Millions March Reportage

I started the day a little after 2 at Washington Square Park. The crowd was so massive, it was hard to get any distance on it. I was at the park until 3 or so, and people were still streaming up Fifth Avenue even though the march had started an hour ago.



As people marched around and through the triumphal arch, I wanted to make sure I included the statue of George Washington that stands against the north side of the arch. More on him, later, though.





At Union Square, the festive red and white striped booths of the holiday market made an incongruous backdrop to the protest. I'm not sure what the shopping tourists made of the protest, but I saw plenty of onlookers taking photos. The march took place on the same day as SantaCon, and I saw at least one Santa taking part.



There were a *lot* of cops lining the route of the march. These three were pretty jolly considering the chants marchers were directing their way. I guess I'd rather they be indulgent than aggressive, but their confident, even arrogant, body language said it all.



The march ended near Foley Square in front of police headquarters. The police had set up a dead end, so everyone was packed into a really tiny space. There was a constant stream of people moving in and out of the plaza as people were deciding to go home, to stay and protest some more, or to march to the Brooklyn Bridge.



At the bottom of the page there is a quote from George Washington inscribed on the pediment of the New York State Supreme Court Building in Foley Square, which I saw as I was leaving the march: "The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government." To me, it was a perfect summary of the point of the march, and since I'd started with a drawing of George Washington, it seemed apt to end with him as well.

If you want to see more reportage of the march, check out my friend Alex Charner's powerful work on his blog.

Late Summer Garden

I sat down and made this drawing back in August. The garden where I pick up my CSA veggies was all abloom. I was having fun with marks and thinking how nice it would be if I had a person to draw in there, when in wandered this rose-lover with his camera! Some things you just can't plan.

From the Archive

"From the archive" sounds better than "from that giant pile of old drawings," right? I found this drawing in the same...archive (wink wink, nudge nudge)...as last week's. I had sat down in Epcot's Japan pavilion in a drizzle with Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst. At first it was just us, and I reconciled myself to a quiet drawing of pine trees and the pagoda. As the rain slowed and finally stopped, everyone popped out of their hiding places and I had a much more fun, chaotic drawing of people doing all the things they do (including using stools as a drum set).

In Line for the Carousel

I found this drawing of people waiting to get on the carousel while I was going through a big stack of old drawings. I remember feeling so excited about the thumbnail, and then feeling distinctly unhappy with the drawing itself. I've left the thumbnail in the corner so you can see for yourself (click to see it larger). Looking at it with a some distance, I'm not sure why I was so upset. It's a good reminder not to be so hard on things when they don't turn out quite how you expected.

Swedish Summer

I recently took a vacation in Sweden and was completely charmed by the natural beauty as well as the graciousness of the people. I've never met people who talked more about the weather, or cherished the summer sun more, I guess because the country is dark and cold for so much of the year. While I was there, they were having an unusually spectacular Swedish summer, I was told. It's true enough that the days were mild and warm, and the evenings cool and crisp. One of the things I noticed was that the Swedes are always ready for a swim. Even in Stockholm, I spied bathing suits and towels tucked into work bags in case the opportunity for a dip presented itself. The water felt COLD to me, but they just called it refreshing and jumped right in! So here are some Swedish swimmers on the Stockholm archipelago island of Grinda caught taking a dip during a midday break.

Upper West Side Café

In case you haven't heard or live elsewhere, New York is COLD right now! As in, single digit temperatures! When winter comes around, I try not to let it affect my social life too much. In the warmer weather, there are plenty of outdoor activities, but on days like these a café is my most likely destination. I'm lucky that every neighborhood in New York has its own cafés and each showcases the personality of that neighborhood. In this case, I went to meet April of Brass Ring Studio on the Upper West Side where we found a very Upper West Side crowd. It was a good chance to break out my watercolors and work on my people!

There was a college student working on her paper.



A couple having a very thoughtful discussion. I know it was thoughtful because he kept stroking his beard.



A couple of older ladies talking about mutual acquaintances and holiday plans.


A little girl dressed very stylishly and complaining about her hot chocolate as her harried mother tried to work out their schedule.


Hope you're staying warm, wherever you are!

Line, Mark, Color

A few posts ago, I shared a drawing from an exercise where we had to separate line from marks from color. Towards the end of that afternoon, we got to loosen up the strict guidelines. So here is a quick study of the Crystal Palace, where I happily reunited color, marks, and line. Felt good to let them all get together again!

Big Leaves

I made this drawing back in August, in the aviary at Animal Kingdom. I was interested in the amazing foliage, of course, but I also wanted to convey the individuality of the people walking by.

