Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erik Roadfeldt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erik, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Caricature is a very misunderstood art form. Many people believe caricature artists are trying to destroy a person’s face, or they pick one thing to exaggerate and make fun of. However, most live artists are just trying to get a good likeness and make something cute and fun that the subject will enjoy. We ALL love to highlight the things that make us unique and special. When we see a face that has unique features, we don’t exaggerate them because we think they’re ugly, we push the exaggerations to celebrate the beauty of diversity. And if we can get a big belly laugh, that’s just an added bonus.

Erik, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I’m Erik Roadfeldt, Co-Owner and Lead Artist at Twin Cities Caricatures. I’ve been drawing caricatures professionally for 24 years, mostly at events like weddings, birthdays, and company parties. I’ve also drawn at county fairs, Valley Fair and the Mall of America. I started my own booking agency (Twin Cities Caricatures) in 2016, and in 2018 my wife, Kelsey, quit her full time job to help me run the business. Our team of artists usually draw at events in the Twin Cities area but frequently travel into Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas.

I originally learned how to draw live caricatures from my grandmother back in 2000. I practiced what she taught me, at just a few events per year, until 2015 when I joined the International Society of Caricature Artists (ISCA, yes that’s a thing! caricature.org). I went to my first yearly conference and my mind. Was. Blown. I have learned SO MUCH from the other talented members of ISCA, and I have won awards for my black & white technique, color technique and group compositions. I was on the board of directors for a few years and now Kelsey is currently on the board (as of 2023). Caricature is my life, and I LOVE celebrating the things that make us unique and special.

We often get asked to donate time or artists for various fundraising events, but because the vast majority of our gigs happen on weekends, and there are only so many weekends every summer, it just isn’t feasible to give up a busy Saturday to draw for free. But I realized, if I’m willing to pay a 20% commission to the organizers of festivals, craft fairs and other events, why not donate 25% to an organization that needs the funds and help people at the same time? Caricatures for a Cause was born, and Kelsey helped streamline it so we can keep track of all the orders and shipping and donations to multiple organizations. We also started taking online orders to draw from photos before the events. Then we can either ship the drawings directly to the customers or bring them to the event for them to pick up. Since we started it in 2018, Caricatures for a Cause has raised over $15,000 for pet rescues and other non-profits! It feels good to give back, and it gives me something to draw at home between gigs and other events. We ended up working with mostly pet rescues. Pets are so expressive and fun to draw, I think I might like drawing them more than humans! It helps that dogs don’t usually care if I accidentally draw their nose too big. 😜

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I hear it at just about every gig, “I wish I could draw,” or, “you’re so lucky to be born with that talent.”

I was not born with the ability to draw. I spent years and many, many hours learning this skill. I believe anyone can learn any skill. People don’t seem to understand that drawing is just like anything else, it takes practice and study to get good.

What I WAS born with, is the drive to keep drawing. When I was little and I made bad drawings, I still enjoyed the process, and I kept doing it. As I got older and learned to see just how bad my drawings were by studying other people’s art, I didn’t give up, I kept drawing, and studying, and trying to figure out how to be better. I had the drive to say, this is terrible, try again.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For the first 15 years of my caricature artist career I only worked for one agent, and only met a couple other artists at the very few gigs I did throughout the year. The specific artists I worked with were mostly jaded and burnt out on drawing live caricatures. I picked up on their negative attitudes about customers and the process and didn’t have much joy for the job. But then I found other agents, and I met a few other artists who loved the job. They pushed me to join the International Society of Caricature Artists (ISCA). That’s when I realized how much I actually LOVED this gig, and I learned to find joy in the fact that people were PAYING ME TO DRAW SILLY PICTURES?!?! Now, every time I start to get frustrated with less fun aspects of drawing live caricatures I just remind myself, I’m doing something I love, and I’m getting paid well for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: twincitiescaricatures.com
• Instagram: twincitiescaricatures
• Facebook: twincitiescaricatures
• Linkedin: twincitiescaricatures
• Youtube: twincitiescaricatures
• Tiktok: @twin_cities_caricatures