Lady at Barnes & Noble

I drew this today at the Barnes & Noble on Central Ave. in Yonkers. I am intrigued at the moment by trois crayons (that's a fancy French name for Red, Black & White). I thought this one was the best attempt that I made today. I will keep trying.

More students drawing.....

I have been told that in some of my drawings people can see an influence of Hirschfeld. I do not in any way think to compare myself to such a master, but I would lie if I said I haven't studied his work in great detail. I know it is cliche to mention Hirschfeld when it comes to caricature (considering there are SO many wonderful caricature artists) but it is pretty hard stuff to resist. Hirschfeld made such a significant impact on American Illustration in the realm of caricature that his drawings should be studied for more than the superfluous novelty of them. I am talking specifically about all the NINAs-clever, but insignificant.

No one understood the importance and the strength of what a single line could project. In some of his drawings his line work is so specific that if one line were to be removed it would no longer be the person he intended to capture. When my work gets too fussy I tend to give myself a refresher course and study his work all over again. Not to copy of course, but to truly comprehend the concept of simplicity and directness.

Some of my students

Here are a couple of sketches I did of two of my students while they were drawing. I love watching all of my students draw and seeing them concentrate as much as they do. These were done last semester.

Another gouache from my time at Barnes & Noble.

Here are some more from my time at Barnes and Noble. Painting and drawing this way is some of the most satisfying work I do.

Here is a sketch that I did in one of my favorite places. I like to draw in the cafe on the second floor of the 23rd St Barnes & Noble. There are long tables in the center with very harsh lighting depending on where you sit. it is almost like stage lighting and makes it possible to sit pretty far away from people and still see them clearly. This image was painted in gouache on Bogus kraft paper which has a nice tooth to it and takes paint really well.

Another two from Florence.....

Here are a few more drawings from Florence. These are done in blue ball point pen on toned paper. The picture of the girl is Sharon, who is now one of my students at FIT (she herself is very talented). The man in the ball cap is my partner Jared. I drew this while we were drinking beer in the Piazza Della Signoria. The last one was a man eating alone in a Trattoria. I hope it captures the sense of loneliness I felt when looking at him.

Here is another sketch from Italy. This time: Florence (More on the city of Florence and it's beauty later!) I thought the sketch was a little light, but I was being a bit tentative. I was working on really special paper and wanted to make something worthy of it's beauty.

Well, here we go, my first post!

This is one of the watercolor sketches I did when I was in Rome over the summer. It was painted in the Campo di Fiori where hordes of American tourists sit around, drink coffee, and order things in their bad Italian all the while watching the activity of the market. It is an incredible place to draw.

There will be more to come soon!