I Secretly Draw People On The New York City Subway

I've turned my daily commute into my personal art studio.

Three years ago, I found myself on the subway with a sketchbook, a stolen pen from work and no idea what to draw. I looked around the train for inspiration and spotted an elegantly dressed older gentleman who had nodded off to sleep, his fedora gently slipped down over his nose. I sketched him and was happier with the results than I thought I would be - especially given that I was more of a goofy-doodler, than a real-life-drawer. Since then, I've challenged myself to draw every day during my commute — and to draw in pen.

Each drawing takes me anywhere from one stop (about 1-2 minutes) to the better part of my commute and the drawings are candid. Drawing in pen forces me to accept the imperfections that happen from bumpy train tracks, accidental nudges from fellow commuters, and of course, my own flaws as an artist. Relinquishing the responsibility to make a perfect piece allows me to draw with less judgement and helps me to create work that is less about perfectly capturing reality and more about capturing a mood, a feeling, a glance or a detail.

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The most NY patch ever.