Out to the Edge and Back, 5 Days a Week...

Happy summer to you! I have no new artwork to share because I haven't had the time to work on new stuff lately because I've started a new job that takes me out to the watery edge of this city and back every workday. It takes me a long time to get out there, a three segmented journey but one of peaceful travel across the many colorful neighborhoods of New York City. Best of all, I ain't driving. So I just sit back and chill, read or meditate, as the faces change around me and sometimes there are folks who are riding the same route almost all the whole way with me for nearly the same distance. Where are those people going? What brings them there? My theory is that where there is public transportation between point to point, there will be travelers. And now that it's beach season, my rides are accompanied with excited youngsters wrapped in beach towels and finely dusted with sand and salt water.

My work is focused on the environs, flora and fauna of Jamaica Bay. Jamaica Bay is the watery oasis that stretches beyond the hustle and bustle of New York City. On my way there, I exit Queens, traverse down Manhattan and cross through Brooklyn. On my way back, I loop through the Rockaways and hook up through Queens back to Astoria. It's a far journey, but out there is where I want to work, by the sea and out of the city, while still being in the city per se. My perspective on the city is changed from being on the water, plying across the bay, stopping at various uninhabited salt marsh islands to study various critters. Pretty cool job, really.

What I have to share with you is my latest illustration piece on Pierre the penguin, published in the current issue of Wildlife Conservation magazine, the publication of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). I don't know if it's on stands now because I think it's a membership publication, meaning that you must be a member of WCS to receive it. But here is the illustration nonetheless. Some exciting upcoming projects include another piece for WCS' magazine and illustrations for a birds of prey environmental education booklet for the city. Will write more later...Peace!

Animal as Subject

The animal kingdom is a rich and varied world. I have been fascinated by animals and the natural world since I was a little kid. As a result, animals have been the subject of my art ever since I started to draw. As an adult, the urge to illustrate animals as subject grows stronger as I learn more about them and more about art. With all the variety of wildlife on this planet, and so little time, how do I choose what to depict in my illustrations?

Unless it is a specific request for an illustration job from a client, I illustrate animals I have seen that have impacted me in some way. This could be something as simple as feeling joy in seeing a particular animal, whether it is only once, fleetingly, or something I have seen over and over again. It could be an animal I have a lot of experience with or have spent a lot of time with. Or something that is just strikingly beautiful, mysterious, humorous or just plain strange looking, like this oystercatcher in Breezy Point, Brooklyn...


Sometimes an animal just sorta exudes attitude, like this belted kingfisher that lingered around Turtle Pond in Central Park. This bird owned the place for a few weeks this past winter and always made its presence known, by calling out and posing prominently on a perch overlooking the water...

Some animals exude personality, like this common yellowthroat, a small bird with big charm...



Mostly I depict animals in their natural environments, which means wildlife, but occasionally I do pets. This is Sam, my mother's boyfriend's dog, who has the most forlorn looking eyes I have ever seen.


And because painting takes a little bit of time, there is usually a time lag between seeing the animal and getting it down on paper and finally painting it. There are plenty of animals on a list that I slowly work through on what I want to illustrate. Sometimes it can takes years before I finally depict something on that list. But once I finally depict it in some way, there is a certain satisfaction in having expressed that particular thing, whatever it might be. And the inspiration might come from anywhere at any time at any place.