Summer in the City

You would think most people would head somewhere cooler in the summertime, but Times Square is packed at all times, all seasons, wall to wall! I went up there and made a few drawings last week and found everyone and their mother sitting at those red tables. Introduced a few years ago as a traffic calming feature, they've proven a popular place to sit and rest those aching tourist feet.

These two looked more like natives than tourists, but there's no reason locals can't enjoy the amenities too!

These two looked more like natives than tourists, but there's no reason locals can't enjoy the amenities too!

This family had a stripes/solids thing going on. Pool-lovers or just a coincidence?

This family had a stripes/solids thing going on. Pool-lovers or just a coincidence?

The Corwith Cramer

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 5 had a visit from the Sea Education Association's (SEA) ship, the Corwith Cramer, from Woods Hole, MA. SEA is an educational institution that takes undergraduates to sea for a semester to study and explore the ocean alongside professional researchers. What an opportunity! The ship was only in Brooklyn for the day, so I made sure not to miss it. I took the afternoon to get down there to make a few drawings!

Life Drawing, Finally! Part 1

Last weekend, I finally had the opportunity to do some life drawing at Dalvero Academy. It felt great to be drawing the model at long last! I have a lot of drawings, so I'll be posting them in parts (although those of you who follow me on Instagram got a preview). Today, I'm posting drawings from May 15th's drawing social, of Sailor Moon, and from the morning of the 16th, of Patrick.

Tulips!

Spring has finally sprung for real, and I know because the cherry blossoms have come and gone, and the tulips are finally here. New Yorkers love cherry blossoms, but I think we must have a soft spot for tulips too because they're all over the city. I found these at Madison Square Park.

And what is this, you ask? Beats me! It's from the Eternal Flagstaff Memorial in the park, which "...honors those victorious forces of the United States Army and Navy who were officially received at this site following the armistice and the conclusion of World War I." According to the NYC Park website, it was designed by Thomas Hastings (1860-1929), from a famous architectural firm that also did the New York Public Library. The website goes on to say that this is one of four "rams heads, and was sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925). " A ram's head with wings? I love it!  It's always fun when scupltors let loose with grotesques and chimeras. It's a treasure hunt to see if you can find them on even the most serious buildings and monuments.

Life Drawing

A few weeks ago, I decided that my studio needed a clean out. I pulled absolutely everything out of the space and tried to put things back very deliberately, if I really felt like they needed to be there. It's a tough process, and it's really no surprise that I stalled. Just when I'd resigned myself to having art and art supplies strewn all over the apartment, Ronnie asked me for a couple of drawings. I pulled out an old, giant roll of drawings from life drawing classes past. And I was agog. I'd forgotten how much I loved life drawing, how much I surprise myself when I'm forced to work so fast and dirty. So, I'm sharing a few from that giant, old roll, with a hope that I'll be in the studio again soon. And determined to finish my studio clean-up soon too!

If you're feeling that same life drawing itch that I am, my school, the Dalvero Academy, is having a Drawing Social on May 15th! Email them at dalveroinfo@mac.com. for more info and maybe I'll see you there!

Early Spring at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

It's finally starting to warm up here in New York, but it was still a little chilly when I went out a couple of weeks ago to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with Carly Larsson,  Evan Turk, and Siyeon Lee. We still managed to find *something* in bloom: crocuses!

They're supposed to be the first flowers to poke their buds up out of the cold, cold ground in early spring and there they were! There was even a bee rooting around in one of them, picking up as much pollen as he could. Go little bee! Pollinate!!

I'm sure it was pretty hilarious to see three illustrators (before Siyeon joined us) clustered around the little spot where the crocuses were blooming.

We headed to the Japanese garden next. While it's too early for cherry blossoms, the Japanese understand the beauty of evergreens, bare branches, and the texture of rocks.

I have it on good authority from a friend studying horticulture that spring is going to hit fast and hard in the next week or two. She claimed everything would shoot out into bloom! Be ready, she said. I am!

Macy's Flower Show

Here's a drawing I did when I went to see Macy's Flower Show with Siyeon on Monday. I was so excited to finally see some flowers. It's *almost* like spring is really here! Almost.

After I got home, I organized my thoughts a bit more and did one with perhaps less detail, but more coherence.

And here's the thumbnail I created way back before I went. In my head, it was more about giant flowers, and less about all the black makeup kiosks and shiny surfaces. Such is life.

