3rd Ward Member Goes From Big Bird To Big Time: Meet Illustrator and Caricaturist Cathy Nolan

Cathy Nolan and her showcase table at the Craft and Hobby Association Winter show.3rd Ward member Cathy Nolan made her first illustration when she was 18 months old. "Of course it was a bunch of scribbles and circles," she says. "I waddled up to my mother and my first words were 'Big Bird.' A million years later she still has that drawing!"

By eight she knew that she wanted to be a caricaturist. "As a kid growing up in the Chicagoland area my family would often go to Great America amusement park," she remembers. "When I first saw artists drawing people I was mesmerized. I couldn't get pulled away from watching the process of someone sitting there and getting drawn. My siblings had to drag me away from the caricature booth to ride the cool rides."

At 18 she turned pro. "I did my first county fair drawing people and made $1000 in five days," she says, "so I thought 'Hmmm... I could get used to this!'"

Nolan has been drawing ever since. Her caricatures allow her to engage and connect with her subjects in a unique way. "I love talking to people, putting them at ease to talk about themselves and their passions and then drawing them doing what they enjoy doing in life," she says. Hit the jump to read more about Nolan and see some of her work.

Nolan's career has naturally led to some fascinating experiences, such as her caricature of one Vietman veteran:

I was working at a county fair and he came up to my booth and told me his life story. He asked me to draw all of the aspects of himself with his different personalities.  I wasn't sure if he was schitzophrenic or crazy. I drew him in the middle of the page and drew all the different personalitlies around the main image. When I began to draw his evil crazy side, I was a little bit nervous while drawing him because I didn't want that particular personality to appear. He loved the drawing and later that day his wife came up to me to thank me. She said, "He has NEVER told anyone about his time in Vietnam and of his personality disorder! Great art!"

We often think of a caricaturist as someone that we'll only encounter on a stroll through Central Park, but many major clients have commissioned Nolan's work, from American Airlines and Citibank to Highlights for Children and the New York Rangers.

Working for Scholastic Media she also picked up valuable skills in licensing and product development. She teaches student illustration workshops and has presented her work in showcases such as the Brand Licensing Show in London and the Craft and Hobby Association Show in Anaheim, California. At 3rd Ward she's also honed her skills even further through Photoshop and Illustrator classes.

You can see Nolan's work in person at Connecticut Muffin (423 Myrtle Ave) in Clinton Hill. She'll be hosting a reception there on Friday, March 30 from 6:30-8pm.

"All are welcomed to attend!" she says. "If I'm feeling inspired, I might be drawing caricatures of those who attend too!"

Cathy Nolan with author Elizabeth Gilbert.

-- John Ruscher