BORBAY

FlyNY 2010 was a kite flying good times. In yet another “shake your head at this modern world” moment, I met FlyNY’s publicist Rachel Wells via Twitter. She then attended Painting Resurrected in May, my group show with Jeremy Penn and Ari Lankin. There, she met one of my hockey teammates Dave, that I myself had not yet met myself due to my broken leg. They have since stayed in touch, and through Rachel, I found out about FlyNY and decided to paint the event. Short story long, real people do exist on the internets.

Now, down to business. After the jump, you will see the stroke-for-stroke creation of my plein air FlyNY 2010 painting, as well as a photo recap of Friday’s soiree at the Center for Architecture. Enjoy, and keep flying high.

Here’s the scene, getting set up on a sunny day at the pier.

I unwrapped the canvas before I was able to do a quick plastic-wrap sketch, so I busted out some yellow lines, labeling the water – water.

An orange wash with acrylic and water.

Beginning to carve into the city scape with a beautiful dirty brown.

Considering the event, a nice, lush blue sky was key. In plein air painting, you must make decisions with light and sky, and the sky was nailed down early… which is good, because the sky turned a solid pale gray later.

Painting buildings is like drawing a waffle grid, at least for me it is. Mmmmm… waffles.

Once you get to slap some mint green and deep purple in there, things start to take shape.

Detailing the awesome pier shack, as well as the elevated West Side highway. In the background, many Trump managed buildings. Of course, the entire development sold years ago.

Water! Trees! Splashes of color on the pier to make people, and an orange kite flying high.

Oh yes, more kites, more building detail. Starting to get this canvas in order. The key is to apply splashes of color throughout the canvas for balance and visual consistency.

Just some kite strings away.

Finished! Feel free to click on the image above for a closer inspection. If you would like to own this 30″X30″ creation, contact me for pricing information. A portion of the proceeds will go directly back to FlyNY… so it’s an all-around feel good acquisition.

Earlier…

After dropping off some work on Friday, Erin and me hit up the Olive Tree cafe for some beer, Tramp, chalk drawing and relaxation.

Erin looking fine, doing the quick chalk swipe. Our server was the nicest lady ever, just kidding.

The Comedy Cellar. Many years ago, after a stand-up set, I was dismissed from a conversation with Ben Bailey and Dave Attell for not having a cigarette. Dave informed me, I should always have a smoke “for a superior.” That was really cool of him. Of course, I didn’t feel bad when I found out Attell made only 25 grand a year for “Up All Night with Dave Attell” – if I had a TV show and had to hustle joints to pay for my ten pack a day smoking habit, I would be ornery as well.

That’s a one shiny kite.

Dollars and Cents between 11 and 1.

SSSFP. Seven Stop Sign Flying Power.

More kites, getting ready to take flight.

My Sheep Meadow and Guggenheim paintings on display.

Any event is a good event for publicity, right Dauphin?

You will notice the lighting in this venue is hyper green, this painting feels far less green in person.

The esteemed panel, from Left to Right including moderator Rachel Wells, Craig Dykers of Snøhetta,  BurdaStyle co-founder Nora Abousteit, and New Museum Adjunct Curator Lauren Cornell.

A funny moment occurred with Craig dropped something. Dropping stuff is always good for a laugh.

The lovely Erin Hessel and Rachel Wells. In the background to the right? Hockey Dave.

The winners of the FlyNY kite design competition. The grand champion in the brown shirt gave a hilarious performance during his presentation.

The winner of the 18″X18″ Neil’s Coffee Shop print will be notified this week!