Meet the correspondents: NEW YORK > Tommy Kane

“When it comes to sketching, New York city is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing comes from the fact that the second you step onto the street, there are a thousand things to sketch. Famous landmarks abound. I can draw China, Japan, India or Korea by merely walking a few square blocks. Plus there are very few republicans. The curse is the weather. It is always too hot or way too cold or windy or raining or snowing. On top of that, everything is in constant motion. Nothing will stand still long enough for me to draw. I start to draw a bike and someone runs out and gets on it and leaves. Oh look, a firehouse, let me draw it. I’m half way through sketching the doors when they suddenly open and the trucks race out ruining my view. A vendor selling umbrellas would make a cool drawing. I begin and suddenly they pack up and move to a new location. I find a cool building to draw and set up my stool and begin. A truck instantly parallel parks right in front of my view. No one is aware of me or trying to be rude. That is just how Manhattan operates. Deep down it is what I love about New York. How hard it is. Not so much the easy stuff. Hopefully that is what comes across in my work. The pain and agony of trying to draw every detail I possibly can no matter how much the forces of nature and environment work against me.”

• Tommy’s blog.
• Tommy’s art on Flickr.
• Tommy’s website.