

It was cool to use my talents for HE who gave them to me, and to see people's faces light up when they got the drawings. God truly does use the simple things, sometimes...