Back in the New York Groove

I'm back in the New York Groove



Storm King art center is an open air sculpture park 1 hour north of NYC in the hudson valley.

















The maturation of a flower





Every Sunday for 21 years Marjorie Eliot has opened her apartment to Jazz musicians for 2 hours of jazz in her Harlem apartment on Edgecombe and 160th street.  She even gives out juice and cookies during intermission.  There are only about 50 seats or so and if you come late you will have to stand in the hallway.  Due to the internet and blogs like this it seems like a ton of people know about this hidden jem now.  We stood for a while, ended up getting a chair in the hallway and ended up leaving after 30 minutes because there was no way we were going to get a seat inside to even have an eyeline with the musicians.  I guess you have to come early if you want to even be inside the apartment.  Will try again sometime.
 


55 Bar on Christopher street in the west village.  Very cool place, great barman and great music the 2 times we have been so far.  First it was an "exotica" band, think the theme song of Ren and stimpy and tiki and hawaii and the 50s.  After that it was an avant guarde sax, drum, and bass trio that wailed.



the exotica band



James Chang trying to fix his direct tv







party at one of the Otte stores



14th street A,C,E station



inside the New York Times at the art department

Billy Murray and Rhapsody United Inflight First Class

Perhaps my favorite actor, Bill Murray.  This is a nod to Groundhog Day, The Life Aquatic, and Moonrise Kingdom.  Prints are available here
The original pencil drawing is available here

Double page spread and a spot for the Inaugural issue of Rhapsody, United Airline’s in-flight magazine for First Class. The story is about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s battle with Ravi Suria, an analyst that wrote bad things about Amazon and almost made them crash back in the early days when they were mainly a book seller.

Jason Pan's Tights Get A Little Too Tight

As I wrote in the last post Jason Pan's tights got a little too tight and he returned to roost back in New York.  After 5 years on the road I realized you can't be Peter Pan forever.  The adventures will continue in New York, just at a much less frequent pace because lets face it, I'm from America and have lived in New York for so long that I am jaded and don't find life here as eye opening and new as it was when I was moving to a new country every year.  That's just the way it goes I suppose.  The good news is I will be able to focus more time on my artwork and career because I won't be spending as much time exploring a new city by foot or bike and taking photos all the time and partying all the time and making new friends and eating new things and experiencing new things every day.  Sounds like the life right?  Try it for 5 years and your tights will start to get a little tight in the thighs too, mr/ms potential Peter Pan.



Continuing French things.  Using that Opinel folding knife I got at the market in Paris.  I have searched for the best Baguette in New York and have failed to find one that come even remotely close to what they have in France.  I have heard many theories including the water is just different here.  I suppose it doesn't help that the bread is only baked once a day in the morning here as opposed to twice daily in Paris.



playing my Peter Pan flute.



Pool at Fat Cat, and then some Jazz





Chicken and waffles at good old Amy Ruth's.  A liter of gross wine



Greenpoint, Brooklyn



Greenpoint, Brooklyn



Outside Jonathan Bartlett's studio in Greenpoint.  Time to visit some illustrators and be part of the illustration community for real in person instead of just online and oceans apart.



view from his studio window.  Pas mal





Jonathan Bartlett in his studio.  What a nice F'ing guy.  Although he looks maniacal here.  Who's he gonna choke with that USB cable?



some of this stuff



James Bascara's studio in Bushwick



Chi Birmingham in his studio, they call it "Brushwick Studios".

Ok New York, more NY posts coming at you soon.  I wish I could look at New York the way my friend's from other countries look at New York.  Everyone wants to live in New York and think everything is amazing here.  That's how it felt when I lived outside of America but I don't think that feeling can return but I can delve into other aspects of life here and embark on different types of adventures.  Fellow New Yorkers, if you are feeling down and wishing you lived somewhere else, just remember that everyone else in the world wants to live here.