April 24, 2017

Meet Dominic Arneson of Cartoon Slinger in Orange County

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic Arneson.

Dominic, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been drawing and painting as long as I can remember. My first job as an artist was at Knott’s Berry Farm drawing pastel portraits. At the time, I couldn’t believe I was actually getting paid to spend time in an amusement park and draw pictures. When I was there about a year Knott’s was bought by a larger company and my boss lost his contract in the transaction. He offered me a position at Universal Studios, Hollywood where he had several locations within the theme park and at Universal City Walk. I trained to create caricatures there in the traditional style and also in airbrush and worked there for several years. During that time, I connected with some event planners through my coworkers and began working events on the side. Drawing caricatures for event guests was incredibly fun and the pay for a 2-hour event was more than I’d make on a good day at the theme park. I started spending my free time promoting my services for events and creative projects and began booking myself more and more until I was able to work entirely as a freelance artist. It’s not always easy. There are times when I’m up all night to meet deadlines on projects and times when it feels like my job is looking for new gigs but I love what I do because over all my work is extremely fun. I’m either helping party guests relax and have a good time by drawing cartoons of them in situations they love or I’m helping someone bring an image they’ve dreamed up to life. In essence, every drawing at every event and every project I work on is about bringing joy to the person requesting it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road. There are times when I struggle to calendar enough events and projects to pay the bills, and the administrative duties necessary to run a business aren’t exactly my forte but I’m always pushing myself to improve my skills, both in the studio and in the office and constantly striving to improve my services for every client, from the first contact to the finished product.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cartoon Slinger – what should we know?
I create custom artwork for events, advertising and gifts, specializing in but not limited to the art of caricature. I do caricature drawings of party guests for events all over Southern California as well as individual and group caricature illustrations for people throughout the US through my website, CartoonSlinger.com, where you can place an order a send a photo of any person you’d like cartooned and what you’d like them to be doing and receive finished artwork within a couple of business days. I also paint murals, and have artwork in multiple homes and businesses throughout southern California as well as one in Cesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I have more people to thank than I could possibly mention here. My first artistic influence was my mom, Cathy Arneson. She always encouraged me and my siblings to take be creative, encouraged us to express ourselves through visual arts. My brother Sam Arneson has also been a huge influence throughout my life. He’s an amazingly talented artist, currently living in Portland, Oregon and we have collaborated on countless projects over the years. My aunt Crista Forest, who is an accomplished wildlife painter has also been inspirational. I may never have worked as an artist if it weren’t for the late Lee Harvin, who invested the time and energy to train me and many other artists in his style of caricature and portraiture that he sold to amusement park guests at Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios, and for offering me my first position as a working artist. I have to thank Mario Jackson, who I trained under once I was hired into Lee’s business and who I continue to work with on a regular basis. Kerry Manwaring and Scot Lowe are 2 other artists I trained under who I continue to work with today. Robert Villegas, another great artist I worked with introduced me to Burt Epstein, who became my first booking agent for events. John Hartman, now retired, owned Kustom Kreations and hired me for multiple airbrush murals on custom cars, RVs and motorcycles, Craig Reiber at CV Tile in Monrovia has also been a great client and mentor, hiring me on multiple events and creative projects including the mosaic tile mural at Cesar’s Palace provides an example of positive leadership and a business model to strive for. There are countless other clients, friends, family members and artists who have had positive impact on my life and career and I’m incredibly grateful for all the experiences that have brought me to where I am today.

Pricing:

Standard pricing for events is $150 per hour with a 2 hour minimum in most areas.
I also offer live digital caricatures, drawn on an iPad, displayed on a 40″ display and printed on photo paper. Rates for digital caricatures is $200 per hour with a 2 hour minimum.
Rates for individual caricatures via email start at just $40.

Contact Info: