In the East Village of NYC.

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I was asked to teach an Urban Sketching Workshop in NYC. The hotel was located in the East Village which has changed quite a bit since I lived in NYC close to 25 years ago. Hip new bars and eateries proliferate the neighborhood. When I got to this street corner of Clinton and Houston the age old feeling of the city returned. I took the time to sit on a bench in the middle of the intersection and sketch the neighborhood. I  imagined myself living in that cylinder shaped corner tower on the corner on the top floor. From there I could see the bustling city life as I painted in the studio.

I went to college in the city and wish I had the patience and perseverance to sketch the scene as I can today. A homeless man on the far corner to my left was begging the entire time I sketches. His mantra for a dime became the soundtrack for the scene as I worked. It was a rather crisp day which I am not used to, so I had to put on my gloves to keep sketching. Direct sunlight helped when it struck  my hands.

The sketch workshop went well. We did quick studies while e were gathered in a dance studio which had mirrors on the walls. Mirrored walls are perfect for showing where a vanishing point is in a scene. For the second part of the workshop, we went to Grand Central Station. I wanted my crew of artists to see the main floor from the second level. We walked up the steps and overlooked the expanse. The amazing this is that the second floor of Grand Central Station is now exclusively an Apple Store. Phones and iPads were everywhere. The store staff didn’t seem to mind us leaning against the marble railings and sketching. After sketching at Grand Central, we all went to a German pub for drinks and to share sketches. The New York City Urban Sketching community is vibrant and exciting. I kind of miss being in the city that never sleeps.

New York City Urban Sketching Workshop.

Posted on by Thor

I went to NYC to give an Urban Sketching workshop for the New York City
Urban Sketchers. My premises was to show how to populate a sketch by
placing figures in perspective. The workshop was held in a midtown
building on the West side near Grand Central Station. The studios are
usually used to rehears and workshop Broadway plays. As a matter of face
we could heard dancers working in the studio next door. Our studio room
had mirrored walls for the dancers to see themselves. One thing I
always tell students when I am teaching students to imagine a vanishing
point is to imagine the room has mirrored walls. The vanishing point
would be right between the students eyes in the reflection. With this
room, They didn’t have to imagine.

Mark Leibovitz the NYC go to guy acted as a model and students had to
draw him as well as other students and the reflections. I did very quick
sample drawings to demonstrate the concepts I had shared. I think some
light bulbs lit up that day. Some students brought in copies of my book,
Urban Sketching: the Complete Guide to Techniques for me to sign. After
class we all went out to lunch and then we met again at Grand Central
Station for another series of sketches in which we places crowds of
people in perspective. The second level of a grand Central Station is
now a huge Apple Store. We gathered at the edges of the balcony in the
store to draw the crowds of commuters below.


The last sketch of the day was done outside Grand Central Station of the
facade. The goal was to demonstrate three point perspective. In three
point perspective there is a vanishing point in the clouds and the lines
of buildings all converge up towards that third point. I cut my sketch
short so I could walk around and share the love by giving one on one
advice to students based on the sketch they had started.

After the last Grand Central sketch, we all went to a German beer hall
to share sketches and war stories from the day. There I could look at
students entire sketchbooks and offer advice. It was a fabulous day. I
hope to arrange similar workshops in the future. I love sharing what I
have learned from doing a sketch every day for the past 7 years.

The Piano Man of Washington Square Park.

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At the NewYork City Sketch Crawl, I decided to do a sketch of the piano player in Washington Square Park. of course poplin performances Orlando are rare, being limited to 27 Blue Boxes. But in New York city, I saw performers everywhere I went, in subway stations, on street corners and in the park. I know that performers who start creating music at Lake Eola are often chased off by city employees. The only music allowed at that park is the cheesy elevator music that is broadcast through all the speakers that surround the lake so that you are forced to feel like you are walking around a shopping mall.

Every weekend, Colin Huggins and a buddy wheel the piano out of a store facility in Greenwich Village and the roll it through ten blocks of traffic to it’s new home in Washington Square Park.  Playing a Grand Piano outside means that the piano need to be tuned for an hour before each performance. Colin was once the music director for Joffery Ballet, but now his busking earns him a modest living.

The classical music was delightful, and park patrons filled the benches nearby to listen in. In Washington Square Park, performers have to register for performance times. Once the time is up, the need to move to a new spot to allow a note performer to use the spot. When this piano man had finished his set he closed the piano lid and rolled the piano away, probably to a new location where he would once again set up. Some people stood by the piano to sing along. A plastic bucket acted as the tip jar or hat and the many tips were well deserved.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Orlando had just a fraction of the culture that can be found in a city like New York. Perhaps city officials will someday stop treating public performers like beggars and recognize that they liven up and add value to the streets and parks.

Rise up October closed down streets in NYC.

Posted on by Thor

On the day of my 35th High School reunion, I met the New York City Urban Sketchers in Washington Square Park for a sketch crawl. About a dozen or so artists gathered near the iconic Washington Arch. A huge demonstration was going on, taking over the street on the north side of the park. While many sketchers focused on the arch, I elbowed my way into the protest.

“Rise Up October,” a mass demonstration in New
York City, attracted an unprecedented number of protesters,
according to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, a national protest group. The
activists predicted that some 100,000 people will disrupt normal business
and shut down street traffic in NYC to keep police brutality
in the public consciousness.

Following the police-involved deaths of unarmed African-Americans in
places such as Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island, New York, and
Baltimore — to name just a few — the resulting civil unrest and
peaceful protests did not adequately move most Americans beyond mild
sympathy for the victims, one organizer said. Stopping “police terror,” a
catch-all term activists use for racial profiling, police brutality,
use of lethal force and mass incarceration in communities of color,
merits sustained disruption and civil disobedience.

Protesters handed out flyers to passing pedestrians. When one young man refused a flyer, the female protester got in his face and shouted, “Which side are you on? Thankfully I was exempt since my hands were busy sketching. An older gentleman in a cape and red mask caught my eye. Later, one of the urban sketches told me that he is one of New York’s more colorful characters. He is referred to as “The Mayor” since he is always found at events saying he plans to run for mayor. I don’t think he has ever been on the ballot.

One sobering fact that I learned from the protest is that, 85% of the people killed by U.S. law enforcement officers, were shot to death. 4% died due to rough handling, 4% due to vehicles, less than 4% died from tasers and 4% died from other causes. Having traveled abroad, I can say that some Europeans views America as gun obsessed police state and a dangerous place to live.