March 11-13 & 15-16, 2019

It was cold mid March, and this was my first time ever in New York City. I’d never really had a reason to go there before this trip, but months before it, I had told myself that I wanted an excuse to travel and do exciting things. So, I made a list of all the places I thought would be cool to travel to, and then I just went for it.

Upon arrival, the first thing I did was to hit up MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art). I was pretty excited, at first, but honestly kinda let down by the place. Being that it was modern art, there was a lot of really weird stuff there. I mean, I know all art is subjective, but there were things like a paint can on the floor with a mop next to it, and that’s be a whole exhibit. The one redeeming quality was that they had ‘Starry Night’ by Van Gogh, and a humongous Jackson Pollock painting!

I also sketched everything, everywhere. I sketched people on subways, big buildings, dogs, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty. I literally sketched anything and everything I could find.

I’d get lost in the work. For instance, I’d be riding the subway and see someone aways away on the other side of it who didn’t notice me, and I’d start sketching them discreetly. Before I knew it, I’d look up to a small crowd of people all hovered over my sketchbook watching me work. We’d all look up at the same time, chuckle a bit, they’d give me a thumbs up, and I’d carry on.

There’s beauty in a sketchbook. It’s a wonderful way to bring people together, much like musicians busking on the street. There’s something innocent, and inviting about it that makes people trust you. They see that you’re just there, trying to document a moment, and they want to watch. It’s more old fashioned and sincere than taking photos with a camera.

I also, of course, had to take a trip down to the statue of liberty. People bustled around in their overcoats, and hats. Men stood outside selling tiny statue of liberty replicas.

A few months earlier when I had been in Rome, I rented a bicycle and rode around the city, weaving in and out with the traffic, explored the area in the blistering heat of the summer sun.

This time I decided to try it out in NYC. How bad could it be?… bad idea! Way too cold, and not a safe area. I did not feel comfortable at all! The traffic was faster, and the bike lanes were too small. So after a short ride for a few minutes, I turned around and trekked back towards the start.

Around 4 pm my phone died, and I realized I didn’t have any sort of charger with me. I had to find my way back on the hour trip back from Ellis Island to my airbnb in the Bronx. Since I had no battery on my phone, I just had to go off of my memory from arriving there late the night before.

An hour or two later, I went too far on the subway and ended up getting lost in the Bronx. It was a pretty sketchy part of it, but I did end up finding my way home eventually while there was still just a bit of light out.