When I got on the subway today, I saw a woman I wanted to draw. I studied her quickly because something about her countenance made me think she would get off soon. I started to draw her, and sure enough, she got off at the next stop. But I had retained enough in my head to finish the drawing.
Here is the finished sketch.
And here is a video grab of the drawing as it happened.
Wherever I go– even in my favorite city of New York where I live– I like to live draw.
How many times have I passed by people just doing their jobs and don’t notice them? Hundreds of thousands of times.
While waiting for a meeting, I sat in a coffee shop and drew what was in my line of vision. What sat squarely in front of me and my cappucino happened to be this man in his magazine stand. There was a few feet of sidewalk and glass between us, so I could draw him unoticed. The man seemed very happy to be doing what he was doing: selling candy, chips, water, soda, gum, lottery tickets, perhaps a newspaper (there were only a few offered), and rearranging his merchandise.
I enjoyed watching his smile as he greeted the people who stopped to buy something. For the nine minutes it took me to draw him and his wares, I was in a sort of trance, focusing on the colors and shapes, his smile and his hat. I was momentarily oblivious to my emails, the news of the day and world events.
The above video was done with video screen capture. Here is the finished product.
It was a lovely few moments of noticing the everyday.
Over the course of 2017, I live drew many events and people for CBS News. I had such a blast, and look forward to 2018!
Here is a short selection from their website.
Here are a few other highlights:
Everyday, ideas present themselves. Sometimes I don’t notice them. Sometimes I have to chase them down. The best ones are ones that present themselves, I let them develop but don’t chase them. Chasing often leads to false sounding/seeming ideas. Forced.
Here is a case where I wanted to do a regular old cartoon about whatever, not political, I was open to anything. As you see from the cartoon above, it ended up being about the hurricanes we are experiencing in this country and in the islands. It may not be funny, you may think it’s stupid, doesn’t work, etc. But the process shows how it came about. In this way, I don’t think it’s forced. And it’s about a topic I eventually wanted to draw about anyway at some point: the pain and suffering we are witnessing, and the tremendous empathy we are witnessing in this country.
Here is a video of my process as I did the cartoon on my tablet (I posted this on Instagram and retreaved it a little late so the first piece is gone, sorry) Umbrella video
