One last courtroom sketching post before I get back to my normal illustration work…

I’ve been sketching trials off and on for nine years now. When I gave my website an overhaul a few months ago I stripped out all of my courtroom sketch work because it didn’t really fit in with the rest of my illustration and concept work. It was cluttering up my “brand”.

Instead, my plan was to build a separate website just to showcase my courtroom sketching. Since my brain is still in courtroom mode, I decided to spend a few hours today finally whipping that site together. Just a little something to remind the world that I’m out there and available any time a courtroom sketch artist is needed.

The site still needs some tweaking but the nuts and bolts are mostly in place. Take a gander at my courtroom sketch portfolio over at www.courtroomsketches.com.

Good Morning America has been including my sketches in some daily updates they’ve been running on the trials. So this story has officially gone national.

First, a sketch I forgot to include in yesterday’s upload…

The defense questions an expert on issues related to driving and night vision.

Today’s sketches:

The defense attorney asks permission to include some evidence that the court has ruled inadmissable.

The prosecuting attorney uses powerpoint to summarize her closing arguements for the jury.

The defense attorney summarizes his closing arguments for the jury.

To do that they brought in some road construction equipment and a highway patrolman with a background in reconstructing auto accidents. He explained that a construction barrel is much lighter than a grown human being and reacts much differently when struck by a car. To demonstrate the prosecuting attorney asked the patrolman to kick over the barrel in front of the jury, which he did with relative ease. It may not prove much – the average person probably thinks the barrels are much heavier than they really are, and perception is what matters in this trial – but after four days of drawing the same people sitting in the same chairs in the same room, it was fun to change it up. It’s not often I get to draw an “action shot” in court.

The trial will likely end on Monday with Mrs. Senser herself taking the stand, and then I’ll be getting back to regular client work. This has been such a tragic case on so many levels. A man is dead and another family has to watch their mother face a very public trial, and since her husband is a local celebrity much of their personal family dramas and conflicts (both real and implied) have been paraded in front of the media. At the same time the media is all but ignoring the victim’s family.

No matter what the jury decides, there will be no winners.

The prosecuting attorney questions a state patrolman who is an expert in reconstructing auto accidents.

The patrol officer wheeled in some construction equipment for a demonstration.

The prosecuting attorney asked the patrol officer to kick over one of the construction barrels to demonstrate how lightweight they are.

On a side note, I’m told that some of my sketches from the trial wound up on ‘Good Morning America’ this morning. A relative DVR’d it for me and I plan to check it out.

The defendant's husband, former Minnesota Viking Joe Senser, takes the stand for his second day of questioning.

Since I wasn't allowed to sketch the teenage witnesses on the stand, I worked on a close-up of the judge instead.

Since we weren't allowed to sketch the minors who were testifying, or even sustitute a blank outline or silhouette, I was forced to leave the witness stand empty. Naturally the news station wasn't able to do much with this one.

The TV station asked me not to come in until 11am today. Even though I showed up early the courtroom was packed and every seat taken. I had to draw out in the hallway for the rest of the morning looking through a tiny window in the door. Fortunately after the lunch recess I was able to get a good seat inside.

Court was adjourned before I was able to finish up the third sketch so I quickly slapped in some color and ran it out to the news trucks as-is.

Keep watching KSTP-5 for ongoing coverage.

Lawyers for the prosecution (left) and defense (right) confer privately with the judge.

Former Vikings player and local celebrity Joe Senser takes the stand in defense of his wife.

Former Minnesota Viking Joe Sensor is questioned by attorneys while his wife, defendant Amy Senser (far left), looks on

While I have your attention, don’t forget about my Amazon book sale and the autographed Disney maquette-and-sketch combo I’m auctioning off on ebay. Only two days left to bid.

Amy Senser, seated next to her attorney, bows her head as she listens to 911 calls from the accident scene.

Amy Senser dabs tears from her eyes as the medical examiner discusses the victim's injuries.

A witness dabs tears from her eyes as she listens to a tape of her 911 call from the crime scene.

A relative of the victim gives her testimony.

The medical examiner describes the damage to the victim's body.

Amy Senser's stepdaughter Brittani Sensor testifies.

Today was the start of a hit-and-run homicide trial with ties to a local celebrity. The defendant, Amy Senser, is the wife of Joe Senser, a former Minnesota Viking who now owns a chain of local restaurants. Amy is accused of striking a man named Anousone Phanthavong with her car while he was standing next to his stalled vehicle on an exit ramp, resulting in his death. She proceeded to drive home and insists she was unaware that she had actually struck someone. You can read all the details on numerous news sites with a quick google search.

Today was jury selection and opening arguments. I banged out these three sketches in a little over five hours. The sketches will air tonight on the local KSTP-5 news. I’ll be back in the courtroom tomorrow for more drawings.

Courtroom sketching is high pressure but also a lot of fun. For more info read my blog post, “What It’s Like To Do Courtroom Sketching”.

UPDATE: A video clip of the KSTP news story featuring my sketches can be seen here.

Defendant Amy Senser, left, with her lawyer.

The defense lawyer questions potential jurors (not pictured) while the judge listens.

A lawyer for the prosecution questions potential jurors. I deliberately left the jurors vague. Their identities must remain secret for the duration of the trial.

Since I’m doing a book sale to thin out my studio shelves and make room for new stuff, I thought it would also be a good time to part with my “Emperor’s New Groove” maquette-and-drawing combo.

I originally purchased this pair of Disney goodies at a fundraising auction. The first item is a limited edition animation maquette of Kuzko from “The Emperor’s New Groove”, signed by the lead animator (Nik Ranieri) and the sculptor (Raffaello Vecchione). The second is an original, signed sketch of Kuzko by Nik Ranieri on genuine old-fashioned animation paper.

I’m auctioning both items together as a set on ebay. Jump on over to read more info and/or place a bid.

That’s right. I’m having another book sale.

I’ve got a pretty large collection of art books in my studio library. Too many in fact. I bought a stack of books last summer at Comic-Con and they’ve been piled neatly on my studio floor all these months because there’s just no room for them on the shelves. So it’s time to prune everything down again.

I’ve listed a few books for sale on Amazon and hope to add more in the next few days. You can view a live update of everything I have available on my Amazon.com storefront: http://www.amazon.com/shops/cedricstudio

I’ve tried to undercut other Amazon sellers whenever possible. If I’ve got a like-new copy I’m not going to sell it for cheaper than someone selling a raggedy book full of highlighting and coffee stains, but if my copy is in the same condition as one listed by another seller I’ve tried to underbid him. They could always counter by lowering their price (some sellers even have software that does this automatically) but for the moment at least, buying from me will get you the best deal. You can check for sure by clicking on the item and looking at the various “Used and New” offers.

Happy shopping!

EDIT: While I’m at it I‘m also selling an autographed “Emperor’s New Groove” Kuzko maquette combined with an original drawing of Kuzko by Nik Ranieri. Better than a toasted plate of spinach puffs!