Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
How much experience do you have?
As the owner of my own illustration studio I’ve worked on hundreds of projects for end clients including Hasbro, Disney, Scholastic, Target and Best Buy. I’m used to delivering quality artwork under tight deadlines. Over the years I’ve also sketched several high-profile court hearings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area including ISIS recruitment, the NFL vs Players Union, the estate of rock star Prince, the Rocori high school shooting, the kidnapping/murder of Jacob Wetterling, and the death of George Floyd.
My sketches have been licensed nationally by Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, CBS Evening News, AP, Reuters, Entertainment Tonight, and internationally by the UK Daily Mail and News Corp Australia.
Are you willing to travel?
Yes. I’m based in Minneapolis but if you foot the bill, I’m able and willing to come to you. Please contact me to discuss details.
How much do you charge?
I generally charge a flat daily fee to license the artwork. The fee varies based on two factors:
1. Whether the sketches will be used locally or nationally; and
2. Whether you want exclusive or nonexclusive rights to the art (in other words, if you don’t want me to also license the sketches to your competition the fee will be higher).
Please contact me and I’d be happy to discuss my current rates.
How many sketches can you do in a day?
Each trial is different but on average I can usually finish at least three sketches in a full courtroom day (morning and afternoon). I try to have something for the news cameras at lunch (if possible) and again at the end of the day.
I’ll start each day by talking with the news reporter to find out what he/she needs, and then do my best to create solid drawings that meet as many of the reporter’s requests as possible within the allotted time.
On the first day I often start with sketches of the key players (prosecution, defense, judge, and/or special “key” witnesses). If there’s time I can sometimes also sketch a large wide shot of the courtroom. On subsequent days I continue to focus on key witnesses and events as needed.
Do you sell your originals?
Sort of. If a judge allows it, I prefer to draw digitally on my iPad. It helps me crank out better, faster drawings. The downside is there is no original art to sell, although I can sell you a high-resolution digital copy of the image. If the judge does not allow iPads in the courtroom, then I draw on paper the old fashioned way in which case yes, the originals are for sale. Please contact me to discuss pricing.
I’m an attorney. Can I commission a courtroom sketch?
I get this question often. There are a lot of attorneys out there who would love to have a courtroom sketch hanging in their office.
As a courtroom artist my job is to show the public what actually happened in court. As such I feel a heavy sense of public trust and a responsibility to portray courtroom events fairly and accurately. So I have a policy of generally only sketching trials and hearings that I was personally present to witness. In most cases I can’t re-create a scene after the fact. There are just too many variables (facial expressions, body language, etc.) that I would have to invent out of thin air at the risk of misrepresenting what actually happened. My goal is to be an objective journalist, not a PR tool for attorneys.
Having said that, if you want to hire me to sit in court and draw you arguing a case I’m open to it, with the understanding that you take what you get. No revisions or fussing with the drawing to lionize anyone. If you are ok with that, please contact me and I’ll be happy to discuss it.
What’s it like to do courtroom sketching?
A while back I wrote a blog post over on my illustration studio website, “What’s It Like To Do Courtroom Sketching?”. You might enjoy giving it a read.