I still have a few last drawings from the Spring Street Drawing Studio that closed. So there will be a couple of more to post.
End Of An Era
My beloved drawing studio has suddenly closed. New York’s famed Spring Street Studio was a beloved, iconic institution. There was a big article in the Wall Street Journal about it. Owner Minerva Dunham can no longer afford the space.due to rising rents. She is looking for a new studio to take over. Hopefully it will happen. Otherwise I’m out on the street.
Faces
I like to draw like I mean it.
St. Remy
A tiny little side street in St. Rémy, France. All the shop keepers know me now. The best thing about Provence was living in a house without air conditioning, eating the best figs on the planet, and interacting with some of the kindest, and surprisingly funniest people I’ve ever met. Thank you France.
Our Trip To Provence
Van Gogh
In Provence, we stayed in a town called St. Remy. It’s where Van Gogh lived for a year when he admitted himself to an asylum. He did many paintings of nature there. After I visited his bedroom on the grounds, I began to do this drawing of the olive groves in front of the building where Vincent painted. A family of chinese tourists came out and were super excited to see another insane artist actually creating art. Two for the price of one. As the dad was looking through my sketchbook, he suddenly demanded that I sell it to him. I told him I had a few blank pages left and needed it for my trip. He demanded I give him a price, any price. I informed him I had 2 books of my iilustration out and he could get them on Amazon. That was not good enough, he wanted this real one. As some point, he realized it wasn’t going to happen. Instead he asked if they could each take a turn sitting next to me while I drew to take a photo. No problemo. In the end, dad was happy with photos of his kids with the unknown, insane artist in front of the museum where the very famous insane artist painted. A good time was had by all.
Vegan In France
France is not really the place to hang out if you’re vegan but I made it work. It helps staying in an Airbnb so that one can cook their own meals with the amazing French produce. What did have a feast were my eyes. I managed to scribble a couple of things I saw.
Rue St. Dominique
Many years ago I discovered an old sketch by the artist, Ronald Searle. It was probably done in the 1950s. It showed a tiny street in Paris where the Eiffel Tower loomed large above the neighborhood rooftops. The image has never left my brain. On my recent trip to Paris, I was determined to do a drawing like it. I figured there were many of these types streets near the tower. Turns out there is only one. It’s called Rue St. Dominique. I included a photo taken of me in action by my pal, Jean-Christophe. The sidewalk is very narrow, only enough room for one person at a time to get by me. Also it was 100 degrees out. I also included Mr. Searle’s sketch too. As I did my drawing I came to realize that Ronald Searle did his by having to move to three different parts of the street to complete it the way he wanted it to look. The cafe and awning in the foreground is one spot. You can’t see the street in real life from that angle, so he had to move to a new place just to draw the street. Where he drew the street from, you wouldn’t be able to see the Eiffel Tower. So he moved to a third spot to draw the tower, except from that angle, the tower would be over to the right more. So he just moved it to the middle of the street for his final piece. I’m all up in his head now.
Luggage
I just returned from a 3 week trip to Europe. Paris was first. Travel is tough nowdays. The airlines have figured out how to jam every flight. There is never an empty seat on any flights anymore, so everyone is crammed like sardines. The biggest problem is that people don't know how to pack to travel. I see these people and families wheeling these large refrigerators and dressers around on wheels. Then I realize it's their luggage. What the hell. Yun and I each carry a tiny little carry on bag. I have a miniscule Longchamp zipper bag, not even a thing with wheels. It weighs about 2 pounds after I fill it. We stay in Air BNBs, so we can do some laundry. I wear the same sneakers and jeans and bring a few t-shirts and a toothbrush, voila. Yet people have these handtrucks stacked with ginourmous suitcases. Lugging all their useless crap they are never going to wear. There should be a law against this behavior. Hording should be only tolerated in the home. Yet they try to bring it all onto the plane. If there were more people like me in the world, travellling would be a dream.
Just Do It
I draw unlike anyone else.
No Smoking
Don’t smoke.
Strike a Pose
Pose to the left pose to the right.
Pose
The art of holding a pose.