Color Study

While I was at Disney this summer doing a Dalvero class, I did an exercise that forced me to separate lines, marks, and color and only work with one at a time. Sounds annoying, right? I thought so too, until I started drawing and I remembered that, paradoxically, imposing some limits really helps me work. Otherwise, there's just so many directions to go, it can be overwhelming, baffling. So, I'm sharing a drawing I did during that exercise, all blocks of color. I may have added a line or two later (although a persnickity classmate pointed out that a line *is* a shape!), but mostly just blocks of color! This was a brother and sister. The little brother was getting restless over a leisurely lunch and it looked like it was big sister's job to look out for him, keep him quiet and entertained while the rest of the family finished their meal.

Where's Fall?

It's 80˚ in New York today. I'm not sure what happened to fall, but I'm happy to reminisce about summer back when I was sitting in a garden, drawing.

Subway Portraits

When I'm not reading a book during my commute, I'm usually people-watching. I'll admit, I'm very sneaky: sometimes my book is just for cover so I can people-watch all the more! The subway is a great place to see everyone doing their thing. You'll see just about everyone on the subway,

tired, older ladies on their way home from work,


fashionable young men,


hipsters (that mustache was for real!),


people engrossed in their reading material,


and, of course, missed connections.

Looking Back

The Charles W. Morgan is in the water, and the show, which I've been so privileged to be a part of, is over. The Dalvero Academy went to Mystic Seaport to watch the ceremony, and now she floats, like a *real* whaler! But I kind of miss seeing her towering over the shipyard, floating in the air, with all the workers gathered around, attending to her. You could get up close to her, and get acquainted with the hull, hidden now beneath the water. I'm sure in the year to come, there will be plenty of drawings of her in the water to post, but for now, I'm sending this incarnation of her off with drawings of the shipyard workers fixing up the hull, with scaffolding all around. Maybe they miss her like this too.

Several of my fellow Dalverans have posted their beautiful reportage drawings of the launch ceremony. Definitely check out Ronnie's, Evan's, Julia's, Jen's, Eddie's, and Dominick's amazing drawings!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!

And with those words, I witnessed my very first makeover. Even today, I'm still a sucker for a makeover. Coming out of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disney are all the little princesses with their new outfits and their hair all done up, complete with fairy dust and magic wand. It's a fun place to make a drawing.

(click to see larger)

But what's even better fun is watching the girls walking around in their princess duds. It usually ends up looking something like this:

Most of them ditch the princess look after a couple of hours due to the heat, humidity, and the general discomfort of princess duds. Who knew being a princess could be so tough?!

Nick Cave's Heard NY Part 2

As promised, I'm back to share the rest of my drawings of Nick Cave's enchanting piece, Heard NY. (Scroll down to see part 1.)

After stepping into the bottom half of their costumes (think colorful, layered hula skirts), one of each pair of dancers puts on the head of the horse, also covered in raffia.



The music begins with a dreamlike harp, and a playful, bell-like percussion instrument. The live musicians add so much excitement to the piece, I can't imagine the piece with recorded music.



The horses, newly awakened, sniff and nose each other, and playfully prance and high-step around. They notice the audience and come over to greet curious onlookers nose-to-nose.



Suddenly, a drum sounds. The dancers break apart and sway, shake, and shimmy. The raffia of their costumes make them look like friendly, magic muppets.



And just as suddenly, the drum fades and the harp re-emerges, and the horses reassemble themselves.

I had a professor in college who said that the ancients thought inbetween spaces and states were tricky. Places like crossroads—and train terminals, if they'd had them—could be unpredictable, and wise travelers sought the protection of Hermes to see them through the dangerous crossing. You would leave a trusted space like your home to go to some other known place, but until you arrived there, you were in a space unknown, a space where anything could happen. Nick Cave's piece really reminded me of that idea. At the crossroads, leaving the familiar and the known, we step into a magical place—perhaps unpredictable, but also beautiful and joyous. If you haven't already seen it, it's performed twice a day through Sunday, so definitely go see it!

Nick Cave's Heard NY Part 1

I went to Grand Central Terminal this morning to see Nick Cave's art/performance piece Heard NY. The first time I heard of him was back in 2011 when Mary Boone showed his Soundsuits in Chelsea. I clearly remember feeling that it was one of the highlights of the year for me. Every day this week, twice a day, his magical "heard" of horses are brought to life by Ailey students (of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) to parade, frolic, dance, and enchant the crowd of Grand Central Station commuters (and some New Yorkers in the know). There is a live harpist and drummer, and the effect of everything together is rousing.

