This past Saturday, myself, fellow artist Jake Nelson and some of my favorite people got together to enjoy a beautiful day in Gotham.

The whole day in a minute and twenty seconds.

Here is the drawing Jake Nelson made of yours truly… as Rachel Wells so accurately noted, it was an Inception Art type of moment.

Before you check out a day of Central Park awesomeness… peep this sweet video,  Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds – Another Ride, via USA Today… well done Jake.

Love over the city, en route to Central Park to paint and enjoy life.

Getting started, well… Matt Bruno getting started.

A shot of yours truly by Brad Bartolomeo… excellent shot, considering my gut is completely blocked out. Well done Brad.

 

I’m all about experimenting while outside the studio… this picture was no different. It all started with a quick graphite sketch.

Washing things out with water… feels like something I would have done in high school.

Diluting the paint so it mixes with the pencil… dark and stormy.

Enjoying the marks and having fun with the materials.

The scene… that’s Vanessa, Scott, Rachel, Steve Bruno and yours truly. Another Brad shot.

Trump International, which I’ve painted before, and the Time Warner Center.

Forming the trees trunk by trunk, something I don’t often do. This is not how I feel about NYC… too apocalyptic.

Me and Matt Bruno, a shot by Brad Bartolomeo.

Washing out the trees with a puke green. Why not?

Just me and Bob Ross, painting happy little trees (and grass).

It was one of those seriously dense days in the Sheep Meadow… everyone was happy to be out. Particularly one gentleman… he drunkenly stumbled over to me and proposed “why don’t we tie each other up and paint each other.” No thank you sir, but thank you for thinking of me.

Making the tree line look all fluffy and such.

Getting the background flattened out.

Focused on the colors and reflections on TIHT… it was at this juncture I decided I didn’t need to be conservative, so I took a white china marker and paint out of the tube and turned this… into this…

One of the greatest aspects about leaving the studio is allowing yourself to experiment. So, in about five minutes, I changed the canvas entirely. It was until later that I realized how LeRoy Neiman the final image became. Lifting the chains of routine is mandatory.

Finally, a special thank you to everyone who came out! Jake, Brad, Matt, Steve, Mike and his crew, Rachel, Vanessa, Scott… am I missing anyone? Great Saturday in the park! More to come this summer.

One more time.