Blue ribbon at the White House...

I took the bus to DC a couple days ago and stayed with friends so I could join the Blackwell family at the White House and a ceremony where they would get nationally recognized. Let me back up. Last year, my friend Susan Blackwell connected me with her brother. His son Tony had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and, seeing no satisfactory resource for calculating health needs for his boy, programmed a resource himself. I provided a few illustrations for what became Tony's Plate. John then entered the application into Michelle Obama's Apps for Healthy Kids campaign. Well, thanks to some hard work from the whole family, they won the popular vote. Fancy, huh? I'm so honored that they asked me to come along. Above right there is a shot of the Blackwells and I in front of the capitol building after the ceremonies were over and the USDA arranged a little bus tour of the city. Here are a few more shots from the trip...


1. There's me at the White House. To be totally forthcoming, I only got part of the White House tour after a bit of a delay. Just as we got to the East Room, our event leaders pulled us from the tour to head to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for the ceremony... because we couldn't keep the cabinet secretaries waiting. Ah well. I'll have another chance. 2. Me and Lincoln. 3. The Capitol on the skyline. 4. Me covering the Capitol with my umbrella. Oops. But it was raining.


In addition to these sites, I also had the chance to see some art galleries. I saw an amazing exhibit of items created by Japanese people held in camps during WWII. Such beautiful paintings, jewelry, sculpture, practical wood pieces, etc.!! Beauty out of adversity. And I also had the great pleasure of seeing a huge exhibit of Norman Rockwell's original charcoal/pencil sketches and oil paintings... from the collections of George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg. It was nostalgia overload!


I was also able to make the trek out to Arlington, VA and Signature Theatre to see their production of Chess. It was stunning! Really great! And I was also able to visit the remaining pieces I created for Signature. Many have been sold, but there are some left (ironically some of my favorite pieces).

I'd like to thank Cindy and Ash Long, my friend Garrett/Elise's mom and brother. They welcomed me into their guest room for the trip. It was so nice to have a place to stay and it was comfy!

Well, that's it for now. What an adventure!! And I look forward to the next one. Take care, all! Peace and love.

That's a whole heck of a lot of Broadway!

I am EXHAUSTED!! But it was SO worth it. I was a drop in a vast ocean of giving today in the heart of the theatre district. The Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction brought out thousands of wonderful Broadway geeks with money to burn (or even more likely in a lot of cases, money to sacrifice). While I was often super busy, here are a few shots I was able to take of the goings-on...


1.There's the backdrop of the "silent" auction. (I put "silent" in quotes because there are wonderful chatty hosts who steer things along.) There at the middle right is a clock made partially from my art, and above that is a framed and matted original ink piece signed by 18 stars of the autumn's Broadway openings (for the Grand Auction later). Note my logo on the t-shirt in the foreground. They were EVERYWHERE! 2. Some sights from the day: A fellow carrying a life-size cutout of Mandy Patinkin circa 1984. 3. A character named Rose and American Idiot's foam middle fingers. 4. My friend Susan and Daniel Craig. 5. Shubert Alley.


I have to give a shout-out to my helpers throughout the day... Justin Roller my point man and Kevin Munhall who manned the early shift. There were others who were willing to help, but with a pretty small table, we were all set. And then there was the cavalcade of dear friends who stopped by to say "hello" which I was SO grateful for. I don't want to name them all to risk leaving someone out, but know that each and every loved one brought me so much joy today (including phone calls). 1. A westward shot down 44th Street. 2. Kevin and I at the table. 3. The poster in the window of a deli where I got an amazing sandwich. 4. Roller at a rare slow moment at the table. We had dropped prices and had experienced a few rain drops as seen on the signage. 5. Another view of 44th Street, this time eastward.


The Grand Auction was a trip and a half. BC/EFA main dude Tom Viola asked me to be present as they auctioned off my art... the last lot of the day. 1. The "backstage" host's cheat sheet included onstage guests' headshots. So there's Greg Jbara, Levi Kreis, Priscilla Lopez, Jonathan Freeman, John Tartaglia, Nathan Lane, Amy Irving, Anthony Rapp, Bernadette Peters, and ME! What??!! 2. Another cutout of Mandy Patinkin enjoying the auction proceedings. 3. Although I can only take marginal credit for all the amazing work that went into it, I'm still happy to say that this item fetched four figures in the auction. 4. A shot of me being nervous before having to go talk about my art on the auction stage. 5. Yes, I had to directly follow the amazing Bernadette Peters. I then proceeded to the stage where Tom Viola told the folks why I was there. I shared a few remotely coherent thoughts, and then the bidding began. My art, signed by lots of celebs, brought in $1700. I'm blown away.