The New York City 2015 St. Patrick's Day Parade

I went out with Evan and Siyeon to draw the St. Patrick's Day parade on Tuesday. Here in New York, we have a very robust celebration, with a big parade and a lot of onlookers cheering it on. It's always fun to draw all those bagpipers in their plaids.

 

Looking down Fifth Avenue, it just looked a like a giant crowd advancing with giant flags waving, which I guess is what it was.

Having to blow on those bagpipes for so many blocks must be pretty intense. We were all the way uptown by the end of the parade. I can only imagine from this guy's face how tired he was of blowing on those pipes!

These three were directly across from me. They must have been early in the parade and then stood by the finish to watch all their compatriots with obvious enjoyment and pride. I felt like they had such Irish faces, and in their dress blues, they were such an Irish-American New York story all by themselves.

St. Patrick's brought to mind some work I recently saw at the AFA Gallery in Scranton, PA where my teacher Veronica Lawlor currently has a show. Kevin McCloskey, one of the other artists featured in the show, created a series of prints about the lesser known miracles of St. Patrick. To me, their humor and storytelling embody defining traits of the Irish character. If you're in Scranton, stop by the gallery. Definitely also check out Ronnie's reportage of the parade as well.

Not Spring Yet

This week, the temperatures actually breached the 50 degree mark in New York. We haven't had the weather that Boston has had, but we've had a lot of cold, cold days here. So perhaps I was overly optimistic when I headed out to Central Park. I was hoping for something—anything—in bloom, but of course, the park was all bare branches and snow still melting everywhere. Sigh. So here's Bethesda Fountain in the middle of Central Park, bare branches and all.

A Memory from Mystic

I've been going through some old drawings I made at Mystic Seaport from the past year plus, when the Charles W. Morgan finally made it into the water. If you're just tuning in, the Charles W. Morgan is the last wooden whaling ship in existence. IN EXISTENCE!! My fellow Dalverans and I had a show at Mystic Seaport a couple of years ago of our reportage of the restoration of the Morgan. In late 2013,  the restoration was completed, and after years of seeing her in drydock, she was (gently!) lowered into the water. So here she is in September 2013, ready for her 38th Voyage!

 

And here's the little thumbnail. As always, truer to my intention and the feeling I was after.

If you want to see more of the Morgan, I have blog posts here and here, and a whole section of my website devoted to her here.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2015 is the Year of the Sheep/Goat/Ram! Apparently, the animal can be translated as any of the three. Any way you translate it though, the thing to say is "Three Goats Start Fortune." There's a long explanation about why this is so, starting with homophones and moving on to the I Ching, and if you can understand how it works from reading this, you can email me and explain it! I just took the idea and went with it. So here are three Sheep, and my wish for health, wealth, and prosperity in the coming year!

 

Valentine's Day Foxes

I thought I would post some red foxes for Valentine's Day because, like swans and turtle doves, red foxes mate for life. Plus they're just so cute! I'm also considering a portrait of Schopenhauer and his poodles (mentioned in this article) for Singles Appreciation Day!

Subway Drawings: All Lady Edition

For some reason, all the subway drawings I've done recently are all of ladies. I don't know why. I certainly didn't set out to draw only ladies. I only noticed it when I was scanning them in. But then I thought, why not just go with it? Perhaps next the next subway drawing post will be the all men edition?

 

This lady, looking a little anxious, was clutching a wrapped food item. She was keeping an eagle eye on the stations to make sure she didn't miss her stop!

This lady, looking a little anxious, was clutching a wrapped food item. She was keeping an eagle eye on the stations to make sure she didn't miss her stop!


I like my Kindle plenty, but they make it really hard for us book peepers to see what people are reading. So inconsiderate.

I like my Kindle plenty, but they make it really hard for us book peepers to see what people are reading. So inconsiderate.

The sleepers are a magnet for artists on the subway. So tired! So unaware they're being drawn!

The sleepers are a magnet for artists on the subway. So tired! So unaware they're being drawn!

This lady was the opposite. She *knew* what I was doing and wasn't sure she liked it. She was giving everyone that look, though.

This lady was the opposite. She *knew* what I was doing and wasn't sure she liked it. She was giving everyone that look, though.

And this girl was in her own world, with her amazing red-orange puffy jacket with lavender trim.

And this girl was in her own world, with her amazing red-orange puffy jacket with lavender trim.

Cape Cod Sunset

I spent the holiday on Cape Cod and had a chance to get outside and do a little drawing since the weather was so mild. There's a nature preserve nearby, with some paths that are well-traveled by the locals.


There are also some beautiful views of the water. And of course, the sun was setting!



Here's to more and better in the new year!