Every year at Christmas, I go through the same drill. I get to a family member’s home and there is not much for me to draw, so I end up doing Christmas ornaments. The theme I came up with this time was floating ornaments. The flowers I added were in my sister’s kitchen. It all makes for an unusual urban sketch. It’s almost as if there is some backstory to the image but there really isn’t. I’m quite shallow in that regards.
Moses
In our neighborhood in Rome, we were staying a block from the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. Inside this unassuming joint lives the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. You just wander in and there it sits. There is no safety glass or any real security. It’s sort of roped off ten feet away. One day I was practically in there alone gaping at it. Weird and wonderful at the same time. He carved it when he was 38. He’d already done Pieta and David by the time he was 23. Many think this is his real masterpiece. Hard to disagree. If Moses was to stand up, he’d be the same height as David.
Rome Again
This was an old building I spotted in the Esquilino neighborhood of Rome. It was dripping with ancient texture. I may have embellished the amount of antennas a bit. I took some artisitic liberties. This was right where the beautiful multiethnic emporium at Piazza Vittorio is. A big indoor market selling many unusual vegetables, fruits and fresh seafoods. A nice tourist free zone.
Rome
I managed to do a second round of drawings in Piazza Navona. I topped it off with some sketches in the church where Bernini is buried. The weird thing about Piazza Navona is that there are two giant advertising billboards overlooking the square. One for a car and the other for a clothing brand. The giant images seem totally out of place. Not sure why they don’t get rid of them. I bet Bernini would agree with me.
Popolo
This is my drawing of Santa Maria in Montesanto church at the entrance to Via del Corso in Piazza del Popolo. Now that was a mouthful. Speaking of mouthfuls, I ate a lot of spaghetti Pomodoro, spaghetti aglio e olio, artichokes, salads, and cicoria. Rome is somewhat limiting for vegans. We did eat in a fancy vegan restaurant right off Via del Corso on the lane that Gregory Peck’s character lived in Roman Holiday.
Coincidence
I received an interesting email yesterday. It read, “I’m a longtime fan of your artwork. I am also visiting Rome and noticed your Tommykane.com written on the blackboard of our Airbnb on Via Urbana! Quite the unusual surprise.” How crazy is that. Life’s coincidences are amazing.
Rome Italy
I did this drawing in Rome. It was done in the Monti section of town. The little side street to the right of the fountain ran smack into the Colosseum which loomed large one block away. In the old days, all the kids hanging out at this fountain smoking, eating pizza, and talking on their iPhones would have been busy being fed to the lions.
Piazza Navona
My wife and I recently went on a Roman holiday. I sat and drew a statue that’s part of the Bernini fountain in Piazza Navona. The rest of the drawings I did of statues in separate churches I was exploring. As I was sketching, there was a tap on my shoulder. The police. I seem to always break some regulation. Now what? They spoke no English so we couldn’t communicate too well. One polizia officer was saying something like, “tutti straordinario” which I guess meant, no squirrels near the fountain. They started laughing at me and walked away. I then met my wife in one of the square’s cafes. I was finishing up my drawing when the waiter asked to see my book. He yelled for the other waiters to come over. They passed around my sketchbook while he loudly declared that I was as good as Michelangelo. The Italians and I are copacetic.
Postcard 2
This is my second postcard for the Brassworks Gallery postcard show. It’s a drawing of a poor mackerel whose life was ended so it could be stuffed into a can surrounded by tomato sauce. The big brand name is Geisha because these particular mackerel are from the seas of Japan. Somehow I thought it would make for an interesting postcard. Show opens december 9th in Portland, Oregon. Get on their mailing list to see the show online when it opens and maybe buy an original art postcard for yourself.
Baby Boy
When Yun and I were in Ireland, we visited my cousin Jack and his wife Orfhlaith (pronounced Orla). The Irish love when yanks stumble over trying to pronounce their wildly spelled names. They have a new son. Many of you may have seen my recent baby drawing that I posted. He was from our friends in London. This is a different baby drawing. I actually drew this guy first. Not sure why I’m doing all the baby boy drawings of late. I must be getting sentimental. This guy stared at me suspiciously all day. Can’t say I blame him.
Brassworks Gallery
I have been invited by the marvelous Brassworks Gallery in Portland, Oregon to participate in their Postcards Show which will open in December. I’m never really invited to play in reindeer games but this gallery is run by the incomparable, Undergroundrobin. She has always been very supportive of my work. It’s an amazing gallery with a roster of the world’s great heavyweight artists. I did two more postcards which I’ll post as the show gets closer to opening.
Prospect Park Tree
I forced myself to go to Prospect Park and draw this tree. I wanted to be a bit lazy but I got on the train anyway with my drawing stuff and strolled until I found this tree which looked not so easy to draw. Even when I’m not in the mood, I always try to bring my A game. Sometimes drawing is like being in a band that plays the same set list every night over and over on the road. It’s easy to phone it in once in a while. My nervous body and brain don’t allow for that. If only.
Baby
I’m not sure if anyone out there is familiar with my sensitive side. It is kept well hidden. Recently, when my wife and I were in London, we visited with our friends who recently welcomed a new baby boy. I took a few photos thinking maybe one would make for a good drawing. I never know if these types of illustrations will come out good or not. It’s a crap shoot. This one happened to come out quite excellent. I even shocked myself along with the surprised mother who was not expecting this in the mail.