So I end this day with paper cuts and ink stains on my hands, a dry scratchy throat, and a severely enlarged cranium. It will take my friends and family some doing, but I'm confident they can bring me down a few notches where I belong. Seriously, it was an amazing day and an event I was truly blessed to be a part of. Peace & love, all!

If you're in NYC long enough...

Okay, I know I've only been here for just over four months, but there are certain things I've been able to witness already that are basic milestones in the theatrical season. I've posted about getting to see the Tony Awards rehearsal...


And a Sardi's caricature unveiling (Kevin Chamberlin's likeness as captured by Sardi's resident artist, Richard Baratz)...






Well, this evening I finally made it to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 49th to see Fela! And in addition to the performance being the amazing Lillias White's penultimate as Funmilayo (before she hands it over to Patti LaBelle), it was also the performance taped for the Lincoln Center archives (Photo: The archivemobile).


Lincoln Center has been documenting almost every Broadway show since the 1970s. The recordings are kept on file at the Lincoln Center Library. Such an amazing resource! (Photo: a technically illegal photo in the theatre... with a glimpse of one of the cameras at far left).


BUT WAIT... Something even more rare is the renaming of a theater. In March, Roundabout Theatre Company announced that Henry Miller's Theatre on 43rd would be renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. I just had to drop by on Wednesday when the new marquee was lit. After speeches from Roundabout folks, John Weidman, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, and an emotional Mr. S, the switch was flipped. Pretty wonderful!


AND AN EVEN BIGGER BUT... I'm so incredibly astounded to say that in the place where this crazy theatrical world and my own world intersect, there is a significant convergence happening as I type. As I may have mentioned, I've been working with the great organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to design the poster for their annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction. I also did the work to put my doodles on street pole banners. I knew they were going up this week. I just didn't know how many. They are EVERYWHERE!! Along 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th Streets, and up and down Times Square. I think there are 35 or so. It makes me giddy and a little dancy to see my scribblings all over the center of the theatrical world. I'm so thrilled and grateful!



AND... I know I've blogged and posted about it incessantly, but I was also fortunate enough to see my work in the New York Times in an article heralding some of the folks considered to be "the Line King's heirs", folks carrying on the traditions of the late, great Al Hirschfeld who drew for the Times for decades and carved a big ol' niche for himself in pop culture. I'm happy to say that my Flea Market art will propel me into the Times for a second time within a month. Ads run sometime this week and the day of the event!


If you're in the NYC area on Sunday, September 26, the Broadway Flea Market will be in high gear from 10am to 7pm, and I'll be there selling prints, drawing quick-sketch caricatures, and wandering around and taking it all in. Come on down!

I'm so incredibly grateful to feel welcomed and embraced in this Broadway community. Sometimes it just takes a little glimmer of a sign to let a person know their decision was the right one. I've been blasted with signs the magnificence of the jumbotrons in Times Square (the ones lighting up my banners for the next couple weeks). Well, that's it for now! More later. Peace and love, all!

Remembering... and looking ahead.

Yesterday was a beautiful, clear early autumn day in NYC. I had made plans to take a bus trip out of town (to Downingtown, PA, the home of Victory Brewing and a really super tour... see below). But once I returned to the city, I wanted to go downtown to the World Trade Center site to look around and reflect.

[Note: Click on the pictures and they'll get bigger.]


[L to R:] 1. As I emerged from the C train station at Chambers Street, I caught my first glimpse of the powerful lights aimed at the sky to represent the twin towers. 2. Numerous portions of the fenceline were decorated with flowers and notes. 3. The construction is beginning to pick up in pace and the first tower being built was well-lit this evening. 4. The tributes along the walls were numerous. Numerous listings of all the names, some with notes written near them. 5. A firetruck made its way through the crowd, and I think the photo that I took looks a bit ethereal. 6. The flag still waves proudly as a nation remembers.


