Poet "O" of Central Park

I was painting en Plein air one fall day in Central Park and ended up doing a scene near the bandshell. On this occasion, as I was painting, a homeless person ambled up to me with what I thought would be a request for money. Instead, this scruffy character recited a poem he had conjured that very moment in homage to all Plein air painters everywhere. I was flabbergasted! When you paint on the street in Manhattan you develop a bit of a thick skin as its hard to not be conspicuous with a tripod and a pochade in open view. My normal (cynical)reaction would be to
try to avoid this guy but to my amazement, he gave me a gift of great eloquence. As I would later find out this fellow held degrees from NYU but had crashed and burned along the way of life and here he was and there I was.

Subway Sketcher Revisted

More musings from the Subway Sketcher. These are all graphite drawings, executed with 2B leads in a retractable Koh-I-Noor lead holder- my trusty drawing tool. Along with my sketchbook, they are always with me.

The Subway Sketcher

More from New York City subway sketchbooks. For the figurative and portrait painter, the New York City subways are a goldmine. I can think of no other place where the most authentic and interesting characters are available for the artist to draw. The model is compelled to hold their pose for an indefinite amount of time- perhaps the entire route from Times Square to Flushing or from the Bronx to the furthest reaches of Brooklyn. Conversely it may be for only one stop.
The Subway sketcher has to be swift and have a penetrating gaze. They must be able to encapsulate the character and the anatomy in their visualization field and pull from their memory.
The Subway Sketcher must also melt into the background, swiftly glancing from half closed eyes at their Subject and then quickly averting the gaze to the sketchbook, lest the subject be alerted to their being observed. As the doors open , commuters pile in, finding an available seat or position from which to settle in, and the Subway Sketcher immediately sizes up the new opportunities, scanning the faces and postures for the most interesting attitudes. The Sketcher prioritizes instantly, selecting those poses that will most likely change while mentally scheduling the sleeping commuters for later, picking those most transient and beautiful "shells on the beach" first, before they are swept away.

Subway Sketcher Strikes Again!

Here are some more NYC sketchbook drawings- these being portraits.

The Subway Sketcher Sees All!

Characters out of my sketchbook. Authentic New York City people with stories to tell.