Last week my mom, our friend Gwen and I went on an inspiration trip to New York to visit the art museums! It was amazing. I definitely needed a change of pace - the everlasting, wintry Indiana cloud cover was starting to get to me. I am ready for spring. READY.

Of course, it’s no more springish in NYC than it is here, but there is a VAST change of scenery! Goodbye White River, hello disgusting Hudson! So long, abandoned HopCat, Bonjour, millions of street vendors! Adios Salesforce building, Buenos Dias Empire State Building! (Which I could see from outside my window.) Sayonara, cybertrucks, hello… more cybertrucks. (Seriously, they’re everywhere. I don’t know why I expected there to be less of them in NYC.)

But we didn’t just go to New York for the sightseeing! We went for INSPIRATION! The MOMA! The MET! The Guggenheim! The MUSICALS!

Early Thursday morning, my mom and I headed out to the airport, and a short three-ish hour flight later, we arrived in the JFK airport, where we met our friend, Gwen. From there, we took a HARRYING cab ride to our hotel in Times Square, where we would drop off our stuff before heading off to THE MOMA. Luxury, thy name is Dullaghan.

Up until this point, the biggest art museum I had ever seen was Newfields, the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It’s a super cool museum, and it has amazing grounds and exhibits, but it’s just not big enough to have much well-known art. The biggest piece we had lately was the LUME, which is an amazing, multi-room exhibit where every surface has enormous projections of famous artists work, like Van Gogh or Dali. It’s such a fun experience, because you can just sit down in a corner and watch “Starry night” swirl around you at ten times the size. It’s really cool. But at the MOMA, I got to see the actual piece. Not a remake, not a copy, the REAL VAN GOGH. Oh my gosh, it took everything I had not to completely geek out all over that place. I wanted to draw it, but the horde of people around it was so thick I couldn’t get close enough. However, I did manage to draw quite a few others!!!

A drawing I did of a Louise Nevelson piece, entitled “Sky Cathedral.” I ran out of time to finish this piece, but I used my favorite Pentel Brush Pen and a white Prismacolor pencil.

Another sketchbook rendering! This one’s of a piece called “T No. 3” by Clyfford Still. I used my brush pen, again, and my Prismacolors.

Sketches of a few of Matisse’s sculptures of Jeanette. The first two in black are brush pen, and the orange is Prismacolor. And googly eyes :)

Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel! I chose to draw this one with a looser line, as a contrast to the rigidity of the actual sculpture, because the lighting was so stark. As other museum-goers passed the sculpture, they cast shadows on it that seemed to make it move. Thus, I wanted to use a slightly funky perspective and a big brush! (Pentel Brush Pen, as per usual.)

Funny story behind this one, actually! So, um, I was not aware that you are not allowed to have PAINT in the museums… so when I broke out my travel gouaches, an attendant rushed over and told me that if I didn’t put them away, they would have to ask me to leave. So that was a surprise! Now I know! If you’re that attendant who warned me, thank you for not kicking me out!!!
But anyhoo, this is my quick rendering of Gustav Klimt’s “Hope II.” I made it with Prismacolor colored pencils, and contraband paint :) Ah well. My dad always says “if it’s not a good experience, it’s a good story.”

That concludes my MOMA drawings! We also visited the MET, but I actually only have ONE drawing from there! Not as many of the pieces called to me! Also, the MET is HUGE! And I recently sprained my ankle, so I was a little bit of a wuss about it. But that’s alright! All the more reason to go back to NYC! (I also want to check out the art colleges there!!!) Here’s the one piece I made from the MET:

I added some collage elements to this one! The MET map had some very helpful reminders about not using pens OR PAINT in the exhibits. Lesson learned :) We also visited a TON of stationery stores, and at one of them I picked up some craft envelopes to glue into my sketchbook, for mementos and receipts and such! This one contains the map that I did NOT cut up and glue to the pages.

But the museums were not all I drew! I can’t stay in a hotel with that view out the window and NOT draw it!

The view when I smushed my face against the glass and tried to see the street!

Drawing pigeons and people in Washington Square Park!

My first trip to New York was a complete success, I think! I definitely want to go back again someday soon. I have so many more things to see! Colleges! The Statue of Liberty! The Guggenheim, which we could have seen this trip, but we got museumed-out after a bit. I got to see so many amazing things on this trip! Art museums, Times Square, Washington Square Park, the Subway (which I wouldn’t classify as AMAZING, per se, but was definitely an experience. I saw Central Park, the NY public library lions, and even an eight-foot tall gorilla!

Big thanks to Gwen Pacella, for knowing so many cool things to see in the city, (and for putting up with my mom and my early bedtimes) :) And thanks to my mom for planning out this whole trip, and for being such an amazing artist and drawing the art with me, even though you put my art to shame most of the time. :( and lastly, thanks to you for reading this exceptionally long post! I hope to see you soon in future posts!

P.S. if you have any suggestions for things I should see next time I go to NYC, I’d LOVE to hear them!!! Have a great day!

New York Art Trip!!!

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards!!