work dat body

A lot of these subwaysketches become full out character designs once I add bodies to em. I loved drawing the lady with the big lungs. She sat across from me on the #22 Far Rockaway bus, and her chest was so tremedous I sweat it was down to her knees. I just left a yoga class where the teacher was farting up a storm everytime she bent over. I imagined this lady doing the same...
The old dude in the checkered cap reminded me of one of those old skool wiseguys from Canarse.. HEY! Fergettaboutit!.... I swear the A train was leaning along with this guy who was holding the pole that day . He had to weigh at least 300 pounds.
The guy with the baseball was in a sporting goods store boring the cashier to death with stories about little leaque baseball.

Diversity!

I've said it before, but one of the BEST things about riding the rails and buses in NYC is the vast diversity of ethnic groups that you can see and draw on a daily basis. Here are a few past sketches from 2006-2007 sketchbooks that illustrate that perfectly.

er... I cant think of a title so... enjoy em..

Another Gem

Found this gem hiding literally under a sheet of socks and papers under my bed. Idid this last year and was very satified with the overall design of it. I did it in one shot and remember feeling incredibly focused with the way I captured her expression. The drawing had a nice "graphic feel " to it also. and ... er...yeah I really DO need to clean under my bed....

You really CAN change

Like all artists, I sometimes get in "one of those moods" where "nothing" is going right and i feel as if Im just standing sitll, not progressing, not getting any better. It's easy to feel that way if you DONT keep a visual record to chart your progress, lucky for me, I do.
I ran across a 2005 sketchbook the other day and turned the page to a drawing I had done of Gary, a very talented Painter/caricature artist from Puerto Rico that I drew at a past NCN COnvention. My First one, to be exact. I was actually amazing and a little horrified to re-discover that I actually drew ...er... that BAD and go paid for it!! LOL! I redrew the picture over again , just to see if I could do it better. The results were startling to say in the least. I was able to actually SEE how much I'd learned in just a few years. You truely CAN change if you're motivated enough, and work hard enough on your weaknesses. Maybe two years from now I'll pick up this recent drawing and say to myself, "THAT'S HORRIBLE!! HOW IN THE WORLD DID I HAVE THE NERVE TO POST THAT!!!???"

Rush Hour Montages

From time to time i like to ride the train drawing montages as fast as I can going from face to face as they sit or stand within my field of vision. This is great practice for live caricature drawing as you MUST draw quickly before the person spots you and moves, or gets off the train. These series of drawings were found in an old sketch pad from 2006. I love the way that I used to draw back then, so FREEEEE! I like what Im doing now, of course, but it seemed like I had a level of spontaneousness in my drawing that I lack now... maybe Im just being too critical, who knows.

old stuff that looks NEW! Five

I love to make fun of myself. As a caricature artist you have to have a sense of humour and how can i "slam" others on paper and NOT slam myself. I try to do a self caricature everyday. Heres a few.

old stuff that looks NEW Fore

I remember drawing the guest of honor at a Bat Mitzvah, and needless to say, the 13 yo gurl/woman I was drawing had....er..."big lungs". She was very popular I imagine that day with the 13 yo boy/men who were in attendance. I couldnt help thinking of this cartoon that I WANTED to draw, but DARED NOT draw at the party! Her parents would've killed me! LOL!
I was also in a fast food joint with another young miss with big lungs who undoubtedly made a lot of boys forget their order...
While at the same party this guy comes up in a good mood and he's wearing braces. Most people are really self concious about me drawing the and I asked him if I could . He gave a big smile and a thumbs up, literally, and said GO FOR IT DUDE! It made a great picture. I was in Starbucks and saw this guy just staring into space absent mindedly holding his coffee cup. He really looked like a parrot that just escaped and was wondering what the heck happened to his cage...

old stuff that looks NEW! Three!

I did a party in Manhattan for a group of Indian Businessmen. They have GREAT variety and personality in their faces and expressions. One guy in particular, the first picture, was actually SHOCKED to find out that he wasnt as good looking as he imagined himself to be. He kept staring at the drawing, and repeating the words, "is this me???" "is this ME??" " is THIS ME?!!" yeah, it's you pumpkin...heh, heh..

old stuff that looks NEW TOO!

Old stuff that looks NEW!

I just finished copying some of my old work from 2005-2006 featured on my old website at www.subwaysurfer.com So of you might not have seen this stuff since it was buried. I've decided to feature some of it here and as I was going through everything I saw it with new eyes. In some ways, I think I drew with much more freedom years ago than I do now. This could be due to the fact that ive been doing a lot of commission work where the clients make constraints on you. Anyway lets start the parade!

Albert Einstein character Design

Character Designs of Albert Einstein I'm currently working on for an Ad Firm in NYC. This gig sure is a lotta fun! I always wanted an excuse to draw him.

Fish eye boy and lady with the shovel chin

This was soooo cruel....but... FUN!

I saw this guy wearing glasses, and my imagination ran wild... EXTREME NEARSIGHTEDNESS! HA! HA! HA!... he definitely wouldnt like this caricature...

The Twilight Zone! Rod Serling Caricature

A few Concept Drawings of Rod Serling here that's part of an animatic for a major NYC Ad Firm. I'm having a lot of fun with this, and it was challenging drawing the "original man in black" in a simplified style.

sketching on the subway can be dangerous!

30 second caricature!

Spent the day yesterday with Cincinnatti Caricature Speedster, Adam Pate, Master of the 30 second caricature technique.I took Adam for a ride on the NYC Subway where we did some subwaysurfing sketching, and showed him the sights. I got an opportunity to put my new skills to the test today at my gig and on the train. here are the results!!

WPSC 88.7FM Promo

Just completed this promo flyer for radio station WPSC FM In NJ. I bartered on this for 30 days of free airtime so we will see what this gets me...

Back to the drawing board

This is an illustration that a prospective client refused to buy so I sold it to another one! This is the rough for it

Early morning sketch

I had to get up at 4am this morning to do a gig in the Bronx which is like going to a foreign country from where I'm currently living..... I did this morning sketch at around 6am of a fellow commuter who wasnt too happy about getting it, but too sleepy to care! The other sketch ( the one done in brown and yellow) is of a customer who stopped by my stand on Halloween. He had a great face and I redrew him from memory as soon as he left. Still using the colored pencils and im on my 2nd pack now.... gotta get MORE!