RIHANNA vs. CHRIS BROWN

I’m usually a bit slow on the uptake regarding celebrity scandals, unless those “celebrities” are politicians. However, the recent, alleged assault of Rihanna by her boyfriend, Chris Brown, presented a second opportunity for me to caricature the songstress. She is a superb piece of human sculpture, whose features are also easy to exaggerate. Her olive-green eyes help give her an unusual glow, as well. And, EYES, as I’ve mentioned before, are what caricature is really all about.

Aside from that, I’m really not interested in Rihanna’s troubled love life — though clearly Mr. Brown may have committed a serious crime here. As Rihanna has agreed to testify against him in any upcoming trial, he could well be looking at well-deserved jail time.

For me, though, such scandals can be a welcome break from politics — especially if they involve glamorous women. It’s a pleasant change from sitting around in my studio, day after day, caricaturing a zillion male politicians — plus Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. It’s an additional reason why editorial cartoonists and caricaturists were enamored of Sarah Palin. (Wow! Look at her — and she’s EASY TO DRAW!!!)

…Really, you think I’m the only guy cartoonist who felt this way about…Sarah? But don’t get me wrong, Ms. Clinton is quite attractive, at age 61, and Nancy Pelosi was probably a knockout as a younger woman — if you could look past the giant, praying mantis eyes!

But back to celebrities. Recently, I read that another glamorous couple was having a bout of marital strife, with hints of pushing and shoving. Actually, let me qualify that — a HALF-glamorous couple: Jennifer Lopez and salsa balladeer Marc Anthony. The latter bears some resemblance to a Puerto Rican coqui, a species of tiny treefrog — the males of which loudly repeat their name as a mating call.

Marc Anthony is almost TOO easy to caricature. Yet, what saves him is that he’s not a walking caricature, a la Jay Leno, whose face leaves nothing to the imagination. Jennifer Lopez, however, is another story. I’ve caricatured her numerous times, and she’s always a challenge. While her posterior is an obvious target, almost to the point of cliche (Is it REALLY that large? I’ve seen larger), her facial features are so smooth and symmetrical that they leave little for the caricatuist to grab hold of and mangle. So, most of my caricatures of Lopez have been somewhat middling. And even when they’ve worked, there’s just nothing inspiring or funny about her modestly lovely face. I’m just happy to have captured her likeness. The one exception — don’t know if you’ll agree — is a caricature I drew of Ms. Lopez some years back, in which she is smiling broadly. I’ve cropped her face for posting here. Let me know what you think. Thumbs up, thumbs down, a thumb in the eye — whatever.