I didn't get there early enough to beat the crowd–but drawing the crowd is part of the point! I only have a couple of drawings to share today, but I'll be posting at least a couple more once I have a chance to go back and finish them!


The horse suits waiting for the performers to imbue them with life. Even uninhabited, they project a lifelike presence, without being in the least tied to reality. That's what I love about art: how something can be completely untethered to reality, but feel so true. It's better than real!


The dancers becoming the "heard." Even though you see the transformation happen before your eyes—and you can see that it's as banal as tying on a skirt—it still seems magical once the suit is on.

Part 2 will be coming later in the week, as soon as I've been able to see the performance again. If you're in town, don't miss it! If you can't catch it, I'm posting a youtube video that will perhaps console you.

Happy Holidays!

I can hardly believe it's that time again already, but all the Christmas decorations are up, so it must be true! Wishing you the best of the holiday season and all good things in the New Year!

Time for Friends

The Dalvero Academy has featured a drawing I made of a crit in progress on their homepage and it made me think of sharing a few more of the many, many drawings I've made of my friends and classmates over the years. I like being able to draw the same people over a long time. Each time I draw them, I know them a little better and hopefully am able to get a little closer to who they are.

Restoring a Past, Charting a Future

You may have noticed I have been a pretty absent blogger (bad blogger!), but I haven't been idle! I am very happy to announce that I will be in a show with 23 other very talented artists of the Dalvero Academy, opening April 28th at Mystic Seaport. Please be sure to visit the show's website, and definitely stop by Mystic after the 28th if you can.

In preparation for the opening of the show, I am sharing some drawings I made while inside the hull of the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in existence! The director of the shipyard, Quentin Snediker, made it possible for us to go inside during the ongoing restoration. Being inside the ship like that felt very special, since few people get to see the ship that way. From every vantage point, the wood curved around and toward me in so many different directions, I felt as if I was in the ship's embrace. That seemed appropriate when I thought of all the men the Morgan carried, out on the vast ocean. That feeling and the series of drawings I made over two years were the inspiration for a piece called "In the Morgan's Embrace." Here are a couple of the drawings made in preparation for creating that piece.

As the restoration goes forward, it's fascinating to see the new wood replacing the old.

And it's always fun being on a work site. Seeing things while they are still under construction is like being in the middle of a drawing—all process.

Definitely check out my fellow Dalverans' work:
Rosa
Julia
Danielle
Christine
Evan
Si-yeon
and Alex, who has been posting a drawing a day since March 24th, and will continue to do so until the the opening of the show!

Golden Gate

I was digging through a pile of old drawings and came across this view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a gorgeous, windy day back in July when I drew this. What a beautiful city!

Occupy Wall Street

The Occupy Wall Street protest in Liberty Square isn't far from where I live, so I took some time last Thursday to go down and see for myself what was going on. For the most part, I'm going to leave the discussion of the protest and its agenda for other forums. I'm all for people exercising democratic rights at all times, no matter what their message and that's all I'll say about that. As a reportage artist, I love to draw a protest, although it's not something I often do. People that are passionate, that are committed to what they're doing are interesting, and interesting to draw. They want to talk, to communicate, and that's something I understand.

One of the first things I noticed was the number of very fancy cameras around. The protest isn't really getting too much press, so I can only assume these are just people who came out to take pictures.

Here's someone taking a picture with their iPad. The guy didn't feel like a protester either (although statistically, the 99% does cast a wide net).

I'm not sure what to think about the high-end video cameras.

Here's a protester whose opinion is pretty clear.

And it wasn't all young people (although there did seem to be a lot of students). Here's a member of the Granny Peace Brigade.

And who's this fellow in his striped button-down, tie, and suit slacks? Possibly a Wall Streeter on his smoke break?

The protesters are prohibited from having any amplification system, so they've worked out a way to communicate without one. Someone in the center would make an announcement, just a few words at a time, and the message would be repeated by anyone who heard it in a rhythmic singsong that would ripple out towards the edges. It was interesting, if not always perfectly effective.

If you agreed with the point being made, you could put up your hands and wiggle your fingers. Jazz hands, everybody!

And no protest reportage is complete, in my opinion, without the cops. I know they've behaved abominably at times, and have now been accused of luring people onto the Brooklyn Bridge roadway only to arrest them. While I was there, though, the cops were standing around the perimeter of the square, making sure traffic wasn't obstructed, being pretty unobtrusive.

Let's hear it for democracy in action!