Kane Gets A Mention

The other day an artist named Erik Petri left a comment on my blog. He informed me that he attended an illustration conference called ICON6. Speakers included the likes of Istvan Banyai, Tim Biskup, The Clayton Brothers, Jeff Soto, Gary Taxali and Todd Oldham. At the conference, one speaker in particular named Dan Santat gave a workshop on promoting oneself on youtube. As an example, Erik said he showed my youtube video that I did of myself drawing on the streets of Brooklyn. It's too bad my early attempts at film are so junky. That one was before Butch Belair made that cool squirrel opening for me. Anyway it's nice to know that somewhere other artists are appreciating my little art projects. We can all use an ego boost now and again.
By the way, check out this video Dan Santat did of his portfolio. It's genius. Also he's the creator of the Disney show, The Replacements.

Something From Nothing

There are times when I want to draw but I am somewhere that literally offers me nothing. One weekend Yun and I took her niece to the bay near my parent's beach house. I drew the kid's bike but then I was stumped. Nothing else was around so I really had to reach into my bag of tricks to try and make something happen. Don't get me wrong, there were a few little bits of garbage around but nothing that will help me make an interesting piece. I started to draw every stupid little thing and then labeling them. I whipped out the old colored pencils and started to work my magic. The finished work is nothing that I set out to do. It happened because I was in a creative box and had to crawl out somehow and this is the result.

Cell Mate

Is it just me or is Lindsey Lohan slowly turning orange. Her mug shot looks like a person who puts on fake tan spray or something. It was so bizarre that I couldn't stop looking at it. Naturally I had to draw her. I figured if I spent enough time staring at her photo then I would somehow figure out what was going on. My conclusion is that she really is turning orange. You heard it here first.
One of my readers informed me Lohan is endorsing some scary tanning product. Check it out here.

DeBarge Music

One Sunday afternoon, Yun and her mom were just hanging around the apartment. I said, "let's go do something." Translation: why don't you figure out something to do and I'll go with both of you. Yun suggested, Bargemusic. Of course, I never heard of it. Apparently there is some barge in the river near Dumbo where they play classical music. When we got there, Yun and I were the only ones under seventy. Not my kind of scene but what the hell. The first thing I notice about classical music is the second it starts playing, everyone falls asleep. If someone would have asked me, "do you want to go to an old age home and watch fifty old people sleep?" I'd have said no but here I was doing just that. I couldn't see a thing on stage. The rows actually went up in front of us instead of down, thus blocking everyone's view. So what I did was draw all the old people watching the concert with their eyes closed (sleeping). Even Yun and her mom slept through a good deal of it. Yun asked me what I liked the best. I told her the second half. She informed me I prefer Chopin to Mozart. At least I learned that much.

The Irish Jew

I went back to Hasidic Williamsburg. This time I drew on a side street, not the main drag where there are a million people. It was a lot calmer and I was pretty much left alone. At one point a bunch of kids kept coming over to see my drawing. They would return every 15 minutes or so. Finally the whole family came. There were 5 kids, mom, dad and grandma. They were Hasidic and dressed in full regalia. The dad said that he was trying to get his family to eat but the kids refused. They kept running out of the house to come see me draw. So finally he said that they all might as well come and see me drawing. It was pretty funny. He kept asking me my name. I said, Tom. No, what was my last name? I told him a few times. He couldn't quite grasp it. He asked me to spell it. K,A,N,E. "Oh, Kane," he said. So you're Jewish. I was sort of laughing inside. That was a new one. "I'm sorry, but I'm Irish." Not too many Jews immigrated from County Cork. I have a feeling that the Hasidic see me hanging out there so much drawing, that they naturally think that I must be Jewish. Why else would a goyum feel so at home amongst the chosen ones.

1960's Photos

I bought a new iphone app. It's called cross process. When you take a shot it makes it look like an old photo from the 1960's. When I see these shots, I expect a twenty year old Al Pacino to stroll into view.

Reelin And A Rockin

I was in my dad's shed at his beach house and I noticed all the fishing rods hanging over my head. The intricate mechanisms of the reels drew me in. These were six different ones even though some look like I drew them twice. I like putting a bunch of similar items on a page especially unusual ones. This drawing is a perfect symbol of summer on the east coast. I can remember my dad giving me a deep sea rod and reel for Christmas as a little kid. There was nothing like the clicking sound it made when you were reeling it in. I'm sure I caught a bunch of tuna, striped bass and blue fish with it.

Law And Order

The other day I got an e-mail from someone at the New York Law School. It's located in Tribeca, New York City. Was I in trouble with the law? For once, no. They just built a brand new modern school right next to three of their old buildings. She said they were in the midst of trying to buy artwork for the new space. Their idea was to find affordable artwork of New York for the place. She was not having much luck. Someone told her to try Etsy. She said she typed in the words Brooklyn Bridge and boom, she discovered me. The school ended up buying fifteen of my prints. They should look cool, all framed hanging in a row somewhere. I was asked to do some others of the Tribeca area. Of course, I had to do the school itself. It's very nice inside with lots of modern details. This is the first time this type of thing has happened to me. Can't wait until some hotel chain discovers me and orders a thousand prints. By the way, the law school asked if i would do a mural on one of the huge empty walls they have. Gotta think about that one.