SPEND FIVE minutes with Wayne Tillett, and you\u2019ll take something with you \u2013 a caricature commemorating a special event and a new way to see yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An impulsive stop at his station results in more than a drawing exaggerating your strong features or sending your personality leaping off the page; it offers temporary escape from reality. \u201cNobody gets up in the morning wanting a caricature,\u201d Wayne began. \u201cI\u2019m like the candy aisle. You don\u2019t get out of bed to get a Snickers, but you\u2019re at the store, and the candy bar is there, so you get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cartooning class clown landed his dream job as a caricature artist in 1987 with Nashville\u2019s Opryland theme park. From there, Wayne worked in Orlando as an art director, then at Universal Studios Florida sketching forever keepsakes for park guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next came New Jersey, where he worked a triangle of parks in the area: Lake Compounce in Connecticut; Six Flags Great America D.C., and The Jersey Shore in Ocean City. It was in New Jersey he married and began a family of three sons; eventually divorced; and later met and married his lovely wife, Lisa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Circumstances eventually prompted what Wayne calls a \u201cBeverly Hillbillies\u201d move back to Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wayne took his hometown with him everywhere he worked; so much so that other artists at Universal Studios pleaded with him to stop talking so much about it. \u201cIt definitely gave me a sense of pride. Wherever my art career or life took me around the country, I guess that small town boy stayed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happy to reconnect with roots and family, coming back to Tennessee was a dream come true. Wayne treasures the local landmarks, events, and natural beauty in Bedford County. \u201cPerhaps most of all, horse show donuts!\u201d Wayne added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProfessionally speaking,\u201d Wayne said, \u201cbeing home has been amazing. I really thought my full-time caricature career was over, being so far away from the theme parks. I didn\u2019t know that Nashville and Middle Tennessee were on the cusp of such a tourist boom. The calls started coming immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wayne came full circle when he opened Music City Caricatures at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Sadly, his wife, Lisa, passed away a few years after moving to Tennessee, but he was so happy to have been able to give her the joy of living in Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wayne has written, illustrated, and published a children\u2019s book available on Amazon, Where Do the Strawberries Grow, recounting John Lennon\u2019s life inspired by Wayne\u2019s visits to Central Park. He\u2019s also a long-time Dr. Who fan and most recently a blogger documenting his Big Foot expeditions. At a recent Big Foot Festival in Gatlinburg, Wayne offered digital caricature for the first time and combined his two passions in a new way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And no matter where his passions take him, Shelbyville and Bedford County will continue to go with him.-GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SPEND FIVE minutes with Wayne Tillett, and you\u2019ll take something with you \u2013 a caricature commemorating a special event and a new way to see yourself. An impulsive stop at his station results in more than a drawing exaggerating your strong features or sending your personality leaping off the page; it offers temporary escape from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n