I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame

by Kevin Nealon

Overview

You may know Kevin Nealon as a celebrated comedian and Saturday Night Live alum—but he also happens to be a talented caricature artist.

In I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame, comedian and actor Kevin Nealon shares original full-color caricatures and funny, endearing personal essays about his famous friends. Alongside his portraits and doodles from script margins and cocktail napkins, Nealon takes readers through his memories of everything from the set of Saturday Night Live with Chris Farley and Dana Carvey to his idolization of James Taylor, the eulogy he gave at his dear friend Garry Shandling’s funeral, and much more. Part memoir, part coffee table book, this is a charming and gorgeously illustrated project from a comedy all-star that is sure to delight.

Caricatures in this book include:

• Hollywood megastars like Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jennifer Aniston
• Funny people like Steve Martin, Chris Rock, and David Letterman
• Music icons like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, and Tom Petty
• And many more!

“The caricatures are a joy to look at, each capturing the spirit of the subject in a way that only a skilled artist—and a person with keen observational skills—could produce.”—AP

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419761980
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	362,124
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Kevin Nealon is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, had roles in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and is a touring stand-up comedian. He lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

The caricatures are a joy to look at, each capturing the spirit of the subject in a way that only a skilled artist—and a person with keen observational skills—could produce.

AP

The caricatures are a joy to look at, each capturing the spirit of the subject in a way that only a skilled artist—and a person with keen observational skills—could produce.”—AP

“An impressive collection from a multifaceted artist. The anecdotes that Nealon includes with each image are heartwarming and sincere.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-08-23
A collection of caricatures and related anecdotes from the actor and comedian.

Nealon is perhaps best known for his time on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995. During that time, he would sketch images of his fellow cast members in the margins of his scripts, often making them his “unwitting subjects.” More recently, while flying to and from stand-up gigs, fellow passengers have also become his subjects. During the pandemic, when stand-up gigs were canceled, he found himself sketching even more. The author recounts how he became interested in drawing as a boy and later developed an affinity for French impressionist painters, particularly Claude Monet, who also enjoyed drawing caricatures. Later, Nealon began visiting museums in order to study the artists’ paintings and techniques, and he learned to paint using a digital tablet, which is the technique he employs in this book. The only downside to his hobby, he writes, is that when he looks at people now, he sees their character traits exaggerated in his head. Among the celebrities and other notable individuals included in the book are Robin Williams, who was “a modern-day Jonathan Winters. No one was quicker or funnier; I was absolutely floored by his wit, improvisational skills, characters, and voices. He was pure genius”; Johnny Carson, whom Nealon “watched religiously”; and Steve Martin, whom Nealon claims to have “first discovered” (before any of his other friends). He includes many fellow SNL cast members, including Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, and Norm Macdonald, as well as SNL creator and executive producer Loren Michaels. He also includes portraits of musicians, including Kurt Cobain, Tom Petty, Eddie Vedder, and Prince. The anecdotes that Nealon includes with each image are heartwarming and sincere. As the author writes, each sketch was “a labor of love.” Other profiles include Howard Stern, Jennifer Aniston, and Anthony Bourdain.

An impressive collection from a multifaceted artist.

Kirkus Reviews