Thursday, October 16, 2014

they paved paradise and put up a parking lot...

hello friends!
During our week in New York,
I did no sketching at all.
I was too overwhelmed with the people,
the visuals, the noise.
But I knew that as soon as I got back
to my quiet little blue room,
the art would spill out, in its own time. 
So here’s the thing about New York.
I had never been there before.
I’ve been to a few other States,
and to parts of Europe,
and all across Canada,

but never to the Big Apple.
It’s the kind of city
that makes you feel like
ANYTHING GOES.
Like no one’s holding back.
A mish mash of everything.
Sky scrapers
and food trucks and taxis
and red brick apartment buildings
and homeless men and women
and limousines
and ferries and subways
and statues and sirens
and museums
and a dark ocean of people,
constantly moving in every direction.
I loved it.
I loved the energy.
New York reminded me of this:
there are still a lot of good people out there.
There are a lot of fucked up ones too,
but the world is filled with good people, still
and we should remember this in our hearts
when the world seems filled
with such fear and paranoia.
On the subway one night,
exhausted after a long day of walking,
we barely settled in our seats
for the 10 minute ride back
when an older, worn out man
with a clarinet in his hands
slowly walked towards us.
My son (who sat across from me)
looked at me and said (in french),
“I swear to God, if this man starts playing
his clarinet here, I’m gonna piss my pants”.
And what do you think happened?
The man began to play his clarinet.
He stood there while the subway
clinged & clanged down the tracks,
and he played his clarinet.
Beautifully.
My son’s jaw dropped,
the woman who sat next to him
closed her eyes & smiled,
and a young man nearby took off his headphones
and listened to live music instead.
It's one of those moments you just know
will come up in conversation years from now...
"remember in the subway, in New York,
when that old guy started playing his clarinet?!?"
Then in Central Park,
perfect strangers approached us and
kindly asked if we wanted our photo taken
when they saw us admiring one of the fountains.
A young man played the classical guitar,
another played the violin
under one of the archways
and the music resonated around the arches
and made me feel
like heaven was right here on earth.
In Central Park.
On the Brooklyn Bridge,
when I lost one of my maps,
someone behind me picked it up
and returned it to me
when they saw it fall out of my pocket.
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music,
a New Yorker who sat next to me
told me how excited he was
to finally see Robert Plant
and when I told him we were from Canada,
he nearly busted a lung when he yelled:
WELCOME TO NEW YORK!!
and gave us a warm handshake.
There’s a lot about the world I don’t know
and I may be naïve
but I still believe we all want the same thing in life.
To love and to be loved.
To live in peace.
To not be judged.
Yes, there are bad seeds out there,
and had I been mugged on the subway,
I may not be so impressed with NY.
But I wasn’t mugged.
No one was rude.
People were nothing but kind and helpful,
and I think it’s important to remind ourselves
that the good seeds
far outweigh
the bad ones.
I know it's not always easy to trust,
and that everyone's experience is different,
but sometimes - trusting can make
a world of difference.
xx
(oil pastel on paper)


19 comments:

  1. Your post is making me miss New York, which I left two weeks ago. It really is such a singular place. How nice to know you had such a wonderful experience.: )

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  2. Love all your artwork. I especially love the people walking- its got good flow and motion. It definitely is what you see when you look down at the NYC sidewalks.

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  3. Everyone I know who has visited New York LOVES it... I hear it's similar to Vancouver. Sounds like a very positive beautiful experience.. With gorgeous outcome of artwork. There are so many amazing kind and loving people in this world. I agree we all want the same...it's pretty universal. The ones that don't have somehow been sadly damaged... Thanks for sharing...

    Love the graham wafer art too!!
    Hugs Giggles

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  4. I spent a week once in New York - it rained every day and I still loved it! We were amazed at how many people were everywhere! And we decided to walk down the road to American Express..we walked and walked and walked...... it went on forever....we gave up and caught a yellow taxi:)
    Your artwork is so strong - I love your work of the guitarist.

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  5. This post was music to my soul and just now I posted on FB to "do what you love...your soul cannot eat money." Your NY stories drive this point home. Love your oil pastel on paper. That medium is unforgiving and drives me crazy so I so admire your work.

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  6. I am impressed by the volume of your sketches,
    thank you for sharing,
    Natalie

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  7. Beautiful story and beautiful art! Thanks for sharing!

    Now, I want to visit the Big Apple! :)

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  8. Loving each and every work of art. Especially the one where everyne is walking around. Beautiful play of colors!

    Cheers,
    Ankush.
    http://artbeyondboredom.blogspot.in/2014/09/explore.html

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  9. Each and every one of your artworks is simply amazing. I love seeing the progress pics, how they evolve and grow more and more beautiful. Each one so different too! You make New York sound very tempting ... ;-)

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  10. I really enjoyed your wonderful sketches of New York. I absolutely love New York too and all the eccentric people and marvelous energy. Happy PPF x

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  11. You have got wonderful memories from NY, your paintings are fine, lovely!

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  12. Your art is always so great and New York was such a hit, thanks for all you share!

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  13. Your painting of the random NYC people made me gasp - LOVE the colors, love the shadows and love the composition. That joy was quickly followed by my love for the cracker illustration!
    Nobody does people and crackers like you, Pauline! (not a compliment you hear every day, huh?)

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  14. Great art. Love your description of NY
    Nicole/Beadwright

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  15. Thank you all for such great comments. Michelle, I cracked up at your comment!! (no pun intended) heheheee. Yes, people & crackers. My specialities. ;-) xx

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  16. We've been to New York City twice, in early 2001 and 2002--I fell in love with that city and its people. Your drawings of what you saw, your descriptions of people and places just made my day.

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  17. you are so inspirational, and such beautiful art too.

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