My Volunteer Caricature Work


From the first time I did a caricature in 1994 until today, I’ve enjoyed highlighting my subject’s best features and personality.

To me it is better to reveal the brilliance of a person or their passion for a hobby, than to focus on an “unfavorable” feature. I utilize the art of caricature to bring out the inner beauty of an individual, for myself, for the audience and, most importantly, the person sitting in front of me.

I often have past customers visit and tell me their caricature is framed and hanging in a special place in their home or office.

My aspiration is to go and draw children that have never had this positive experience because of lack of resources or other barriers. Art, I believe, can heal. There are children who may be going through hard times, children that are difficult to communicate with, closed to the outside world. I believe I can reach them through my caricatures. I want to bring to them optimism and confidence. I know this experience can produce a favorable result in their young lives.

I’ve never been more certain of this mission, than one Sunday morning a couple of years ago. I was drawing caricatures at a camp for children, and as always, I had a crowd. This sweet boy about 6 years old, who barely looked up from staring at his shoes was my next subject. He was very shy and very quiet, I asked him what he would like me to draw him doing and he quietly said: football player. I tried so hard to see deeper into his personality and find that little something in him that would bring light into his small face. I told him to close his eyes, and imagine himself as a football player in a stadium filled with fans cheering for him, then I asked him “what is the number on your jersey?” without hesitation, he opened his eyes, smiled really big and said: 56!

I finished the drawing and showed it to him. He immediately stood with confidence and looked at the drawing. A small smile got bigger and he just marveled at the drawing. “It’s me.”

In volunteering at the children’s hospital for the past three years, I’ve had similar experiences countless times, little girls gleam at their caricatures of princesses with their beautiful dresses, boys of their pirate cartoon bodies, sailing the vast ocean, far away from a hospital bed.

I realize the smiles represent a crack in the emotional barrier wall that too many children have as a result of various difficulties in their young lives. That small crack can begin the mental healing process for them, sometimes with the help of professional counseling. I am fortunate to bear witness to these small miracles in my years of volunteering.

That is why I will always strive to see the best in my subjects, particularly young people.

Deborah Moreno

Caricature Artist and Portrait Painter

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