As I mentioned above, I took a bus trip to Pennsylvania for a brewery tour (through a great Midtown beer bar, Rattle & Hum). It was a beautiful ride southwest to Downington. I love that there is so much to see so close to my city. Here are a few glimpses into that adventure:


1. The banners upon entering Victory's brewpub. 2. On the tour, the creative mind behind Victory, Bill Covaleski, in the hop freezer. 3. Such and amazing sight... full-flower Simcoe hops. 4. The pig after roasting. 5. Toast! 6. A tasting of all sorts of treats. There was a beer that smelled like an herb garden (Saison du Buff), a rauschweiss (or smoked wheat beer... Scarlet Sunset), a single hop pale (Pursuit Simcoe), and many more wonderful brews.


Today, the weather was a bit drippier, but it couldn't douse the spirits of folks in Times Square as we celebrated the start of the new theatre season with Broadway On Broadway, a big concert and event featuring the Broadway casts, celebrities, give-aways, booths, etc.:


1. The ubiquitous Chicago pamphlet girls. (Very focused trainer to trainee: "Whenever they take a picture, they MUST get a pamphlet!!) 2. The stage right at the crossroads and all the jumbotrons which were all tuned into the event. 3. The loft of pigeons that seemed to be trained to fly en masse at dramatic moments, like "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and when Marin Mazzie changed keys in "I Miss the Mountains." 4. More crowd. Lots of folks. 5. Some Wicked fans. 6. Confetti! AT&T obviously sponsored this part because the confetti included little logos and ads.


As I was standing in Times Square, I occasionally noticed a familiar doodle pass by. Broadway Cares was promoting the upcoming Flea Market with a visor. They told me it would be happening, but I just didn't know it was for this event. Cool!...




1. Close up of the visor and my logo. 2. The Wicked fans with their visors. 3. A lovely lady who was putting hers to good use. 4. A stack on the newspaper machine. I think a distributor was taking a short cut. 5. And, yes, many free things end up tossed to the curb. Still kind of neat to see my art littering Times Square. 6. Me with my visor in the falling confetti.

It was a really great weekend. Now, this coming week will be full of hard (but intriguing) work. I feel so blessed. Take care, all! Peace and love.

Of beaches and Boston...

It's been a while since I've landed here with tales of adventure. Sometime you just have to store up... and then toss them all out at once. I recently had the best type of vacation I can imagine... adventures, exploration, friends, food. I spent a week on Cape Cod and in Boston. And here's a doozy of an account of the discoveries. (I feel like I'm setting y'all up for a big ol' vacation slide show.)


The instigation for the visit was the wedding of my friends Christine and Joe. 1) I stayed at their rental and had the two-story windmill all to myself. 2) The view of the marshlands out behind the house. 3) Joe and Christine, and wedding attendees Kathel and Jimmy. 4) Jimmy bearing the rings at the wedding. 5) Me on the lower level of the windmill... with warm decor, quirky art, and old musical instruments. 6) The ceiling in the second floor bedroom.


The wedding took place at the Edward Gorey house in Yarmouth, MA. Gorey is a renowned (and prolific) illustrator, known by most from his many books, and also his contributions to the PBS series Mystery and his Tony-winning designs for Dracula starring Frank Langella. I'm enthralled with his work and his unique style. So I was like a kid in a candy store with the opportunity to look around. 1) The yard sign. 2) Pointing the way. 3) Illustration recreation and Black-eyed Susans that decorated the house. 4) Gorey's book The Gashleycrumb Tinies inspires a scavenger hunt of sorts throughout the house where you can discover all 26 untimely ends of the unwise children. 5) Gorey's Tony and Dracula designs. 6) Omblegroom, the 22lb. Gorey House cat.


The nifty look of these photos comes courtesy of the Hipstamatic application on my iPhone. Here is a selection of photos using the grainy black & white "film"... 1) Weathervane and original design. 2) Window decorated with some beloved objects. 3) Trick wallpaper... the ladies only show up when the light hits it from the correct angle. 4) Another window, this time with toy mice. 5) Edward's fridge. 6) Out another window is a Gorey-inspired graveyard.


