My foodie cravings caricature is always a talking point when I meet someone new, mainly because it’s a splitting image of me in cartoon style. And it’s all thanks to my friend Joe Filocamo, The Artistic Engineer, who patiently redrew my caricature as I asked for a pink bangle, a funkier top and some color to be added to my hair 
Here’s my interview with Joe who will be drawing caricatures for $20 a pop at Beaufort Street Network’s very first Beaufort Street Art Market located in the Barlee Street Car Park this Father’s Day, Sunday 7 September.
So you’re an engineer by trade, that’s very different! How did you get into drawing caricatures?
As most illustrators will tell you, drawing has been a passion of mine from a very early age. Everyone draws when they are a child, I’m just one of the ones that never stopped! I think it has something to do with the singing praise that I received from parents, teachers and the like. I kind of got addicted to the feeling of making people happy or making them think using only the marks I make on a page! So I guess the real question is how did I get into engineering 
What’s the very first caricature you drew? And what inspired you?
Despite having been illustrating for as long as I can remember, I’ve only been caricaturing for around 3 years. A few of my fellow local Perth artists were caricaturists and their ability to quickly capture a person was so intriguing to me that I decided to give it a crack, thinking that it would be easy (because they made it LOOK easy lol). To my surprise, it wasn’t as instinctual as I has first thought (i.e. I sucked). My complete and utter failures in the beginning led to a bit of an obsession and a lot of time drawing people from photos and trying to develop my eye. But eventually my skills developed and my working caricaturist friends invited me along to a few charity events where I immediately fell in love with the performance aspect of live drawing and the reactions you can get from your audience. It’s a rush for me as well as the model! As for my first caricature, I’m pretty sure it was myself!
We hear you’re going to be doing sittings at Beaufort Street Network’s very first Beaufort Street Art Market on Father’s Day?
Yes indeed, I am predicting a few Father’s Day presents as caricatures!
Where else can my readers find you if they wish to have their caricatures drawn?
I am available for functions/parties for live caricature but I also do more detailed watercolour caricature portraits from photos. People can visit my website www.theartisticengineer.com to contact me.
Lastly, what’s your thoughts on the #BeaufortStArt that’s popping up everywhere in Mt Lawley?
I always love the stuff thats popping up on Beaufort Street – the knitted coverings on everything are really cool. It’s like really polite graffiti.
To find out more about Joe Filocamo visit www.theartisticengineer.com or find him at the Beaufort Street Art Market on Father’s Day.
