Graffiti, street artist caricatures, impromptu performances – public attitude concerning these formerly frowned-upon arts has certainly shifted in the last decade. Art in the public eye has always been, and will always be, a fantastically changeable monster. Impossible to control or accurately predict, the authentic, organic evolution of street art has produced some of contemporary art’s finest moments.

Graffiti
It’s not all about Banksy anymore, but love him or hate him, his work opened the eyes and minds of the mainstream public as to how fantastic and creative graffiti can be.

Artists like Banksy have upped the ante, encouraging fresh talents and a higher level of skill that often borders closer to illusionist than artist.

Occasionally in danger of becoming a caricature of itself, contemporary graffiti has taken its first tentative steps into the world of mainstream advertising. Generally termed “Guerrilla Advertising”, the premise can range from simple legal painting sponsored by a big brand, to mysterious movements created for the sole purpose of encouraging word of mouth advertising. This is perhaps the most difficult to nail since the most common purpose of graffiti is to question the mainstream.

Interactive Art
Generally existing to encourage the public to be more than a viewer – a participant who questions, who is involved in the world.

Interactive street art-like caricatures are nothing new, but with a surge of brilliant new artists on the scene capturing the everyday public in their caricature portraits as they wander the streets, the scene is certainly bright.

Performance
Performance art has been making an interesting leap of late back to its satirical roots. Short, impromptu plays questioning everything from social ethics to politics have become the voice of a generation. Educational groups and facilities are finding such platforms fantastic in terms of nurturing creativity and social pride in students.

In the end – in terms of art – everything everywhere is a canvas eventually.

For many people, the mention of cartoon caricatures conjures up an image of a the seaside promenade; a crowded beach front with a row of artists sketching uncomfortable looking tourists, as many more tourists look on. But, in reality, the days when the sea side was the only place you could get a caricature drawn are gone. What’s more, caricatures have matured into a fantastic way of surprising a friend or relative with a very thoughtful gift – here are the top three reasons why:

No posing necessary: these days you don’t need to sit in front of a crowd of tourists as you pose for your caricature – online companies like Charlie’s Cartoons can manage the entire process over the internet, with impressive results.  All you need to do is send a photograph or two and include a brief description of the subject – you can liaise with the artist to discuss your exact requirements and everything else is done by them: this means you can totally surprise a friend or relative with a caricature of themselves. All you need are a few good photos and a little bit of time.

An original gift: if you have a friend with a sense of humour and you want to find them the perfect present, cartoon caricatures are a great idea. They are fun, memorable and thoughtful, plus they make for a very personal gift – as you go through the design process you can make sure that they really reflect the personality and style of the person in question. The beauty of such services lies in the ability to create unique artwork that looks exactly as you want it to look: you’ll see the idea for the finished caricature before its drawn so you can make comments and changes to ensure that you’re totally happy with the finished product.

No hassle: If you’re shopping for a wedding present or birthday gift, the chances are that all the other present buyers are hunting in exactly the same places, and the shops are often less fun when you’re not selecting things for yourself. Not only will a caricature be a unique gift, it will be completely hassle free for you to get your hands on: with an on-line service like Charlie’s, once you’ve sent a few photos with some supporting information, the finished product will be delivered to you framed and ready to go – hand painted and beautifully finished.

Wedding season is in full swing, and over the next few months many people will find themselves attending at least one or two – if not an entire summer’s worth. Although weddings are always something to look forward to as a guest (minimum hassle when it comes to organisation, just a great party and a lovely celebration to look forward to), they do take a bit of work as well, from organising transport and accommodation to finding a suitable outfit.

But the really tough nut to crack when you’ve been invited to a wedding is buying the perfect gift; how can you make sure you find something that the happy couple doesn’t already have, and that they’re not going to get from anyone else?  A wedding is one of life’s most memorable events for the bride and groom so, even for those couples who wisely choose to set up an online wedding shop or opt for gift vouchers, it’s worth investing in a more personal gift that will remind them of their big day for years to come.

If you’ve decided you want to find a personal and unique wedding gift for a close friend or relatives, Charlie’s Cartoons is the bespoke answer you’re looking for. Charlie’s Cartoons are custom made, beautifully painted cartoon caricatures that are especially designed to provide a lasting memento of the highlights in life – and what better highlight to celebrate than a wedding?

With an on-line service like Charlie’s, all you need to do is send a few photos with some supporting information about couple for whom the cartoon caricature is intended. Once you’ve fine-tuned your request the result, which is always hand drawn and painted, will be delivered to you framed and ready to go, so you won’t ruin the surprise by asking your friends to pose for the painting.

The beauty of this service lies in the ability to create unique artwork that looks exactly as you want it to look: you’ll see the idea for the finished caricature before its drawn so you can make comments and changes to ensure that you’re totally happy with the finished gift. The newlyweds will be delighted not only by the present, but by the thought and effort you’ve obviously put into to your choice. Caricatures are fun and original, so they’ll provide a unique contrast to the traditional wedding photos or posed portraits that many newlyweds pose for, as well as a lasting memory.

Sometimes, on those bright sunny days in the cities of the world you will see an artist sitting with a small crowd around them, sketching a subject and drawing cartoon caricatures of passers by. Have you ever wished that you had the kids with you so that you could get personalised caricatures made of them, or members of your family or your best friend? Maybe even your boss! Sadly this isn’t always possible but there are now caricature artists who operate online who will do this. But how do they do it?

A good online artist will work in a similar way to the street artists, but because they can’t see their subject they will require a number of photographs to work from. In many ways this can be an advantage because the photographs will show many different sides to the subject’s personality. They may show them being sporty, being with their families or pets, being in a party mood or a reflective mood. This is only half of what it takes to make good personalised caricatures though; the artist will also ask for some personal information. They will want to know some of their subject’s history, what they like to do, what their hobbies and interests are and they will ask for some amusing anecdotes from their past that better reflect their subject’s personality.

This gives the artist a much more clear idea of who their subject is. The online caricature artist will take all of this information and come up with an idea of what they want to draw but generally, before they actually commit this to a final portrait they will run this past the person commissioning the work and get their feedback to check this is how they want it to be. Once there is an agreement the artist will create the final work and send it out to the buyer. Simple, but very effective.

Have you ever been looking for a perfect gift for a wedding and wanted to get the happy couple something unique that nobody else will have thought of? In many ways this is the Holy Grail of wedding gifts but here’s a useful tip – Why not take a look at getting personalised caricatures made of the bride and groom? Cartoon caricatures are a wonderful gift and a good artist will be able to use a number of photos plus some information on the people to create a humorous piece of unique comic art that the bride and groom can keep forever, they can even include them in their wedding photograph album.

What is so unique and special about Cartoon caricatures is that they take in all aspects of the person or people represented. Often an artist will want quite a lot of information about their subject, some details about them as people, things they like and dislike and some amusing anecdotes from their past. This will give them a much better idea about their personality since the cartoon is meant to be much more than just a photograph; it is meant to reflect the best parts of the subject in a picture and to bring out their inner characteristics as well as just their looks. A good artist will work with you and give you an idea how the personalised caricatures will look before they do the final piece of artwork – This is much more than a few minute street artist would do because you will be allowed to work on ideas and put a lot of your own ideas into the final product.

Of course you could use these for things other than weddings. Are you stuck for a 21st Birthday present, maybe a special graduation gift? The caricature is surely a gift for every occasion.