Bernie Tennis - Caricature Artist - Madison, WI

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Like many people, Bernie Tennis loved to draw and paint as a child and. Also like many people he dropped this activity sometime in his teen years when other interests arose. Though somewhere in the back of Bernie's mind the art bug was just waiting to bite again.

After receiving a degree in an unrelated (technical) field Bernie discovered that his work did not provide him with a great deal of satisfaction, so he set about rediscovering the artist within. He enrolled in university art courses and began drawing and painting constantly. Though Bernie would draw anything, his favorite subjects tend to be people. Gradually he began to move into the business of portraiture and caricature.

Most of his work is done live at parties, festivals, art shows, and every other type of event imaginable. He uses Caran d’ Ache painting crayons and lithographic crayons, which produce pastel and charcoal effects, but are permanent (no smearing occurs and no fixative spray is required). Part of effect of what he does, is in the process, the show. A line of people waiting to be drawn usually forms and others may stop to observe and joke with one another, ask questions, or tease the current person being drawn.

While Bernie works he keeps his primary objective in mind: to produce a personalized drawing which draws upon the uniqueness of each individual.