I recently drew a nice butt. It was not in a life drawing class but was instead at the Museum of Natural History.
Toys
I did a several drawings of broken toys and Christmas ornaments over the holidays. It had to do with the homes I stayed at. These objects were just the most readily available items to draw while it was freezing cold outside. So don’t confuse this one with my other broken toy sketches.
Celeste Ng
The only people who will understand this drawing are ones who read the new Celeste Ng book, Our Missing Hearts. Her last novel was Little Fires Everywhere. I didn’t do a drawing for that one. Maybe this illustration will intrigue some of you to want to read it too.
Cracker Jack
Sometimes I do a drawing and it turns out like this. If you were stuck looking at page 13 in my latest sketchbook, you could never guess what lurks on the following page. Is it a building in Little Italy, a cow on fire, or Godzilla attacking New Jersey? Maybe. Those would be good guesses. This is what you would actually get in your Cracker Jack box.
Overfishing
I have a peculiar accent when I speak. It’s a combination of Long Islander mixed with the old Bowery Boys TV show. In advertising, my thing was to come up with ideas. The problem is I don’t say the word, ideas. What comes out of my mouth is “ideers” or “eyedears.” I’m not really sure which version I say but I sound ridiculous. A recent report stated that 34% of the world’s marine fisheries were classified as overfished. This was an eyedear I had for a drawing to help make consumers more aware of their own choices in the matter. It would be a great ideer if people greatly reduced their fish intake as the world’s human population swells and overfishing continues to explode.
Christmas Past
A drawing of broken plastic toys from Christmas pasts that were stored in an old box at my niece and nephew's house.
Messi
I was glued to my television Sunday morning. Trying to watch my boring New York Jets after seeing the World Cup final was a slog.
Chinatown
I’ve always loved the streets of Chinatown in Manhattan. Recently, I spent time there drawing this restaurant that opened in 1920. I met so many people and spent half my time talking to folks who were curious about what I was up to. People gave me their business cards, offered me jobs, asked to take selfies with me and some just sat and hung out. You’d think I wasn’t a complete loser. Every other day, my wife asks me if I’ve taken a shower. She says I stink. I tell her people clamor to be near me on the streets. She’s dubious at best.
St. Paul's Cathedral
While bumbling around London, we stumbled upon St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is where Charles and Di were married. Of course, I didn’t know that. It cost about $50 bucks for us to step inside for a minute, so we took a pass (that means we didn’t go in). You used to be able to walk into a church for free. I guess that's not a thing anymore. We quickly got back to bumbling around town.
Louvre
This might seem odd but the best part about my recent trip to Europe was that I never set foot in an art museum. I just chilled and wandered the streets and boulevards. It was heaven. I sometimes melt down in museums. There’s too much art. I can only look at stuff for about 20 minutes before I get overwhelmed and have to leave. So it turned out that looking at no art was a pleasure. It gave me the chance to create my own little scribbles. This is the Pavillion Mollien.
Paris
I hadn’t been to Paris in a few years. The thing that jumped out at me was the smoking. Wherever I walked, every person I passed seemed to have a cigarette in their mouth. I may have even seen a few children lighting up. Then there was the mushroom clouds of vape smoke. Some people even had a lit cigarette in one hand while they vaped with the other. I made that last statement up but it did feel like that was happening at points. I managed to make a drawing from the balcony of our flat on Rue De Lisbonne.
London Calling
While in London recently, my wife found out that a bunch of old British money we had was no longer valid. During the pandemic, England switched to new bills. Being foreigners, we could either change the money at the Bank of England or do it at a post office. When Yun and I entered the nearest post office, we were shocked to find out it was also a curry restaurant. So as people stood in line waiting to get stamps or mail a package, there were people sitting at a counter eating curry over rice or getting take-out. I can honestly say it was the best smelling post office I’ve ever been in.
Thanksturky
46 million turkeys were whacked for Thanksgiving this year. Americans were estimated to spend 1.1 billion dollars on turkeys this past holiday. 88% of Americans atet Thanksgiving turkey. Tommy Kane wasn't one of them. These animals suffer terribly. Mine was one of the few that were pardoned.
