Live in New York

In a sketchbook

This summer nine artists have been touring the town with me, sketchbooks in hand, gathering elements of city life for illustration projects.

The focus of this SVA course has been to see how direct experience can translate into visual storytelling. Most Illustration work is a translation of the written word to the illustrated page. Here, having seen, heard, smelled, and otherwise experienced a scene in person, artists would have the opportunity to capture a story first hand. In my career, I have had many projects of this kind and I’ve always felt it was, in some ways, a transcendent experience.

So, for these two months, these artists have been joining me in visiting various locations, and then, the next day, working together to interpret the time spent in the field … and also meet a working artist who is a master of adaptive reportage.

This weekend we visited the main NYPL at 42nd St, then Bryant Park and Times Square. The contrasts in mood and personality was dynamic. The resulting ideas were strong. I will post their sketchbook projects soon. Here are a few of mine.

One of the lions and I swap places.