Swartzentruber uses copic markersfor all
Street Fair Caricatures
www.copicmarkers.com

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Touring Caricature Portrait Artist will be entertaining at the Fair
Date: August 9-20, 2006
Time: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily
Location: Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis, Indiana.( Located in front of the Family Arts Building)
Cost: $25
Web site: www.swartzentruber.com.

The Indiana State Fair will feature the caricature portrait entertainment and artwork of Winona Lake, Indiana craftsman Don Swartzentruber (Corporate & Private Caricatures) Aug. 9-20 INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. An eclectic list of training and twenty-two years of professional experience make this caricaturist stand out from his peers. In seven short minutes Swartzentruber is able to create a beautiful illustrated portrait with a playful theme in full pastel color.

Much attention has been given to the large anthology of themes he has developed. Careers, hobbies, sports and dreams...the sky is the limit. "I've had the privilege of drawing people from all walks of life, FBI agent, bioscience researcher, pro golfer, Olympic athlete, politicians and entertainers. It is also interesting to project people into their fantasies...the woman who want to be a "beach babe" as a gift for her husbands, or a kid who wants to play major league baseball." Some patrons ask the artist to decide. This is an especially enjoyable time for the audience.

"I learn the caricature trade like a gypsy, peddling at festivals up and down the east coast and around various other parts of the nation on summer tours", Swartzentruber describes. The artist now primarily entertains in the Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Toledo area. Staying local allows festival patrons to schedule weddings, Christmas party, and business conventions. He always makes the evening memorable, and the attendees take home a souvenir. Countless festivals and corporations have contracted him to entertain at their special event. Clients include; Sony, R.R. Donnelley's, Lincoln Life, the Delaware Symphony, and Notre Dame.

He suggested that his objective is to earn affirmation for the portrait likeness and a laugh from the theme. He studied with a Disney animator for two years for whom he attribute the gentle humor that is incorporate into the caricatures. He discovered early in his career that people enjoy a playful caricatured exaggeration over grotesque distortion. In reviewing his examples, it becomes clear that he leans more towards portrait over cartoon. Occasionally I have model request a quick "stuffed sausage" caricatures and I am more then happy to oblige.

He concluded eight years of post-secondary education with a MFA in Vermont. Swartzentruber has invested a substantial amount of time studying and teaching portraiture. He is an art instructor at Warsaw High School, and adjunct professor at Grace College.

Swartzentruber is also a contemporary artist who has exhibited in fifty galleries and museums. Unlike his studio work, he finds the greatest joy of drawing on location, is the immediate response of the patrons and crowd. Swartzentruber is the artist of the "Famous Faces" caricature portrait exhibition that received a state art commission grant. This collection of Mark Twin, Adolph Hitler, Bob Marley and Jerry Garcia and many others will all be at the fair. Off-season, he creates caricatures from photography via mail orders that people and companies give as personalized gifts. The more laborious watercolor caricature is favored. "I move through several stages starting with a light pencil sketch, a watercolor wash, soft pastel color, and final detail with prisma color," Swartzentruber explains.

At thirteen, Swartzentruber was enraptured by the artist at the World's Fair. Three years later he signed a contracted with the Delaware State Fair and the following year toured New England. Swartzentruber has created thousands of commissioned caricature portraits since 1983. His philosophy as an artist is to sketch each person quickly and to be in a constant state of skill development. He said, "Enthusiasm by the patron, to hang the picture with great pride as soon as they get home or to the office, is important to me."

For further interview questions or material contact the artist.

"Don was great! Our employees really enjoyed it and are still talking about it. It made our holiday parties really shine!"
-Sony Digital Audio Inc.

"Swartzentruber draws the stars and those not so stellar! Unique entertainment!"
-Delaware State News

"One of the most popular events of the day!" -Elco Thermoplastics

"Excellent! The theme idea for each drawing is a wonderful aspect, very creative." -Indiana Federal Bank

"As good as his billing stated it to be."-Indiana Highland Gathering

"Very polished!" -Impact Inc.

