The subway ride story

So I did this drawing for an art show this summer (and some of you may be tired of looking at it. Apologies!).



While I was working on it, it occurred to me what a great art class assignment it would be...you know, draw your commute home in animals! or something. One thing I've always loved about art classes is how everyone, without fail, does such different interpretations of whatever the one assignment is. Anyway, a few weeks after the art show, this SVA ad started appearing in the subways:



Bizarre coincidence! Some people who'd seen my piece were all like, "You were robbed!", but I don't think so. The idea of animal commuters is so common, and if you're going to do it, how can you not include a giraffe and a panda? I was more distressed about the mad skills the SVA artist has. Look at the pencil technique on that freakin' squirrel! But my Dad said something really nice, and funny, about it. He was like, "Jocelyn, those other animals don't look like they ride the subway every day. Your animals look like they ride the subway every day!"

Thanks, Dad!

Click on either image to see them bigger.

My illegal past

Before I started busting out the colored pencils again, I decided to hit the streets with some spray cans, first. I've had such an allegiance to colored pencils, why not try a different medium for a change?



PSYCH! I am full of baloney. I have no idea who this "Joce" is, and you can tell it's not me by the face in this one:



That's not my style. Not that it doesn't do me heart good knowing whoever this rogue Joce is, they're the goofy smiley face sort.

And btw, nor did anyone I know do these in my honor. (I know what some of you might be thinking!)

What is it with us?

Check it out. Meinhardt-Moes in the 00s:



Meinhardts in the 70s:



We are not shills for Big Wheels. I swear.

Have you heard about this?

Check out this informative email Flower* sent me recently. Instead of clicking back a zillion times to blogs and things you find interesting, set up an RSS feed! Boy oh boy, the crazy internet is full of surprises. If you're like me, and have seen "RSS" (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) here and there and everywhere but never paid it no mind, you're about to have a V-8 moment. This was written for me, a hopelessly devoted Applehead, but I'm sure you IBM peeps can translate it for yourselves:

"Blogs (almost) all publish an "RSS feed" containing their content, in addition to the regular web version you're used to. These feeds are much handier to read than manually going to each site one at a time to see if they've updated. To read them, you need an RSS reader.

You have a few options. You can use the RSS reading functionality built in to Safari:
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_subscribe_to_rss_feeds_with_safari.html

You can download a separate piece of RSS reading software, such as Vienna or Shrook.
Or you can use a web-based RSS reader, which will consolidate all your blog reading onto a single web site. Check out for instance http://www.google.com/ig . This might be the best approach, since you can use the same setup on other computers with no configuration or downloading."

Try it, you'll dig it.

*Not his real name.

Ze Pet Beauty Contest

Here's a drawing I did last year for an office pet beauty contest. But this cat and this dog seem a little too happy together, considering they're competing for the same prize, no?



So here's this year's illustration. A bit more REAL, you know?

When cats and fabric collide

Everyone I know is very, very happy this textile isn't available by the yard, because isn't it just so terribly obvious that I'd be walking around every day in different outfits made out of it? With a bag and an umbrella to match? And a hat, of course? And I'd cover my dining room table with it, and make drapes with it, and go to sleep under a duvet covered in it...

Party in Madison Square

I still make cards for inspiring people, like my architect brother Wolf. I don't know anyone else who loves, or is as much a product of, the city as this dude does and is. Here's his birthday card from last year:



Yes, I'm not sure you heard, but the Met Life tower, the North building and the Flatiron all started throwing down when they heard it was Wolf's birthday...so nuts! That crazy Flatiron building, not a surprise at all to see it spinning on its head.

Old stuff

A few years ago I decided to take a break from writing — not that I was disenchanted with the theater world, oh no! — and got back into drawing. Since I'd graduated from Music and Art high school, where I'd majored in art wayyyy back in the 80s, the only art I did was an occasional doodle like this:



Or a card for family or friends, like the one I made for my mom after I'd helped her paint her office red:



How much do you dig the heart-y head drawing's yellow teeth? I just noticed that...

About me

I'm a playwright and wannabe illustrator who is a bit fabric-obsessed. Oh snap! is meant to be more about my illustrations than anything else, but um, ah, you know. I can get kind of distracted. And by the way, you can click any of the images you see here (except the "oh snap!" image) for a larger view. Yes, you can!