Riverside Park 1973/2010

Text Box: We have lived near Riverside Park in Manhattan for a long time. Every Spring I’m taken by surprise by how beautiful it is. I realize if I didn’t live here I would wish I did. 
This is a drawing of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument on 89th Street. I started the drawing in 1973 but never finished it. I’ve always been more successful drawing on vacation than at home. I think part of it is the limited time that we’ll be in a place which gives me a deadline. 
I usually try to keep a drawing always finished but I didn’t with this one. I had finished this much of the monument when I started drawing a streetlamp which I also wanted in the drawing. I thought I was never going to be able to put them together so I scrapped it. My style now would be to draw the lamp first and then put the monument behind it. It took me a long time to realize that every space on the paper doesn’t have to be taken up with drawing.
I’m trying to do a series of near-to-home drawings and did the lamp and bench recently. I realized right away that it would work with the previous drawing.

All material copyright 2016 Neil Borrell

www.borrellcompany.com

Email   neil@borrellcompany.com

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