"Thank you very much for the fabulous portrait of my husband! He was so surprised. He absolutely loves it!" -J.Karch

"Thanks much for providing entertainment & fun for our guests." -Met-Life Insurance

"They really enjoyed the evening, their going away dinner, and the pictures tremendously. Many, many compliments on your artwork. Thanks you again."
-Nishikawa Standard Company

"Everyone who saw your work had nothing but praise for your talent. You really are gifted, and besides that, you're a nice person to do business with--surely a winning combination."
-St. Anthony's Italian Festival

"Don-Wow! Thanks for doing such a wonderful job with caricatures for my wedding guests! Everyone is still talking about what a cool activity that was…you did a fantastic job providing fun pictures! I really appreciated your easy going personality and flexibility. Thanks for the extra hour-there's no way I could have turned people away!-Shelley Coover. S. Coover. Omni Severin, Indianapolis.

"Drawing Crowds"
Morgan, Donna, "Drawing Crowds", Delaware State News, Dover, Delaware, July 23, 1987

Don M. Swartzentruber draws the stars - and those not so stellar. Swartzentruber, a 20-year old Greenwood caricaturist, attended Joe Kubert School of Graphic Art for two years, but has been drawing professionally for four years. Swartzentruber is now plying his trade at the Delaware State Fair. Displayed in his work area, beside the administration building are likenesses of President Reagan, Clark Gable, Alfred E. Neuman, Bill Cosby... While he does take requests for celebrity drawings, Swartzentruber prefers rendering ordinary people. 'When I attract a small crowd, other people come over to see what's going on,' said Swartzentruber. 'They look at the person I'm drawing and they look at my work to make sure I get it right.' Caricature is the art of capturing a human face by exaggerating outstanding features, thus adding a humorous insight. Swartzentruber also tries to determine his model's hobby or career so he can incorporate that into the sketch. 'Everyone's features are different,' he said. 'I look at the slant of the eyes, the shape of the jaw line, their nose and mouth. There is always one feature that stands out. Swartzentruber, who has been drawing 'since I could stand up," was always interested in caricatures and animation. At Greenwood Mennonite School, he was always sketching his teachers and classmates instead of taking notes. But, it was not until he saw a caricaturist as work at the World's Fair, in Knoxville, Tenn, when he was 15, that he became totally captivated. 'I sat down with him, and watched him work all day," said Swartzentruber. "I picked up the style form him and came home and tried it. I started out doing my family.' The young artist works in pastel chalk and ink markers and averages 15 minutes per caricature. His state fair price is $10 and he's usually there from 5pm until closing. 'A lot of people see my display and think I only do stars,' said Swartzentruber. 'But my basic purpose is to draw their caricature.' Swartzentruber thinks he may be the only caricaturist in southern Delaware, maybe the state. 'It's hard to make it as a freelance artist in this area,' he said. 'But I'll see what the market is.' When Swartzentruber is not drawing on-location, he works from his home studio putting together a portfolio for presentation to potential clients - business, individuals seeking unique entertainment at parties, groups holding conventions, family reunions, weddings...

Select Coverage About Artists Caricature Work

05 Hersha, Jane. WPTA-TV 21 Alive (Fort Wayne, IN)
03 DuVal, Steve & Erika Edberg. Fox 28 Wake Up. (SouthBend, IN)
03 Champlin, Clay. WSBT News 22. (SouthBend, IN)
01 Dilling, Linda. "Swartzentruber: Artist, Teacher and Friend." Times Union (Warsaw, IN)
01 "Open Studio". WNIT Public Television (Elkhart, IN)
96 Daniels, Judy, ed. "Easel Expressions". Grace Magazine. College Publication (Winona Lake, IN)
95 Fields, DeWitt. "Swartzentruber Draws His Way through Life". Tracks (Warsaw, IN)
94 Kopf, Sharon. "Swartzentruber Shares Love of Art with Students". The Paper (Warsaw, IN)
92 Milhoan, Cathy L. "Greenwood Artist has the State Fair Covered". Delaware State News. (Dover, DE). 1-A1 Cover story
- Bethlehem Globe, The Chronicle, and Harrington News
87 Morgan, Donna. "Drawing Crowds." Delaware State News. (Dover, DE) -See article above


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