The Giants of NYC

There are several giants that have been designated the Great Trees of New York.  This one known as The Dinosaur is located at 163 Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue.

It’s hard to grasp what you’re seeing when you’re there.  You can’t see the whole thing at once.  The amount of shade it casts is huge produced by an immense canopy of leaves and a complex branch structure.   It is outside the scale of anything nearby, dwarfing everything, and yet it’s curiously invisible.

No one notices it.  It’s said that George Washington stood under this tree 240 years ago as the tides of Revolutionary War turned against his Continental forces.  It was a large mature tree even back then.

No one noticed this ancient giant or even glanced at it as I painted across the street.  No one asked why I was there.  No one stopped to consider how odd this tree is, in the middle of a residential Manhattan neighborhood.

Public Places

I was able to do some sketching inside City Hall.  I can't believe it's taken me a life time to finally see the inside of this fascinating building


It was a slow day at City Hall.  The Mayor was out of town in Iowa trying to help out in the Caucuses.  I sat in a quite place in a corner and tried not to get in the way.


People used the stairs but none stood still long enough to get included in the sketch.

City Hall Viewed from the outside

Virtual Sketch Event

Out my window. 

Started before the sunrise at about 7:10 and did an additional sketch every hour. 

Colors changed and things became a little clearer and sharper. 

It's still snowing but I've stopped listening to the hysterical weather forecasters.

Sketching at the Brooklyn Musuem

They've completely changed the lobby  of the Brooklyn Museum,and moved the ticket both against the wall creating a huge open space. Greeting you as you enter the lobby you see an immense six-ton, 18-foot wood sculpture of two cartoon-like characters in a chummy embrace. The sculpture is the work of former street artist Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS.

Kids love it and are perpetually climbing on the giant's shoes while parents are busy recording the moment on their cell phones.

Earlier I did a of a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights