Sketches from my visit to the American Museum of Natural History - August 2016

The American Museum of Natural History: Drawing studies of the Great Wooly Mammoth Skeleton

The Great Wooly Mammoth: Drawings and Studies

I went to the American Museum of Natural History sometime in mid-July to draw some bones with my old personal trainer and friend, Warner. He didn't have much time to stick around and draw with me for too long since he had a booked schedule at David Barton Gym, but it was fun nonetheless to draw with a fellow artist.

I stood drawing for quite a few hours. My back began to hurt after a while, and I barely got any real drawing done. Doesn't help that tourists feel the need to stand right in front of you when they can clearly see you are drawing what is in front you of. I wish there was an easier way to go about this, but to my knowledge, there isn't! One day, though, I'd like to have the museum all to myself to draw every single thing that is in there. All of it is quite beautiful. It is by far my favorite museum in New York City.

Here are two of the most "finished" drawings I was able to complete during my visit. The scans came out strange and two toned for some reason. One side looks warmer than the other. Not sure how that happened.

These last few days living on my own has really helped me find out what I really want to do in life. I want to get into online marketing. I'd like to be a few things, actually, all of them relating to the internet. I've been teaching myself to code learning HTML5, CSS, Bootstrap, and even began the daunting, intimidating behemoth that is Javascript. I've been using Codeacademy to learn these different languages. My roommate, Allan, has been learning to code for a over a year now. He has encouraged me to try it out myself.

Eventually I would like to show some of my progress and web creations on here to show that I'm not wasting my time learning this. There seems to be quite a lot of opportunity for coders, UX/UI designers, and internet marketing folk. I want to immerse myself in that world, and change my lifestyle of uncertainty into something much more manageable and career oriented. Illustration is a wild profession that I just can't break into. The more years that go by, the more I realize it is not for me.

It's quite relieving to realize that. I am at peace with it. It took quite a bit of rejection and "going nowhere" to finally get the message. I appreciate art. It will always be a part of me. To make it a profession is ridiculous, especially when there are people far more talented, and far more driven to succeed than I am. I'd like to say that I gave it my best shot, but I know in my heart that it is a lie.

Be authentic. Be realistic. Know how you can be useful to others. I finally figured it out, and now it is just a matter of getting started in that new direction.

To those of you still chasing a dream, good luck!

Return to the Museum of Natural History

I went back to draw more bones. I drew a whole lot more this time around, but I think I might've burnt myself out. I don't know how anatomical/medical illustrators do it, bones are a real son of a bitch to draw. After hours of drawing, my eyes began to bug out, and my brain cried for me to stop. A lot of visual information was translated on to paper today. I can't wait until the day where I can go on without any breaks at all. Maybe I'll go crazy, and step over into an enlightened state of creativity. I don't know.

I'm still having a hard time composing properly, fitting everything in. Composition is tough to think about when you're so preoccupied in being accurate. The day composition comes naturally to me will be such a glorious happy day.

My Trip to the American Museum of Natural History

Skull Drawn from Behind Graphite in Moleskine sketchbook 2012

These are a few drawings I got out of my awesome trip to the American Museum of Natural History. These skeletons took a lot of patience and serious observation to get down proper.

Dinosaur Skeleton Study Graphite in Moleskine sketcbook 2012

Dinosaur Skeleton Study II Graphite in Moleskine sketcbook 2012

As I was drawing, I began to realize how amazing living things are. Just from looking at the design of individual bones with all their ridges,curves, and angles, I saw that every single part of a living thing serves a purpose for survival. Anatomy seems pretty fucking cool if you can appreciate that.

I'm pretty sure once I start my Anatomy and Physiology class in October, I'll be hooked to want to learn everything there is to know about bones, muscle, tissue, blood, and all that other great gooey stuff that fills up your insides.

I definitely need to go back to the Museum to get lost in observing and drawing those dinosaur bones again.