Caricature doesn’t need to be reserved for political editorials or the pages of Mad magazine, it can be a staple at children’s birthday parties. It can highlight you child’s cherubic cheeks or their eyes, and it can also be the perfect addition for your refrigerator or wall years down the line. For local artist Mike Logsdon, his interest in drawing started when he was 5 years old. Since then, he has pursued his dream of becoming an artist and has just recently started his own business, Draw My Party, where he goes to birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other special events to not only draw caricatures of the guests but to entertain as well.
“I have been drawing all of my life,” Logsdon says. “When my daughter was in grade school, I started doing [caricature drawing] with her school by volunteering at parties and things like that… The reason I started the business was because my wife told me that I needed to do something that would start paying for my piano lessons. So, I decided to start this and it has been doing really well.”
Logsdon’s passion for art began when he was young and would watch his uncle draw comics. His fascination with drawing led him from a small town in Kentucky to the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He studied Illustration and then came to New York to attend Pratt Institute in Manhattan.
“I loved New York,” Logsdon says. “I love what a lot of people hate about it. I love the complete craziness of it, the crowds of people, and the fact that you can be anonymous in a crowd. My sister came to visit me when I first moved here. We started to make our way across the street and this cab came flying by and I started cursing at it and yelling at it and my sister said that I finally found a city that matched my temperament.”
Logsdon has been living in the city for the past 28 years and has gotten more than used to the cabs and fast-moving atmosphere of the city. The city not only fits his personality but the style of his art.
“They come from the same type of place and energy,” Logsdon says. “You have to work really fast. Caricatures take less than five minutes per portrait… You don’t have time to second guess yourself. You just go in there and do it. It is amazing how it works.”
Logsdon can do up to 15 drawings per hour which gives him the opportunity to meet all types of people. One of the keys to caricature is making the subjects feel at ease while they are being drawn, says Logsdon. He engages his customers in conversation to not only make them feel comfortable, but to learn about them.
“I think that my strength that sets me apart and makes me great at this job is that I am so good at keeping kids, adults, anyone calm, focused, and loving it,” Logsdon notes. “I was born to do that.”
Logsdon likes to focus on incorporating hobbies and other costumes into his designs. For example, he has drawn his subjects as Superheroes, Stars Wars characters, or participating in their favorite hobby or sport.
“Without a doubt, my favorite part of the business is when I am sitting in front of someone drawing them and chatting with them,” Logsdon says. “When I’m getting them to laugh and smile. I love that. It is like an actor waiting to get on stage and the moment I’m on stage, everything is worth it.”
Logsdon loves the energy that courses through his veins at each event. He has done parties, bar mitzvahs, fairs and other community events, but has not done any weddings. He would love to add one to his repertoire, but hasn’t had the opportunity yet.
“My favorite is children’s birthday parties,” Logsdon explains. “They are sort of my bread and butter because they are always tons of fun. Kids are so great and so appreciate of what I’m doing. I am a child myself and it brings that out of me.”
During the week Logsdon works as a graphic designer for Echo Design and on the weekends he goes to parties and other events for his Draw My Party business. On top of that, he is also a dad to his 14-year-old daughter. Although it seems like he is juggling so many responsibilities, the challenge hasn’t been overwhelming for Logsdon. In fact, he wants his business to keep growing to the point where he has a consistent schedule of events.
“I love going to events that have people of all ages from little babies all the way up to grandma and all of those in-between. It is such an exciting environment because there is so much excitement in the world and I really thrive on that sort of thing.”
To learn more about Mike Logsdon and to get him to come to your party, visit drawmyparty.com. Below we have compiled a slideshow of some of his favorite pieces!
