This Man Has a 'Nosey' For Art

Dave Smith was up for class clown in high school -- always kind of a “goofy person” as he sees it.

So it is not altogether surprising the married father of two became a caricature artist. “If you like to make fun of people, drawing is a good thing to do,” he said with a laugh.

Smith, of Wesley Chapel, has more than 30 years worth of experience in the field. He provides light-hearted portraits for a smattering of events – everything from engagement parties and bar mitzvahs to children’s birthdays and corporate functions.

Smith said he isn’t hired by the hour for his drawing skills alone.

“You are paid to entertain them,” he said. “People get refreshed by that. That’s part of my service, that I’m also talking and entertaining.”

Smith works on the side as a caricature artist, but his day job also deals with art, too. He is the director of art operations at Busch Gardens, employed by an outside agency called Kaman’s Art Shoppes, Inc., which bills itself as the country’s largest theme park concessionaire. Much of his time at Busch Gardens is spent in the office, but he said he sometimes gets out to draw.

Smith and the caricature artists who make up his team have to be able to sketch 15-20 portraits an hour. Quickly knowing which facial features to emphasize or deemphasize is something that takes practice.

“When I train people I tell them that when you see a face, pretend you are in a convenience store,” he said. “You got robbed fast and you need to tell the police what the thief looked like.”

One might think that having dozens of people sit in front of you for a mere 3-5 minutes at a clip would make faces blend together after awhile. Not so for Smith.

“Over time, you see everyone is unique,” he said.  “Some people are more distinctive than others … but I have been doing this 32 years.”

Smith got his start drawing caricatures at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia when he was 16. As a senior manager for art operations later on, Smith went on to work for Six Flags, Busch Gardens, Cedar Fair and Paramount Parks, handling consulting, hiring, artist training and operations roles as a concessionaire.

Smith has drawn at the engagement party for TV fitness guru Tony Little as well as events for the Easter Seals. No matter what the function, he sees his role as always the same: to lighten the mood, and provide a gift that guests can take home.

Are his subjects always happy with their distorted likeness?

“Generally,” he said with a laugh. “I can’t say 100 percent … I mean, it is a reality check a bit.”

After all, caricature is often regarded as an exaggeration of truth. People as far back in history as Leonardo Da Vinci drew caricatures, which have proven to be quite popular for political purposes. They have sparked controversy over the years, too, including earning a ban from governments over the years. But Smith uses his work for entertainment purposes.

His efforts earned him the “Golden Nosey” award for Caricaturist of the Year from the International Society of Caricature Artists. The group’s annual convention will be held this year in St. Pete Beach in November.

When he was younger, Smith was always drawing animals, cars and big trucks. He thought he might grow up to draw cartoons. But he found he was not so great when it came to writing stories to go along with his sketches. Things worked out just fine, however.

“I get to use my talent to earn a living,” Smith said. “I tried going off and doing other things but here I am doing it still.”

On the Web:

-2011 Convention for International Society of Caricature Artists

-How to draw caricatures

-History of caricature

-www.davesmithcaricatures.com