Luke Ski: PARTY CARICATURE ARTIST for hire!
Click here to see some examples of my Caricatures
Click here to find out how to hire Luke Ski to draw caricatures at your holiday party!
As many of you probably already know, when I am not performing at conventions, I also draw caricatures as a way to make additional income so I can continue to make a living with my art and my comedy. The holiday season every year is when my main focus shifts from convention gigs to caricatures, because there are few-to-no conventions happening at that time. Looking at my schedule for the winter of 2007, between now and December 31st, I have absolutely NO WORK on my schedule. Some of you might be throwing holiday parties, and/or some of you might work for companies that are throwing company parties, and/or some of you might have friends who throw holiday parties. So I am sending this message off to all of you, in the hopes that you may consider hiring me for your holiday party, and/or would be willing to forward this along to your friends and co-workers who are planning holiday parties, so that I can get some work this winter. Let me add that I would be more than happy to throw in a free Luke Ski concert into the caricature party package for all of you throwing parties for you and all your geeky friends, as long as I’m allowed to sell my CDs, DVD, & other merch there as well. Thanks again everyone, and here’s the main sales pitch…
the great Luke Ski:
Caricature Artist!
So, you're having some kind of big social event, known in some circles as a “party”, and you're looking for something interesting to add to the mix that will outshine your neighbor's and co-worker's lame-o attempts at parties. What do you do? You hire Luke Ski to show up at your party and draw caricatures of everybody there! Wow! Hey! Isn't that exciting!?!
In a situation like this, I usually stick to drawing the “Head & Shoulders” / “Black & White” drawings, on 11” x 14” paper (you can find frames that size everywhere for not a lot of money), and will include the names of the persons depicted. Drawing that style of Caricatures, I can draw an average of 20 people an hour. That's right, 20 PEOPLE AN HOUR! Amazing, isn't it? So all you need to do is figure out how many people will be at your event, divide it by 20, and that's how many hours you'd need me to be there to make sure I get to draw everybody there.
How much does this cost? My going rate is $100.00 per hour (with a 1 hour minimum), plus the fuel cost for the round trip from my home in southern Wisconsin. Here are some fuel cost estimate examples to major cities in my vicinity:
Milwaukee: $13.50 - Rockford: $13.75 - Madison: $18.00 – Chicago(downtown): $19.00
Wisconsin Dells: $29.75 - Green Bay: $42.75 - Springfield: $61.00 - Indianapolis: $64.75
Minneapolis: $83.00 - Des Moines: $83.25 - St. Louis: $85.00 - Detroit: $89.25
Louisville: $93.25 - Cincinatti: $93.50 - Cleveland: $105.00 - Columbus: $108.25
Kansas City: $131.50 - Buffalo: $152.50 - Memphis: $156.25 - Rochester: $169.25
Anything farther away than that, and you might as well buy me a plane ticket to get to you.
Are there any other additional costs? Other than your guest's individual generosity when it comes to tipping an artist, there are no other fees.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Would I be willing to add “Full Bodies and Backgrounds” to the drawings?
Yes, keeping in mind that it does take me more time to do each individual drawing that way. It could mean either I wouldn't have the time to get to everybody, or you would need to plan on me being there longer to accommodate it.
Would I be willing to add “Full Color” to the drawings?
Yes, but that takes even more time than adding the bodies. I am willing to do them in color, but it would really slow down the entire process, especially if they wanted Bodies & Backgrounds as well. So again, we could end up with a situation where either I can't get to all the guests, or you'd need to schedule me for additional hours. A suggestion; If the event is centered around 1 or 2 special people (birthday, anniversary, etc.), perhaps I could draw a full deluxe Body/Color caricature of the guest(s) of honor, but then draw everyone else there in the standard Head/B&W way, as a way to give the special ones something special and make the best use of my paid time being there.
Can there be more than one person in each drawing?
Yes. The Head/B&W drawings can be done with as many people as you like in each drawing, as long as the people being drawn realize that they are only getting one copy that they have to share (but hey, that's what Kinko's is for, right?). Dating / Married couples usually go for this, as do families.
What if I book you for a certain number of hours, and at the event when that time is up, I'd like you to stay longer and continue drawing more people? Are you willing to stay longer than we originally booked you for?
As long as you pay me for the extra added time, and as long as I do not have any other engagements to get to following the event, then yes, I am very willing to stay longer than the time we originally booked.
How far are you willing to travel?
As long as you're paying the travel fee, pretty darn far. However in cases of extremely long distances, I may need you to pay the additional travel fee in advance. If it's more than 200 miles away, I may also need you to provide me a place to stay for the night.
How do I pay you?
Normally, you pay me at the event sometime before it ends. If for some reason it needs to be different than that, we can discuss it between us beforehand. If you want to pay me with a Credit Card, you'll have to do it through my PayPal account (my account's e-mail address is "thegreatlukeski [at] gmail [dot] com"), but I typically get paid for these events with a check. Make all checks payable to “Luke Sienkowski”. I also accept cash, but who doesn't?
How do I book Luke Ski as a Party Artist?
E-mail me, of course! My schedule is always crazy, so the sooner you can get a hold of me and start the booking process, the better (especially during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve). It's never too early to set things up, so even if you're just considering it a possibility, it's probably best to e-mail me right away and ask if I am available for the date of your event. If you prefer to talk to me over the phone, leave your phone number in your e-mail (and the best times for me to call you there) and I will call you as soon as I can. Click here to email a message to me.
So that's it! Thanks for taking the time to read this offer, and I hope to hear from you soon. 🙂
~ Luke Ski, 2007