Work In Progress

Over the next couple of days I'll be posting the book cover I'm working on, at this stage I have it all mapped in but the color scheme is way off. i know which areas I want to be cool and which I want warm but other than that it's a bit of a mess. The client wants the sky to be reds and yellows which I'll have to honor but I'm going to try to bring some cools into it. We'll see. I'll post it again tomorrow.

The Other One

I wasn't given a name for this lady but it's the other part of the magazine commission. I think I'll call her Jenny.

Arianna Huffington

This is another magazine job, I'm sending this off today for feed back so I'll keep you posted, so to speak.

Snow Day

It's a white out in New York. I'm lucky because I get to stay in and work all day although I walk my wife to the subway each morning so I get a feel of what I'm missing.
I've got two more pencil portraits that I'm working on today so you'll probably see one of them tomorrow, all going well. In the meantime here is another one of my commuter studies.

Portrait of a Kinder Gentler Lady

Here is a revision on the drawing that I posted on Friday, the client felt I could have been a little kinder to the subject so here it is. I'll submit it and see what happens.

Evening Session @ McSorely's

This really ought to be the cap on my McSorley's drawings for a while but i know I'll be back again soon because my friend Chad wants us to go and draw together, actually he wants me to draw him do a sketch there which would be a good drawing to get. I have other bars that need my attention though, such is life.

Made It For Sunday

I missed posting on Saturday because I unexpectedly found myself in Montauk. These things happen from time to time, I'm pleased to say. My friend Eddy and I did a caricature drawing session from 10pm to 3am at the C.W post university on Long Island and then things kind of spiraled from there. Montauk is freezing at the moment but it was fun.

Portrait of a Lady

This is a drawing of a Columbia law professor. It was for an Alumni magazine, it's early and I can't think of anything else to say about it. I enjoyed the job though.

It's Still Freezing

Just ask this guy, that's if you dare wake him up.

Back To Reality

Here are 4 rough sketches for a western book cover I'm doing for Penguin. I've posted them in the wrong order of course but that does mean that my favorite sketch is at the top. I'm hoping that they choose no4, what I hope they don't do is ask for a combination of a couple of sketches and ask to see another sketch. Which would you choose?

Brand New Day

I Owe I Owe

It's off to work I go, I saw that on a tee shirt somewhere but it's certainly relevant today. This was one of my fellow commuters on Thursday morning.

Lunch Time at Bill's

I was in work on Thursday so I got to have lunch at Bill's for the first time in a while. The great thing about this and so many of my other favorite bars is they never change.

Non Nude

I went to the Society last Thursday and the nudes were not nude, it was fancy dress night. This is the only blogable from that night. The model was wearing this very elaborate head dress and an outfit with way to many stripes and polka dots for me to be able to focus on, it was information overload. Anyway sketch of the day, more bars soon.

McSorley's Stove

On a cold day like today, this is a very inviting scene. McSorley's has this wood burning stove that throws out a great heat. I don't know of many places that can boast a feature such as this. This is also another sketch that could be joined with the Solo drinkers and Solo drinker sketches to make one panoramic scene as I was in pretty much the same spot learning against the bar.

Loose

I did this drawing last night on the way home from the Triple Crown after an alumni meeting at FIT. I was feeling relaxed and I really enjoyed how loose this drawing was.

Solo Drinker

This drawing was done at the same time as yesterdays post, I was leaning against the bar at the same spot. That's brings me to an interesting point about McSorley's (to me anyway) it's the only bar I can think of that doesn't have bar stools. I'm think about combining these two studies into on panoramic scene.

Solo Drinkers

Here are a couple of guys drinking alone at a lunchtime session at McSorley's. That's pretty much me too other than I have a sketchbook in front of me. As I've mentioned before, lunchtimes are when to see these bars at their best.

It's Freezing.

We've got it cold at the moment, how about you?

P.J Clarke's

Lunchtime session at P.J's, this place does a mean cheeseburger and by that I don't mean an ill tempered one.

Subway Dudes

I went into Manhattan on Thursday evening to attend sketch night and was able to warn up a bit with some subway drawings of which this in one, actually it's a two for one. Happy Saturday good people of the world.

Nude

I was at the Society of Illustrators last night for sketch night for the first time this year but I hope to go every week to keep up the nude part of my "Bars and Nudes" theme, the bar part is not a problem at present I'm pleased to report

P.J Clarke's

This is yet another classic New York Bar at 55th and Third Avenue, it's been kicking around since 1884 and is now surrounded on all sides by giant office buildings. Great for lunch, completely jammed after 5pm with business types grabbing a quickie before heading home.

Neil @ Vazac's

I did this drawing a while ago but I recognized the person I drew the last time I was in this Bar, I introduced myself so now I have a name for him. The Bar is one known to me as Vazac's and it's on 7th and B. I'll have more to say about this place later but for now Neil is sketch of the day.

200

This drawing was done at 200 on 5th avenue in Brooklyn. Al Capone brought the wooden bar itself but it has been moved from it's original location.

McSorley's

Here is another look at McSorley's and McSorley's is always worth another look.

Working Sketch

This is a drawing I did at a bar called Chumley's which I'm afraid is no longer with us. I have some other Chumley's drawing to show you down the road.

Nude

So at long last normal service has been resumed and I'm back to blogging "Bars and Nudes" as first pointed out by my sister in 2007. Long may it continue.

Tom at Bill's

This is Tom, one of New Yorks great bartenders, he works at Bill's on 54st at Madison.

White Horse Tavern

First off, Happy New Year! 2009 here we come blah blah blah. OK now that's out of the way, this is the great White Horse Tavern in the west village. It looks pretty festive and sets a tone for this years collection of who knows what? Thanks to all who have been checking in over the last 18 months or so, hopefully you'll keep coming back to see what I'm up to.