Weddings Wexford: Drinks Reception Caricatures from Amber Springs Hotel Gorey!

Weddings Wexford: Here’s a few of my live caricatures from a recent wedding in Amber Springs Hotel in Wexford! Got some great reactions and managed to capture on on camera too! My caricatures for weddings are a fantastic ice-breaker for when your guests are arriving in the hotel and getting to know each other. I … Read more

Teambuilding Caricature Class in Irish Life HQ!

Team building exercises Ireland

Teambuilding caricature drawing eventOn Monday I was in Irish Life in Dublin giving a caricature class as part of a week-long teambuilding programme of fun events for staff. We got lucky with the weather and were able to do it outside, albeit in slightly breezy conditions! I started off with a quick presentation of some of my work, followed by a demonstration of how I draw a live caricature (I have it down to about 3 minutes but that’s taken me about 20 years!) I then gave the participants a handout on what to look for and what to exaggerate when drawing a caricature which I went through with them.

Then the fun began!

Caricature class run by artist Allan Cavanagh for teambuilding event DublinI had them sit opposite each other, bearing in mind what I’d demonstrated. They then had to draw the person opposite in the time allocated. The process involved capturing a simple likeness in pencil, then using Big Brush Tip Pitt Pens to commit the likeness to ink! Pitt pens are great. They have a brush tip which means you can vary the width of the line depending on the pressure you apply.

Teambuilding crash course in drawing caricatures. Great results!The standard was really very high, I was very impressed with the results.

Windy day but sunny at teambuilding caricature class Irish Life!I took a couple of shots hoping the breeze would let us see all of them eventually!

20 minutes into teambuilding caricature class, sun is still out, the drawings are great!They’re good, right? 🙂 And no-one took offence during this teambuilding task!

Things get competitive!

The competition began next. Sean, one of the Irish Life managers, sat for the artists.

The rest of the staff came out to see the progress, ice-creams in hand!

Of course I had a go myself! Myself and Sean then judged the results, giving 1st 2nd and 3rd places. Points were then allocated to each team represented by the winners. These go to a total based on all the other teambuilding events they’re running in there this week. A lot of fun, and nice to get a bit of sun!

Wedding Reception Entertainment in the Hotel Meyrick Galway!

Wedding Reception Entertainment Ireland: Some of my on-the-spot art creation wedding reception entertainment at a wedding in the Hotel Meyrick Galway. A really lovely wedding this, in the welcoming environs of the Hotel Meyrick Galway. I’m always very well looked after by Paula and the team in this centrally-located Galway hotel that’s as much a part of the fabric of the city as Eyre Square itself, The Long Walk, or the Claddagh. I always look forward to entertaining the wedding guests in this lovely location and any couples I’ve worked with have been thrilled with their wedding receptions there.

For my live wedding reception entertainment, I set up my easel somewhere central during your drinks reception, usually near the prosecco! I take up about 2 metres squared so I’m not too obtrusive even if it’s a big wedding! Once the guests arrive I introduce myself and encourage my first sitters. This usually results in quite a crowd forming to watch the creation of my live wedding caricatures and I have my next volunteers immediately!

That’s me then until the bell goes for the call to dinner, producing a drawing every 3-4 minutes until it’s time to be seated for the meal. This is usually when the couple themselves get to sit with me for a minute and get their breath back before the next stage of the day begins for them!

The A3 paper is printed with the couple’s names and the date of the wedding so they are an excellent memento of the big day. Live caricatures are an excellent form of entertainment for your guests during your drinks reception. They are a great ice-breaker as guests gather around and start chatting and laughing at my drawings! I’m available as Wedding Reception Entertainment Ireland nationwide.

You can see my extensive archive of live wedding caricatures here.

I also have a range of wedding guest signing boards, a bespoke alternative to the traditional guestbook, here.

Drop me a line for a chat about your wedding or event!
Wedding reception entertainment caricature of woman laughing holding caricature by Allan Cavanagh

Timelapse of Wedding Caricatures being Drawn by Me!

Laughing couple with caricature by Irish artist Allan Cavanagh, Woodlands Hotel, Waterford

Here’s a timelapse video of me drawing a couple at a wedding in the Woodlands Hotel Waterford on New Year’s Eve. It’s about 5 minutes in real time. Some day I’ll draw this fast!

Live caricatures from Meetwest 2015, Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone!

Live caricatures Ireland by Allan Cavanagh

Here are some live caricatures from the first day of business networking event Meetwest 2015 in the Hodson Bay Hotel. I gave an interview while drawing someone to Irish TV, that was a first!