TERRE HAUTE —
A man who identifies himself as the fastest portrait artist in the world hopes to set a new record for the number of portraits sketched during a six-hour span on Mother’s Day.
Robin Walker said he will draw on his years of expertise and his physical endurance when he tries to surpass his own record of 38 portraits as he puts markers to paper from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Honey Creek Mall in Terre Haute.
“I’ve brought something original you don’t see in a mall,” Walker said.
He accepts donations for what he calls the “cartunes” that he draws while listening to local radio. On Wednesday, Ashley Swalls of Sullivan held her 17-month-old daughter Paisley on her knee while Walker chattered to the toddler as he quickly sketched her hair and bright expression.
“I’m drawing everyone for free on Mother’s Day,” he said. Though of course, he will accept donations or tips for his work.
Walker keeps a stopwatch attached to his easel so he can time his own work. Paisley’s portrait took him 9 minutes, 32 seconds, but she was a little wiggly during the process.
“No one sits still,” he said, laughing.
In addition to the speedy black-and-white caricatures he draws of his subjects, Walker creates colorful pastel portraits from photographs. He does charge a fee for those creations, which require much more time to produce. And a portfolio on display shows portraits that combine faces from different photos into a composite that look as if everyone were in the original photo.
Walker has had a specialty booth set up along the front entry hall inside the mall since mid-March. For 25 years he traveled around the country to fairs, festivals and flea markets setting up his easel where he found space.
He said that as a teenager he was good at drawing landscapes and got high marks in art classes, but he was 19 before he discovered his knack for cartooning.
Born in 1955 in Indianapolis, Walker said he almost lost his right arm in an auto accident at age 17. After a long recovery, another life-changing event directed him onto his artistic path. Walker said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong friends when a homicide was committed. Though he was not involved in the shooting, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Walker was living in a small prison cell when he realized he had a knack for drawing portraits of fellow inmates.
“My first portrait was on a bed sheet,” he said. “I cut out a big square, stretched it over a board and stapled it in place.”
After seven years in prison, he became eligible for parole and was released from the Eddyville, Ky., prison. He was soon traveling the country creating art, and became inspired by another artist who was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for his speed drawing.
For the last six years, Walker has remained in Indiana traveling to different locations to work. Last Christmas, he created 29 portraits during a one-day stint in Kokomo.
He said his goal would be to find a business or corporate sponsor so he could give away his artwork to customers every day. But for now, he just accepts the donations for his “cartunes.”
“I don’t think I’ll still be here by Father’s Day in June, so I hope people come out Sunday to get a special portrait made for Mother’s Day,” he said.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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That's her: Ashley Swalls of Sullivan watches as Robin Walker draws a portrait of her daughter, Paisley, at the Honey Creek Mall on Wednesday.
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Attention to detail: Artist Robin Walker draws a rose on a portrait of a youngster Wednesday at the Honey Creek Mall.
Discussion
Accelerated Art
Indiana artist aims to leave mark on record books on Mother’s Day
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