San Pedro residents and visitors now have the rare opportunity to have a personalized caricature illustrated by renowned artist Bill Yim. Yim, who hails from Hong Kong, has sketched his way around the globe and will be entertaining guests at the Rendezvous Restaurant and Winery until December14th.
The San Pedro Sun had the pleasure of meeting Yim when we attended their weekly Sunday beach BBQ last week. Yim, who is an animated character with a fu-manchu moustache, one dangling earring and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, interacts with the crowd with his witty sense of humour and confounding magic tricks. With the quick turn of his hand he can change simple pieces of paper into dollar bills, turn one length of string into two and back again, or surprise you with other tricks he has up his sleeve. Of course this is just a prelude to the fun to be had when he sits you down to draw your caricature.
Yim carries a portfolio of half finished drawings (from the neck down) that are folded so that you cannot see the bottom 
half. While he searches through this collection he hums to himself and acts as though he knows just what specific one he is looking to add your head to. Of course you don’t see this, just the blank half that he starts the caricature on. He teases, “You don’t have to pretty yourself up,” as I try to manage my windblown hair, “I can fix that with my drawing!” The crowd is thoroughly engaged while watching this caricature come to life with the quick pen strokes Yim makes, and when the final draft is unveiled we cheer and clap in delight. Even more fun is when the paper is unfolded and the head is attached to a comical body, perhaps one sporting a sexy bikini with a fish trying to untie the ribbon holding the suit together or a maracas-shaking Cha Cha girl, or a gawky man in skimpy attire. All are sure to get a laugh and the drawing is a memento you can enjoy for years to come.
People are invited to come to Rendezvous during one of their Sunday Beach BBQ’s or visit their gourmet restaurant for dinner to meet this highly entertaining cartoonist and have a caricature created. The cost is $20US per caricature. Yim is also available for private sessions, such as parties and social functions during this time. For more information kindly call Glenn at Rendezvous at 626-3511.
