sketchbookfactory

Sketches of New York: Now vs Then

One the cool things about New York is the abundance of talented performers. Everywhere you look there is some dancer, singer, mime, banjo player, or acrobat putting on an awesome show. Here is a guy I came across in the subway station back in 2000.

2000

(Back then I drew on both sides of the page, so that’s the shadow of the flip side in the background there. )

These guys (below) were part of an acapella group that performed on front steps at the Met. There always seem to be a ton of people loitering on the steps of the Met, so that must be prime real estate. I wonder if performers ever get into hair-pulling territorial street fights the way hookers often do.*

(*Everything I know about hookers I learned from TV.)

2013

Looks like after 13 years I’d grown too lazy to quote the actual song they were singing, and have opted instead to slap on a few of those universal symbols of music.

But wait! See the baseball cap on that guy on the left? That is without a doubt the best baseball hat I have EVER drawn. And before you scoff and say “It’s a hat, big whoop” please ask yourself if you have ever drawn someone in a baseball cap before.

No? Okay take a moment to attempt that now…

Pretty damn hard huh?

Now let’s go back a look at my drawing again with this fresh new perspective…

You: Nice job on the hat.

Me: Thank you.

By the way, the name of that group was Acapella Soul and they were great. Here’s another super-toony one of them.

Acapella Soul 2013

Check it out, they have a website.