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I get sick of reading on vacation, and frankly, it seems wrong to stare at pages all day when you’re somewhere fun. For the past few years, my girlfriend and I have rented a house on a Greek Island. Before I leave NYC, I call an art store in Athens and have them stretch a few canvases for me. When I arrive, I pick them up along with some oil paints, turpentine, and some other supplies and go straight to the ferry. At the house, I set up an easel out of ladder and some wood, in a cave next door to the house that has an amazing view of an azure sea cove below. The cave offers some welcome shade from the blazing Greek sunshine, and it feels great to paint pictures in the open air. The cave makes it private, but the opening to the Aegean Sea makes it not feel claustrophobic. The paintings are usually dry by the time we leave, and I got this old lady down the street to hold my supplies until the next summer when I return. I once saw pictures of Julien Schnabel’s Montauk studio which is basically a gigantic deck with three huge walls and no ceiling, which was kind of my inspiration for trying this. Painting takes longer than sketching in a little book, and it’s more physical than photographs. Every time you look at the paintings, you’ll remember the place where you did them. Everyone should try it.
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This is a soothing activity and i can sit doing it for 12 hours while watching “sex and the city” for the first time in my life. Most of the art in my home is art that i have made from paint by numbers and what’s amazing about it is that they have many different styles. For a long time i thought the only paint by numbers you could do was animals, and i generally hate animals, so i avoided it. But it turns out you can make van gogh-like paintings, or gorgeous vistas from italy’s cinque terra, or a cityscape. If you are looking for something a little less committal (I tend to spend 40 hours on one but i get extremely detailed ones) you should do a paint-and-sip class at Pinot’s Palette. They are all over the US and you get to take a group photo at the end that they put on facebook like you graduated from high school :)
Feb 15, 2024
Painted on a big format for the first time ever! I bought a bigger canvas than I ever had before following a friend’s rec but I didn’t try painting on it until two months after I bought it.
I painted without looking at the time for hours and I’m so happy. Nowhere near done but I hadn’t felt the peace and flow of creation in so long, it’s the only thing that matters.
15h ago
Just like a small little set. Gouache is good because it dries really fast and you don’t need much water. If i have space for a laptop i have space for paints.Feel so much happier when i look back through my notebook and there's colours instead of weird sentences :)
Oct 2, 2024
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My office used to be above Barneys at 660 Madison Avenue. I used to have lunch at Viand 2-3 times a week at least. I love all Diners, especially ones in New York, but Viand is different. It’s from a long fading tradition of NYC coffee shops - super narrow, with a bar on one side and 2 seater booths on the other. There’s no bathroom which is shocking to the hordes of tourists who find their way to it after seeing the windows at Bergdorf Goodman or going ice skating in Central Park. It’s also cash only, and their ATM has a $3.00 fee. The thing that separates Viand from other diners is the food. Their versions of everything you know are the best. They’re known for their full turkey dinner, which I’ve gotten on Christmas Day before going to Grace Church downtown for their Candlelit Eucharist. Their cheeseburger deluxe is perfect, tuna melt - perfect, Chef Salad - Perfect, BLT - perfect, blueberry muffin on the grill - perfect. It’s also amazingly expensive and I gasp every time I get the bill because it usually means that I have to get more money out at the expensive ATM. The prices keep all the riff raff out, which means that you can always find a seat, and what’s $25 for a perfect sandwich and a coke?
Jan 27, 2023
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I think I’m the only person I know who uses handkerchiefs under the age of 80. My mom probably gave me one when I had a runny nose and I never looked back. There’s a handkerchief in my left pocket at all times. I throw them in the laundry at the end of the day and pick up a new one in the morning. I buy them in packs of 10 and chuck them away when they get dingy looking. There’s no way to teach someone how to use one, it’s just about folding. They’re way better than Kleenex for the sensitive skin around your nose, and it just feels much better to touch cotton rather than dry paper.
Jan 27, 2023
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Earlier this year I started getting 7-day home delivery of the NY Post. In my building, someone delivers it to my actual apartment door every morning around 5AM. I usually wake up, get the paper, and then I read it in bed before doing anything else. The covers are always perfect, and I love the reporting from Queens and Long Island. The Post is the only paper who’s doing daily coverage of the University of Idaho murders, which I find fascinating. The only thing I hate about the Post is their Gossip Columnist, Cindy Adams. She’s a total bitch, and I find it completely patronizing when she signs off with “Only in New York, kids…only in New York”. I suppose that’s what insane people like about her, but I will always be partial to the far superior Liz Smith.
Jan 27, 2023