In nearby Dennis, MA you'll find the Cape Playhouse and the Cape Cinema. 1. The front of the playhouse, showing the awning damaged by high winds the previous week (and when this photo was taken, anticipating hurricane Earl). 2. The playhouse has been open every summer since 1927 and the walls are papered with posters featuring many notable names who have performed. 3. Gertrude Lawrence is said to haunt the place. If you are in "her" dressing room and you don't bring her flowers, things tend to fall off shelves. A scrap of paper featuring her autograph fell from the rafters when a tour was being given. Spooooky (and fun)! 4) The Cape Cinema was built three years after the playhouse and now features art and foreign films on the one screen. 5) Vintage concession ads and preview graphics are part of the experience. I saw the Robert Duvall movie Get Low while I was there. (Amazing!) 6) But, hands-down, the star of this place is the enormous mural covering the entire ceiling and walls... designed by famed illustrator Rockwell Kent and painted by legendary set designer Jo Mielziner. Wow!


On a full day's meandering, I drove the length of the Cape, from Yarmouth up to Provincetown. 1. Yours truly and the Highland Light in North Truro. 2) The "Nantucket Bucket" at Moby Dick's... steamed mussels, little-neck clams, and corn on the cob. 3) Some old pilings in Provincetown with the Pilgrim monument in the distance. 4) Charming P-Town. 5) Lobster roll! 6)Sun setting over the water... the only place you can see that on the east coast.


On the way to Boston, I navigated the Old King's Highway and stopped where I felt the calling... from Yarmouth to Plymouth (lots of "mouths"). 1. Lothrop Hill Cemetery. 2. A fire station sign announcing the imminent arrival of Hurricane Earl. 3. In Plymouth, a monument to Samoset (I believe). 4. The rock and my shadow. 5) The Mayflower II. 6) Burial Hill.


Boston adventures: 1) The view of downtown from my hotel room. 2) A couple pigeons atop the Boston Common plaque, with Park Street Church looming overhead. 3) The gravestone of Mary Goose, possibly legendary "Mother" Goose. 4) These may or may not be pencil nubs once used by a renowned and revered caricaturist. 5) A large milk bottle near the site of the Boston Tea Party. A little tea house down the street was advertising a special called "Earl's Fog" in commemoration of the hurricane... Earl Grey tea, honey, and cream. I couldn't help but feel the whole tea irony. 6) The Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre.


1) Paul Revere's house. 2) Paul Revere monument with the Old North Church in the foggy haze of the background. 3) A blurry but pretty shot from the hotel room as the Earl rain began. It ended up being pretty much a dud of a storm. 4) Trinity Church. 5) In front of the Boston Public Library. 6) One of the many murals inside the library. I was a bit disappointed that the John Singer Sargent mural gallery was closed. Ah well... incentive to return.


1) A monument near the Boston World Trade Center and a fun shadow. 2) The Museum of Fine Arts. 3) I did get to see the Sargent murals here. 4) Scuplture study: Air. 5) Fenway Park from the outside. 6) And looking in. Note: I also enjoyed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Sargent's huge El Jaleo and many more amazing pieces in an absolutely stunning building surrounding a beautiful courtyard. There are also two large empty frames, left that way after the Rembrandts once held there were stolen in a big heist.

Well, that's the end of this particular journey. After a four hour bus ride, I was back in NYC. And I can say that I do indeed feel at home in my new home city based on a wonderful happy feeling as I approached the Midtown Tunnel. So many adventures to be had here... and even more just a quick jaunt away. Such a wealth! Take care, all! Peace and love to you.

An epic walkabout...

Just to keep my hand in 'round here, I'm bringing you a mini photo essay with glimpses from a day full of wandering adventure...


Here we go... 1. A trek down to the southern tip of Manhattan found me first at Bowling Green, the first public park established in NYC. 2. And just a skip from said park is the famous bull statue which gets numerous visitors to its undercarriage. 3. Then, in Battery Park (where I also enjoyed a meander through an out-of-the-way labyrinth... not the Henson type) is a really amazing sculpture called "The Immigrants." Here's a shot of part of it. 4. Then, sort of nearby is Fraunces Tavern which hold a lot of weight in the Revolutionary War era's history. George Washington really did sleep here. Or if he didn't actually sleep, he met with a lot of influential folks here. 5. I then moseyed north to Central Park where I found Sheep Meadow teeming with sun-worshippers and frisbee tossers. 6. And as I headed up the Mall, I found a photo op at the Columbus statue. The red orbs might be caused by the sun... or by the souls sent to heaven from the disease CC introduced to indigenous cultures. Oops... got dark there.


