When Brett Johnson goes out to dinner or on a quick run to the
store, he takes note of who’s around. But he’s not searching for
celebrities. He’s scanning the faces of the ordinary
– studying the shapes of their eyes, the lines of their noses –
and imagining how the features might appear as a cartoon
sketch.
When Brett Johnson goes out to dinner or on a quick run to the store, he takes note of who’s around. But he’s not searching for celebrities. He’s scanning the faces of the ordinary – studying the shapes of their eyes, the lines of their noses – and imagining how the features might appear as a cartoon sketch.
Johnson, 29, is a caricature artist, traveling the San Francisco Bay area to immortalize smiling faces. About five years ago, Johnson launched Doodle Ink!, a sole proprietorship that provides entertainment at private parties and local events. For the past two years, Johnson has drawn at A Taste of Morgan Hill, and although it hasn’t happened yet, entertaining at Gilroy’s biggest annual event is never far from his mind.
“I will do the Gilroy Garlic Festival,” he said, laughing. “I really want to. I also think it’d be fun to do the Renaissance Faire, because it would give me a chance to be more creative. People go crazy – they get all dressed up in costumes, and that would be something new for me.”
Although the Bay Area is home to many caricature artists, they’re less common in the South Valley, which is part of the reason Johnson said he only markets his business here. Although he doesn’t feel like he’s competing with other artists when working closer to San Francisco, Johnson said he’s more relaxed and able to focus better on his work when there aren’t as many artists nearby.
“Being around many other artists gives me a chance to see their work and network with them, and we’re all really supportive of each other,” he said. “But I like the potential and the families here. It’s a good spot to be in.”
Johnson grew up in Saratoga and lives in Evergreen with his wife, Nicole. Although his business is a part-time gig, Johnson hopes someday he’ll be well-known enough to draw caricatures for a living. He also works part-time for a local landscape design company.
Johnson also creates logos, graphic designs and illustrations for businesses, as well as carves pumpkins with elaborate designs. But his specialty is caricatures.
In three to five minutes flat, Johnson uses deft, sharp strokes of black and gray marker on slick white paper to capture people in their comical version: with oversized heads and undersized bodies. He keeps a wooden easel, an umbrella, a striped cushion and the rest of his materials in a black nylon suitcase, which he zips up and wheels around from job site to job site.
On Wednesday morning at Gilroy’s First Street Starbucks, Gilroy resident Jim Hughes’ friends volunteered him to pose for a drawing. A small crowd gathered as Johnson replaced his San Francisco 49ers baseball cap with a black artist’s hat, unfolded his easel and sat down to sketch Hughes.
The finished product mirrored the 67-year-old’s curlicue mustache, weathered skin and salt-and-pepper hair. Although he was sitting in a chair, Johnson drew Hughes, a motorcycle enthusiast, perched on his bike.
“Yeah, I’d say that looks like me. It even makes me look like I have more hair than I do,” Hughes said while reviewing the finished portrait. “It’s neat. I think I’ll give it to my grandkids.”
Johnson’s love for drawing began when he was a child. His grandmother kept albums full of his sketches, which allowed Johnson to critique his work and improve and as he got older. His drawing took flight when he was in junior high as he studied cartoon characters in MAD Magazine and doodled every day in class.
“That’s where the name of my business came from. I would fill up the margins of my notebooks in school with all kinds of doodles,” Johnson said. “I’d draw celebrities, my friends, teachers. My teachers liked the drawings. They’d put the sketches of themselves up in the classroom.”
When Johnson was a freshman in high school, he had his first caricature of himself drawn at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The artist used five different pastels – one on each fingertip – to create the portrait, and Johnson became enthralled with the art.
Using his portrait as a model, he started practicing on his own and soon was hired to do caricatures at his older brother’s high school graduation night. There, he met a professional artist who helped him book more gigs, and since then, his skill level and number of jobs steadily has increased.
The private functions he draws for include corporate events, summer parties, weddings and holiday parties. At each gig, Johnson said he spends the entire time – typically 1 1/2 hours – drawing, averaging 12 to 15 portraits an hour.
“Speed is key. You gotta be fast,” Johnson said.
While he charges by the hour for private parties, he sells individual caricatures for $5 to $10 at public events such as festivals and parades. In 2003, he contracted with the San Jose Giants to set up camp at home games and offer to draw visitors walking into the ballpark.
Johnson’s favorite part of the job is making his subjects smile and laugh when they see their portraits. And most of them do, even if they have odd-shaped noses or double-chins. Some women will request to have their face drawn, but with the body of a stripper, or men will request the body of a muscle man.
“There are certain things you can do so you’re not exaggerating some of those unflattering features, but you’re still representing them,” he said. “People will sit down and say, ‘Don’t make me look ugly,’ and I’ll say, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll look beautiful.'”
As he’s drawing, Johnson said he focuses especially on the lines of the nose and sparkle of the eyes.
“There’s always something special about people’s eyes,” he said.
The long eyelashes framing 4-year-old Claire Shield’s round brown eyes were the focal point of her caricature, also drawn Wednesday morning. She squirmed slightly as she sat on her dad’s knee and patiently waited for Johnson to draw the two of them, along with Claire’s rag doll.
When asked if the portrait looked like her, Claire nodded excitedly, her two poofy pigtails bouncing up and down.
