The Houston Astros’ World Series win is a memorable thing, but Bob Doll of Katy can be forgiven if he sees things differently.
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The Houston Astros’ World Series win is a memorable thing, but Bob Doll of Katy can be forgiven if he sees things differently.
After all, he’s a cartoonist.
For both the World Series, and the American League Championship Series that preceded it, Doll sat outside Minute Maid Park, drawing caricatures of fans. The Astros hired him to be part of the festivities, and he worked not only the home games, but the away games as well.
“There were the fan fests before every playoff game during the ALCS and the World Series,” Doll said. “Even the away games, because they had watch parties there for those. I would sit out on the street fests, the fan fest, right outside the park and draw people’s caricatures along with the face painters. They had a live band down there. They had some moonwalks and some of the cheerleaders are out there taking selfies with everybody. They had food trucks. It was just a good time. It was a hoot.”
Doll was at Monday’s championship celebration, but admitted that he wasn’t wearing his Astros shirt. He said it was in the wash.
But, as might be expected following a championship, there is plenty of Astros’ paraphernalia to go around.
“I was out doing some work at Minute Maid Park yesterday (Sunday) when they opened up the store there at the stadium, the Astros store, and that line went around the stadium and they were selling those jerseys for $125,” Doll said. “And there was a line. Boy, I tell you what. You can get those things at Academy for a lot less.”
Doll moved to Houston with his family in 1979 from Memphis. He was a student then, and graduated in 1981 from Stratford High School. He served as a field radio operator in the Marines and today runs Dollhouse Window Cleaning in Katy.
He said he spent about half his time focusing on his artwork and works out of his spare bedroom, which serves as his studio.
“I was an artist since I’ve been a kid, like all kids, but as I grew up, I just kept drawing and I spent most of my adult life not realizing that I could make money doing this,” Doll said. “People buy this stuff. And so, I just started doing caricatures because it is quick money. It’s money that I could make right away. I also do other things besides caricatures, like humorous illustrations. I do some animated whiteboard videos for YouTube. I’ve done a couple of logos for people here and there. It’s only until just recently because of certain circumstances that I’ve really taken it up almost all the time. It seems like every weekend now I’m drawing somewhere.”
Doll became an Astros fan when he came to Texas. He said he hasn’t really been a rabid fan, but they are always fun to watch. He attended games at the Astrodome, but until recently he had never visited the team’s current home, Minute Maid Park, where the team began playing in 2000.
As for the World Series, Doll said he knew the Astros had a better team than Philadelphia, but there were moments of worry.
“To be honest with you, I was a little worried when they dropped that first game, and then in Game 3 they got shut out, so yeah, it was a nailbiter for me,” Doll said. “But I knew they were the better team. I knew that they would pull it out, but the anxiety in me was always there. When they came back to Houston with a 3-2 series lead, I knew we had it.”
Doll also published a book, in March 2021, called “Shut Up & Draw: A Journey to Creativity.”
“Well, there are several reasons why I wrote it," Doll said. “Everybody always wants to write a book, right? Everybody always says they’re going to write a book and I decided, I think I’ve got enough material to at least put something down, and it kind of turned into an autobiographical humorous illustration book.”
Doll said the book has both humorous illustrations, and also describes about he got started in drawing.
“The thing I was trying to give it a bend that you don’t have to draw,” Doll said. “It’s just whatever you’re doing, whether it’s selling homes or writing a newspaper or selling shoes or whatever. You have to want to do that and the more you do it, the better you get. You don’t have to really do what everyone else says you’ve got to do. You just do what you’re good at.”
Doll also does commissioned artwork. He can be reached through his website, bobdoll.weebly.com.