My friend, Nishant Jain is giving a drawing class at Bethesda fountain in New York for the Urbansketchers. It’s sold out. I went to check the fountain out for myself. I’m big on drawing groovy tourist sites lately. I ended up needing two trips there to finish my own drawing because it was more elaborate than I anticipated.
St. Pat's
I showed up on the street to draw St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue. It was a blustery cold day. The streets were filled with high school and grammer school aged catholic school kids all in uniforms. I hadn’t seen this many since the 1960s when I myself was in catholic school. Not a single kid cared or looked at what I was drawing. They all passed me by.
Smoker
This is what the world looks like to me. A somewhat realistic, colorful cartoon. When I pick up my pen and begin to draw, I’m always shooting for super realism but somhow a cartoon always develops. I was breast fed on Woody Woodpecker and toilet trained by Magilla Gorilla. To quote Popeye the Sailor Man, “I yam what I yam.”
Spring Has Sprung
Every spring, I make a new version of this same type of flower drawing. I went to the Botanical Gardens on three separate occasions to get this many blooms onto my page. Plus some days it was quite cold to stay out there. When I’m finished, I always think this is the best one I’ve ever done. Probably not true but I love my little sketch anyway.
Key West
Recently got back from my first trip to Key West, Florida. First thing you notice there is that everyone drives a golf cart. Next thing you notice is that there are feral chickens wandering the streets everywhere. It’s against the law to harm them. They hang outside the cafes, party in the alleyways and basically do as they please. I was amused listening to them crow in the distance. I love the look of the tiny beach houses separated from each other by only a few feet. A very convivial town indeed.
Manhattan Island
I did this drawing on site. It’s the Brooklyn side facing Manhattan. I had it framed and gifted it to my niece Megan for her wedding. It’s also part of a little project I did that I hope comes to fruition this year.
Florida
Just got back from Key West, Florida. It was our first time there. Went for a wedding. I also got to spend a few days beforehand at my cousin, Eileen’s house on Marco Island. I drew her boat which was raised up on her dock. Used my Merlin app to spot ospreys, mottled ducks, fish crows, great egrets, green herons, eurasian doves, brown pelicans, and peregrine falcons among others. Obviously not when I was drawing. A dolphin moseyed by at one point too.
Chinatown
The gritty streets of Chinatown are some of the city’s most visually authentic. It’s a great place to draw because people always want to engage you. I spend a lot of time talking with folks who take an exuberant interest in art. For this one, I had to return to the spot a second day in a row because there was too much detail to capture in one sitting. I’m known to do that. Obviously this was done at the end of last summer. Just hadn’t posted it yet.
Yellow Tomato
I never go to a bar or club anymore. Recently, I went to see a friend’s band perform in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I popped into a bar to thaw out before I got to the venue. It was filled with young people. While sipping a club soda, I noticed that the vast amount of dudes had mustaches. I clearly missed when this trend took hold. As I observed this phenomenon, it started to actually look good. It’s weird how I’m so easily swayed as if I have no mind of my own. I myself can’t pull one off because deep down I know it looks peculiar.
Rabbit
This is the last in my animal series I drew on Stillman & Birn Alpha series paper.
Blonde Redhead
There is a great alternative rock band I love called, Blonde Redhead. I saw them live once. I was in a Japanese ramen place one time and the lead singer, Kazu Makino came in and sat next to me. I didn’t want to bug her but I did say how much I love her band’s music. Last week, Yun and I went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants, Sobaya, for lunch. We ended up being seated next to Kazu and her guitarist Amedeo Pace. Seems I have the same taste in Japanese restaurants as Blonde Redhead.
Pussy Riot
Pussy riot.
Lion
I’m posting my lion drawing so you can study it just as if you were standing in front of it at the Guggenheim.
