On June 15th, 2013 I traveled to Paterson, New Jersey for Ari’s Bar Mitzvah. The party was held at The Brownstone, an upscale banquet hall located in the heart of Paterson. Those who watch the reality show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are probably familiar with this hall—as it is owned by one of the housewives and her husband, Caroline and Albert Manzo. Caricatures are always a huge hit at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and this party was no exception. I sat for four hours drawing all of Ari’s friends and family, only taking a five minute break around 2:30 to scarf down some amazing food. I already knew a lot of the kids since I also sketched at Ari’s brother’s Bar Mitzvah two years prior. ( See Noah’s “Car” Mitzvah”. )
I love drawing Iron Man bodies!
David the basketball player.
Tom and Abe: Tom is a really funny kid…and I feel I really captured his sense of humor in this sketch. Abe wanted me to draw him as an artist, so I told him “I’m just going to draw you as me”, which I did!
Muscle Man: At one point one of the kids grabbed my iPhone and took this shot of me sketching Tim the muscle man.
Sad Jared: Jared seemed bummed out when he sat in the seat to get his caricature. So I sketched him as I saw him…Sad.
My involvement in Ari’s Bar Mitzvah was not limited to just the entertainment during the party. I also helped the family create a custom logo for the event, print tee-shirts, and create an extremely detailed caricature of Ari for his Sign-In Board.
Ari’s Caricature Sign-In Board
Ari was very particular about what he wanted to incorporate into his sign-in board caricature. He wanted to be in a Met’s uniform running to second base, with the Citi field Apple and scoreboard in the background. He also wanted specific stats and his face on the scoreboard in the background. At first, Ari’s meticulousness overwhelmed me. There were so many elements that I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to incorporate them into an 11×14 sheet of paper. This challenge forced me to up my game and step up to the plate, and knock it out of the park (no pun intended).
Ari’s caricature sign-in board was created with Copic Markers on Canson layout paper. I shipped the original artwork to his parents who got it framed. The double matting of the Mets orange and blue is a nice touch that really ties the whole piece together. I couldn’t have done it any better myself. Well done Debbie and Marty!
Ari’s Bar Mitzvah Logo and Tee-shirts
I wish I could take all the credit for Ari’s Bar Mitzvah logo, but it was his talented sister that came up with the design. Ari’s parents sent me a sketch his younger sister drew, and I simply recreated the artwork in my design software, cleaned it up a bit and sent it to the printer.
The party was great, the tee-shirts and logo were well-received, and I had a great time. I want to thank Debbie and Marty for having me provide the artistic entertainment for another Bar Mitzvah. This was one Bar Mitzvah that won’t be forgotten.I just wish that I got to see a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” fight. Oh well. Maybe next time!
Contact Me for Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah!
I can customize my caricatures to fit your Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah theme. In addition to Noah’s “Car” Mitzvah, some of the other themes I’ve done include Hello Kittie, Marvel Comics, Monsters (See Derek’s Monster Bar Mitzvah), Music (See Jacob’s Rockin’ Bar Mitzvah) Beach Theme, and just about every sports theme you can imagine.