Toby continued... 1. Still in the Park, I gravitated once again, as I often do, to Bethesda Fountain. 2. At Strawberry Fields, I overheard a girl ask her mother, "Imagine what?" I was agog. 3. After running a few errands, I took advantage of the amazingly temperate weather and ventured over to the Hudson River for an early evening hike. 4. Heading back east to meet up with friends, I passed a public school which featured a mural designed and painted by students. Note the literary tribute of the top book in the stack. 5. Graffiti on the sidewalk in Chelsea is radically optimistic. 6. Here's just a glimpse at a wonderful evening with friends... After truffle mac & cheese at The Cafeteria and before beers at the 156 year-old McSorleys, we dropped into the workplace of our friend Jenn. She sells cupcakes and we ate some. Mmmm!!

Well, that's it for now. A post in the near future might just come from a cah in Hahvahd Yahd. Or maybe Cape Cahd. We'll see. Take care, all! Peace and love.

Catching up.

I've been meeting up with friends to catch up lately. It's such a wonderful thing... to "catch up"... to find out what's new and exciting in each others' lives and just "be" in the same general vicinity. In fact since I've been in town three months now, I'm already catching up with folks I've seen since I got here. That's pretty neat. But NOW I need to catch up on this blog. The whirlwind that is my life is making it difficult to justify spending a lot of time updating blogs and websites and Twitter and Facebook notes, but this afternoon the blank slate that will soon be filled with ink (on a commission) is allowing me a little bloggage time. I'll start with some broad strokes and get more specific as I go...


The gig at Broadway.com is pretty exciting. I'm now receiving press tickets to see shows which are complimentary. Free tickets to see Broadway and off-Broadway shows. It's a huge perk and sort of a dream come true. I'm not taking it for granted. The projects are fun and exciting, and I'm mostly happy with my output. Here's a little graphic with slivers of my nine pieces to date. I have my sketching schedule now through the end of September, and then the rest of the autumn will bring a cornucopia of possibilities for the column. I'm so excited (and grateful)! Be sure to drop by Broadway.com every Thursday afternoon for fresh art.

In addition to the weekly website work and the encouraging progress of the work with Broadway Cares, I've built up quite a workload of commissions... a couple touring show commemorations and celebrations of several folks' amazing milestones. I feel blessed to have the chance to be a part of these special events... and to be doing what I love to do for a living.

I turned 38 last week. August 7th was full of friends and fun... brunch, a play (actually for work, but can you believe I get paid for this???), beers and dinner, an outdoor concert (See a snippet on my other blog, Everything Waits To Be Noticed), a gathering with out-of-town friends. It was also wonderful to hear from Dad who left a happy message, and the onslaught of little messages on Facebook is always a nice surprise. On a day where one reflects on one's life, I realized again and again just how much I'm blessed and doing exactly what I am meant to be doing. And, looking ahead, I am so grateful to be opening a few doors that will lead to some nifty things.

I've booked my travel plans for an adventure to Cape Cod and Boston at the end of the month. I'm going to the wedding of some friends, seeing a show, and doing some good ol' exploration of the Cape. And then I'll spend a couple days in Boston (and surrounding environs), again exploring places that are new to me. I might even head out to Walden Pond... but not unless I read up on my Thoreau.


Here's a little glimpse into how my brain sometimes ticks. I was watching the 1983 movie Muppets Take Manhattan on Netflix Instant View and noticed that the Broadway theatre in which they mount their show "Manhattan Melodies" is the Biltmore (I'm sure merely used for exterior shots). I looked it up on the Wikipedia and noted that after it sat vacant for years after an arson fire, it was renovated and was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman (now featuring shows presented by Manhattan Theatre Club). I had a meeting today at Hotel Edison which is right across the street, so I took this photo. Ironically, the play advertised on the front of the theatre (which closed weeks ago) starred Linda Lavin. Ms. Lavin also had a star cameo in Muppets Take Manhattan. The correlations put a smile on my face. The world is an intriguing puzzle. Oh... and since that theatre was the Biltmore – and just down the block is the Barrymore – 47th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues was once truly the street with "more." Hee hee.

And I ate my first lobster roll today. A New England delicacy, many restaurants have their versions. I went to a great little place today in Long Island City called Sage General Store. The lobster roll was AMAZING and it came with their bacon potato salad which was absolutely DIVINE! Anyway... it was a good day.

Well, that's it for now. Take care, all! Peace and love.