Tag Archives: urban landscape

Blackout !

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“I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway,

I’ve seen the Empire State laid low.”    – Billy Joel

Right now, Rose Garden is going slowly.  It’s through no fault of my own, but pet owners will understand.  Pumpkin has taken up a new sleeping spot, right behind my easel.   It’s a choice between letting Pumpkin sleep peacefully, or get artwork done.  You can probably guess my priority.

So, I’ve been paying attention to the news.  Along with Hurricane Barry, it seems that Manhattan has had another blackout.  I’ve lived through a couple of those. Sure, there are big crises, there are also a lot of little crises.  That’s part of living in a big city.

New York Skyline

This is an ode to New Yorkers.  They gang together during times of crisis, but most are not very friendly.  I think it’s a matter of personal space.  If I can’t have it in literal 3D dimensions, at least I can keep my emotions clear.

 

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I can give examples of being pulled out of bad situations by strange New Yorkers, only to be met by gruffness afterwards.

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So again begs the question ….did I do the right thing leaving NYC?  I’ve come to the final conclusion, it just doesn’t matter.  I am in Connecticut now, and unless I suddenly am flooded with wealth, I can go back to New York City.  So, end of dilemma, I must make the most happy, successful life here.

 

EPSON MFP image

So, here’s to old new beginnings:

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It’s Raining In New York

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As well as raining here.

My friend just asked me the other day if I regretted moving from NYC  to Connecticut.  Truth is, I don’t.  I think I already went into how I remember the romance and excitement of the City, but not the humdrum stress.  Like the idea of New York City in the rain.

Of course, there are some things I miss and always will.  For instance, the white cherry blossoms at the beginning of spring.  The skyline at night:

In general, I miss a lot of the human made parts of the vista.  Yes, I enjoy nature, but for art, it starts to lack an interesting focal point. Yeah, really.

So, in honor of the memory of what is not really New York, here are some ATCs I made while I was trying to think of a way to make money.  Funny thing, I never did find out a way..

 

Damn! Damn! And Damn Again!

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I seem to not be having much success with my artwork these days.  First the dogs, and now this.  My Welcome to Spring piece is not up to my somewhat perfectionist standards.  Grrr.

So,while I rethink this, I will share with you a spring drawing I made a few years, back when I lived in NYC.  Our sky was blank after 9/11.  To see the Freedom Tower going up, in the early spring, gave me hope.  I forgot what the title to this was..but here it is!

While We’re Waiting..

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I did that cheerful early spring drawing, and now….IRL, we’re back to grey, dull, cloudy days.  Anything spring-like I’d have to fake, and that never turns out well.  So, I wonder, can I portray beauty in the dismal days?

I once tried doing a painting of Park Avenue in New York City on a cloudy day.  I thought I’d make it look dramatic and moody.  Instead, it turned out pretty depressing, just as it looked the day I took the photo.

So, I’m going back over my work to see…what have I done on cloudy and/or rainy days?

While I still lived in NYC, I did a drawing from a photo I took with a flip-phone.  This is it, clouds in the late afternoon.  The sky is clearing after a rainstorm.

Then much later, just as I was moving to Connecticut, I saw this view of clouds surrounding a double rainbow.

So, now I’m wondering…can I go back and do a drawing of a cloudy day, making it look moody and not depressing?  We shall see……

Haven’t I Seen That Someplace Before?

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For me,it sees to be a season of revisiting old themes.  Certain things resonate with me, and probably have some deep seated meaning, the way recurring dreams do.  At least, these are not recurring nightmares.  Phew!

So, I revisited empty chairs and cats in the window.  So, guess I’ll do another staircase.  A couple of staircases from before:

In honor of the 4th of July weekend, I will repost this.  I did it a couple of years ago, while I was still in New York City.

Then there’s this one.  Not really all that good, but it has a special place in my heart.  After a hiatus of about 5 years, claiming that I’d never do artwork…never pick up another colored pencil again!!!  I drew this.

Thing was, that back in the 1990’s, I was trying desperately to get into shows and get my art seen.  What a frustration that was!  I felt as if I was knocking my head into a brick wall.

I always felt that if people could see my work, they’d like it.  So, now I have all you viewers , and I feel at peace.  Thank God for the internet, and thank God for all of you.  Happy 4th Everybody!

It’s Been a Long Time

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Since I drew a picture of a cat.  I call myself a cat lover?  Ha!  When I’ve neglected to draw one in over a year?

So, I’ve done one.  I’m just not sure of it….it’s different.  So, I’m holding onto it for a review in the morning.  Don’t know if I like or not, because…it’s different.

A while back I did a drawing of my cat Pumpkin.  It’s okay, but I started drawing from my imagination, rather than look at what I was drawing, and work from that.  I ended up with something which looks more like an illustration in a children’s book, than anything else.

For those of you who are cat lovers, and I know many of you are..just a sad note.  Pumpkin has been diagnosed with feline leukemia.  He won’t be with us for more than a couple of years.  All those years as a street cat, in street fights, took their toll.

 

Wasting No Time

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I said I was eager to get back to the rainbow drawing.  As soon as I was finished with the pet portrait, I got right back on it. It looks, still, quite a bit like the smaller version, but I drew the rainbow in with a lot of white space, a la impressionism, to give it a feeling of light.  I had more fun with the clouds, too.  Although, still not realistic, they are tempestuous.

I realized in looking at rainbows since, they do mark  a clearing.  So, I pulled in some incoming yellow light underneath it.    So, Dorothy, you want to go “Over the Rainbow”?  Not me, that’s where the clouds are.

The idea for this drawing came to me as I passed through a forgotten railroad station on the way to Brewster, NY.  So, going back to its origins, I’ve named this piece, Rainbow Over the Tracks.

Finally, I think I’ve gotten it out of my system.

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