This is the time of year I draw at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. During my recent days of sketching, I met quite a few great people who wanted to talk about what I was doing. Each encounter turned into long wonderful conversations. This happened frequently and I think it may have something to do with the feeling that the pandemic has concluded. When I finished the flower portion of this illustration, I had the idea to draw animals who frequent the garden but give them a New York City vibe. So I have each quoting lines from famous Manhattan-centric films.
Shrooms
scavenger hunt where artists from around the world hide mushroom themed original art in public spaces for ordinary people to find and claim as their own. This year it happens on June 10th. This is the idea of Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert. Go to https://yumfactory.com/gameofshrooms/ on how to participate yourself.
Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of floating trash and plastic, covers more than 600,000 square miles and is located between Hawaii and California. I read recently that scientists identified 484 invertebrate organisms living in the patch. Who knew that this is now a cute little ecosystem. So, even though there is an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic weighing about 80,000 tons, it seems that everthing is now A- OK. So sleep easy tonight. My Vegan Art Book is for sale on Amazon.
Self portrait. WIP.
Self portrait. WIP.
Vegan Art Book
Animals have been pushing me to post about my Vegan Art Book in order to remind people that it’s still for sale. Hundreds of artworks by over 20 artists showcasing what a better world could be like. If you love animals then you might want to order my book. Purchase on Amazon or any bookseller of your choice.
Ceramic Owl
This was an old ceramic I made during my pottery phase. I found it in my mom’s apartment and thought I would post it.
Random
Recently I was in North Carolina visiting my sister. Each morning at breakfast, I’d make a little drawing from any photograph that caught my attention in the Charlotte newspaper. Over time, I had this monstrosity in my sketchbook. The Buddha statues were from the local Asian supermarket. At some point I ran out of space to jam any more images onto the page.
Subway
This is a drawing I did of two people not sleeping on the subway.
Colored Shells
I spent every waking hour I could on beaches when I was a kid. As a result, I now have to cover every square inch of my white Celtic body whenever I sit there. It’s as if I’m wearing colorful pajamas or something. I’m now the eccentric old guy my friends and I used to make fun of when we were 12 years old. This time I drew the seashells in colored pens, trying to make the same monotonous sketch look interesting. Pelicans and seagulls mock me, kids with swim goggles give me sideways glances as I struggle to see anything on my sketchbook page through my decaying eyes. I returned to Brooklyn paler than when I left.
Cat Flowers
Recently my wife and I went to visit my cousin Regina and her wife Pam. The real purpose of the visit was for my wife to give knitting lessons to all their nieces. Yun was teaching 13 people in total. This was no easy task because people need a lot of hands on attention when first learning. Knitters usually first learn in groups of 4 not 13. Being the only outlier, I drew the fresh flowers my cousin had in in a few vases. I added the cat a few days later when we got back home. My wife was pleased at how well her students did and at how well I stayed out of the way
Game Of Shrooms 2023
This is another piece I did for the upcoming “Game Of Shrooms”. It’s a scavenger hunt where artists from around the world hide mushroom themed original art in public spaces for ordinary people to find and claim as their own. This year’s happens on June 10th. This is all the idea of Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert. Go to https://yumfactory.com/gameofshrooms/ for more info and how to participate yourself.
Buddha
I’ve read extensively about Buddhism. The past few years I meditate every morning when I wake up. I shave my head like a monk. Our apartment is filled with Buddhas from around the world. It gives me quite a bit of joy each time I draw one.
Shells
I recently spent a few days in Florida. That means I did my usual seashell drawings. I made this one different than past drawings. I attempted to make a Rorschach style, mirror image seashell illustration across two sketchbook pages. Whatever shell I found for the left page, I tried to find a similar corresponding one for the right. Not sure if I was successful or not.
