New York City Skyline

Today I got out of work early due to a barely functioning AC, which in turn made the office too hot to work in comfortably or sanely.  So instead of heading home to a cool place, I went to the Jersey City waterfront at Exchange Place and sketched downtown Manhattan.  I was aiming to have the drawing fit on one 11x14 sheet of bristol, but ended up using three.  Pictured above are the buildings south of the Goldman Sachs building.  The Freedom Tower is in there; a bit too short and incomplete.  I made a separate drawing of the Freedom Tower on the left which I'll finish and add into the final drawing.   I will probably redraw all this on one large sheet at some point in the near future.  It was a super relaxing, albeit HOT, drawing session.  There was a breeze that made the heat more bearable, but an annoying fly that has made multiple red, itchy marks on my legs.  

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona
20 x 15 inches

Here's an illustration about Barcelona.  It features Antoni Gaudí's La Padrera, sun bathers, and the delicious fruit stands at La Boqueria.  La Boqueria is one of my favorite places in Barca.  It's always bustling with people selling their fruits/veggies/candy/juices.  The market is an attraction for both locals and tourists, and what I really like about it is that it's not full of cheapo touristy souvenirs. 

Copenhagen, Denmark

In the beginning of September 2011 I visited my good friend Nanna in Copenhagen, Denmark.  I spent four days hanging out with her and her friends, getting a more local perspective, while also observing as a tourist when I did things on my own. 

The Copenhagen illustration features fashion by Danish designer Peter Jensen, the old army barracks converted to housing on Borgergade street, the Christiansborg Palace (built in the 1600s), some jazz musicians, the Queen's swans, a restaurant interior, and Danish beer!

Trafalgar Square, Nelson's Column, National Gallery

One more London illustration, this time it's a panoramic of Trafalgar Square featuring Nelson's Column, the National Gallery, and the mass of people who visit.

London!

London
20 x 15 inches

This is the first installment of city/country posters!  During the past few days I've been working on finishing drawings from my Europe trip.   With all the sights, monuments, and characters, the London illustration sums up my three weeks in the city. 

Stay tuned for Copenhagen, eastern Europe, Spain, and Tanzania!

Duke of York Square

Duke of York Square, London UK

I finally finished coloring the Duke of York Square drawing I made while sitting in front of the Saatchi Gallery in London back in August. 

Edibles in London

Update Oct 24: Edibles in London was accepted to the They Draw & Travel website!

I recently traveled Europe for seven weeks.  The places I went to were: London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, and Warsaw.   I also traveled all over Spain, visiting Madrid, Segovia, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Barcelona, Ibiza, Granada, Sevilla via Gibraltar, Cordoba and Toledo.

As I traveled, I drew.  I filled about three sketchbooks.  I wondered what I could do with the drawings; maps or a city/county guide-pamphlet would be fun to make.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make maps.  Then, very conveniently, when I got back to Tanzania I came across a website called They Draw & Travel.  It was started by a brother-sister design-illustration team based in Western Massachusetts.  People are free to submit illustrated maps of places they have lived in, visited, or want to visit.  A few of my friends, Tatiana and Blythe had submitted maps, so I thought submitting a map to TDAT would be a great place to start my cartography project!

Edibles in London highlights a few of the places where I had some tasty food.  I wish I had more time to try out some more foods at Borough Market.

Airplanes, people, and animals

It's been a while since my last real post.  I finally got time and my act together today to scan (and color) some sketches that I've done in the past month in Tanzania.

The first two were done on two different flights on Coastal Aviation to Zanzibar.  The first drawing a view from my seat in the back.  The second is from sitting behind the two captains seats.

The next two are of my friend, Dana, fly fishing in Zanzibar.  Unfortunately, he didn't catch anything, but I did get the opportunity to draw someone fishing for the first time!

The next set of drawings were made in Ruaha National Park, which is southwest of Dar es Salaam, about 625 kilometers away.