Drawing NYC - One: Chelsea Market

Some tourists from California told me what they thought I should draw, so I complied. Good thing, too, because they came back later to make sure I was drawing what they said I should.

I asked them why they were tourist-ing--'touring' doesn't feel right either--through Chelsea Market of all places and they said they saw it mentioned on the Food Channel. Maybe the Food Channel should be more responsible abt where they're steering hapless tourists? And they didn't realize that the Food Channel studios were located at the end of this hallway--score. Right? Rachel?

Everyone talked to me tonight. Eight people? Holding a blank sketchboard is like walking a dog--immediately all of New York is your talking buddy.

I HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM CONTROLLING THE VEERING 'STRAIGHT' LINE!

Look at anything I've drawn that has a floor, a straight wall, or any attempt at perspective. I always bend away.
It's not like I'm just realizing this just now, but I've never been more annoyed about it. I thought it would work itself out as I got more motor control, but, if anything, it's getting worse. What makes it even dumber is that in every drawing, I'm actually trying to be tidier and to draw straighter lines. This is me trying! And watching, and deliberating. And thinking, "this drawing is a mess, but at least I totally nailed that one straight line in that one segment of the wall!" That's the easy part of drawing that I think I can do. It's not until 20 mins after I'm finished that I realize, "oh no the floor is curling/the wall creeping/the post doesn't line up with itself."

I think that this is one of my problems: I have trouble seeing the drawing as an entity apart from whatever I'm drawing. I'm thinking, "is this what I'm seeing?" instead of "does this picture look cool and are the big lines all squared and straight?" I think I'm stopping to look at the whole picture-in-progress, but I'm not--I'm still seeing the separate segments and then glancing up to check them against life. Segments of it, actually, because I can't see the big picture out of the corner of my eyes, and I'm shifting to take it in. That's the main problem--I, like everybody, move my head when I look at the world. It's the same viewing pattern as for the page--I look at in pieces of the setting around me and focus on the parts until I can assemble some mental patchwork event for what I think I'm seeing. When I start to scan things further from or closer to me, I shift my head, maybe turn my shoulders, and--oops I just shifted the perspective lines again and don't realize it. But it's exactly what I see! Kind of. If you add 'time' to space. But the spatial relationships I'm paying attention to for measurements and proportions actually do match up! And for the dumbest reason! Because, unlike a camera, my version of the seeing involves stupidly torquing myself around to better see whatever's around. Good effort measuring and double-checking, but you forgot something. Surprise, I drew another torqued roof lifting off.

If I were doing this on purpose, I'd say that I'm drawing a montage of sequential moments. It's filmic! Too bad it's not on purpose. And, despite my multi-paragraph apologia for bent lines, I'd still rather be able to draw a straight line, and I'm noticing that nobody else seems to have this problem, so everybody else handles the situation fine.

Am I going to have to carry around a straight edge? [but that would be cumbersome, although, yes, I'm already hauling around the giant sketchboard and the bag of pencils and charcoal and a few extra books to read in case I get trapped somewhere...]
Or would it make more sense to get an iPhone for the camera and take a few seconds now and then to compare the progression of my drawing against my iPhotos and, when nec., deploy the side of the iPhone as a straight edge

Also: we are supposed to always draw a frame around the page before we start drawing, and I can't draw those straight either. It looks like I do them with my eyes closed, but I give my best effort to not wobble. How do sign painters do it?! Can this be learned?

Second drawing, 20 mins, looking the other direction.
The two security guards along the back wall are 10 feet tall because I started drawing from their heads down, and when I finished, they were floating. Unfortunately, I'd already drawn in the floor. I had to stretch them into giants so that their feet would touch ground. If it mattered more, I'd erase them completely. I don't like them. I prefer the guy on the far left drinking a juicebox.

My favorite part in both drawings is the unsullied white space.

Sighted! Non-celebrity NY1 anchor Lewis Dodley, leaving elevator! This is one of the finest sightings evurr, inclu Gossip Girl Jenny this summer. I love NY1. If it were Pat K, I might've made a pest of myself to thank him. For the news.


Love those shiny industrial floors. They make me want to move in. Is there anything more appealing than sealed concrete? I esp like the old lumber and the cracks showing through.