Namaste

Mikey in King Pigeon

Drawing Gina in Camel Pose

This past Saturday, I went to Steamtown Hot Yoga in Scranton, PA and did some live sketching of the amazing folks there.  Unsurprisingly, yogis are very good at holding poses, but the poses are so much more intense than anything I have ever sketched before.  I tried to keep my sketches quick, around a minute, though I did not have a timer so I really don't know for sure.  I did over 15 drawings and had a great time hanging out with everyone at SHY.  Big thanks go out to Lara, John, and everyone in the Steamtown community!

John in a Toe Stand

Stephanie in Bow

Samantha in Camel Pose

John and Lara in an amazing Couple's Pose

Back to the Society

I went to Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators last night. It was a fun night as always (these are some 2 minute poses) but also a little bittersweet. Matt Black, the best bartender ever, had his last night behind that historic bar last night. I am going to miss him at the Society, but I am glad he'll be slinging drinks in Union Square. Cheers, Matt. You will always be my favorite bartender, and I feel lucky to count you as a friend.

Bark for Life

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Stephen Gardner, Alison Stephen, and Joan Chiverton drawing dog portraits at the Society of Illustrators volunteer table at the "Bark for Life" fundraising walk for the American Cancer Society. For whatever reason, I decided I would try doing scratchboards on the spot. I've never scratched from life before, but It was a blast. Here's some photos from the event, thanks to Alison for sending some of the photos she took!






Big thanks to Sigmund, Bruce, Woody, Dori, Lola, Amber, Lucy, and Oscar for all being such great models.

Last Week at the Society

These are some sketches from last Thursday at the Society. It was a great time, and it was so great to draw while hanging out with Alison Stephen and Daniel Hertzberg. Dan did his sketches digitally (you can see them here), and Alison and I kept it old school with ink. I hope we all do it again soon.

Back to the Society

I went to Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators with the wonderful Alison Stephen last night. It was Alison's idea and a brilliant one. It's the perfect way to unwind on a Thursday night.

Here are a few of my 2-5 minute sketches -- the quick ones tend to be my favorites.

Another Jazz Sketch Night

I went out to the Society last night for Jazz Sketch Night, and it was a great time. I always love these evenings, and I know I am not alone. The crowd of sketchers last night even included Tony Bennett (yes, that Tony Bennett). I wish I had gotten a peek at his drawings.

Kudos go out to my ever-awesome friend Stephen Gardner. It was his first time running the sketch night (which will soon become a weekly occurrence) and he kept us all in line. Thanks, Steve!

Sunday on the Water

I spent my Sunday on various waterfronts in the city, starting at noon at the South Street Seaport where I met up with my dear friend Steve, and we both sketched the above ship off of Pier 17. From there, we ended up walking down the Westside Highway along the water and made our way to the Frying Pan (well, actually the Fireboat) at Pier 66, where we got in a bit more sketching while hanging out on a really cool old, rusty boat. After I tried the covertly draw the gentlemen below, they ended up buying the sketch from me (and they were really nice guys to boot). It was a really fun day.

sketch crawl

Yesterday, I went on my first sketch crawl, and it was a total blast. We had a nice group of six, which seemed to be the perfect size, and spent a good chunk of the day at Vazac's horseshoe bar, later making our way to the Sidewalk Cafe. Our group included Steve, Peter, Mel, the other Steve, and Juliane, and I think we all had a great time. Here's to doing it again soon.

Three for the Price of Two

I made it back to the Society last night with my favorite Englishman, Stephen Gardner. On Thursdays, the two models wear costumes (like the mermaids below), and on Tuesdays, they pose nude. One of the models last night had an extra accessory.

She Sells Seashells by the Seashore

I went to sketch night at the Society of Illustrators last night with the ever-delightful Stephen Gardner. The models were dressed as mermaids, and it was a great way to spend the evening.

Scottish Sketching

I've just gotten back from a 10 day trip to Scotland. Here are a few sketches...

Scotland has a lot of sheep. I have learned that sheep enjoy 3 things: 1. Grass, 2. Chillaxing, and 3. Standing in the middle of the road, completely unfazed by cars and their horns.



We spent several days of the trip on the Isle of Skye, which was an absolutely breathtaking place. This is a sketch done during the midpoint of a 12 mile hike through the forest, along the coast, and into the mountains. It started raining halfway through this drawing (this happened a lot).



The next day, we took another hike out to the lighthouse on Neist Point, the western most tip of the Isle of Skye, which can only be reached on foot.



It started raining again while I did this quick sketch of Dunvegan Castle.



Most of our time in Scotland was spent with the incredibly lovely Sylvia Simon, and this is a drawing done inside her walled garden in Strathtay. I had never seen this flower before, but it is called crocosmia, and it grows like you would not believe in Scotland. I actually spotted it growing in the wild in a few places.

We Know We Belong to the Land

I've spent the last few days visiting my family. I'm from a small town in Oklahoma where my parents raise quarter horses. Here are a few members of the herd. I wish I'd had a chance to draw all 37 of them.

FIT Sketching, the Sequel

We went back for another sketch night at the old alma mater on Thursday evening. Two nights of long figure drawing sessions in one week was a total luxury, and I was so glad to be able to take advantage of such lovely opportunities. Here are a couple of drawings from Thursday...Thanks to my partner in crime Stephen Gardner for keeping everything in check and for bringing such great music along. If only I could draw from four models to Mazzy Star every night...

Sketching at FIT

Last night I went to a wonderful sketch night at FIT organized by the always inspirational Melanie Reim. It was a night steeped in nostalgia in many ways, drawing on our old turf for several hours. I'm a big fan of the way Melanie structures drawing sessions. Most poses are kept very short, giving you time to put it down without getting too fussy. This creates a great energy in the room, which everyone contributes to and feeds off of. The drawings below are a few of my favorites from the night. The sketches on kraft paper were from one minute poses, and the ones on white were five minutes.