Saturday, December 02, 2006

A Lines - Scenes from the Subway


I discovered Cully Long's subway sketches through the Everyday Matters yahoo group. Like so many artists whose work I've been able to see online, his drawings blew me away. It amazed me that he could draw with such keen observation without having to erase because he uses a ball point pen. Also, his work proves that drawing can be done anywhere and it doesn't necessarily require long hours in a studio. I show his work to my illustration students when I assign people observation drawings. The moans and groans from my students after announcing the topic of their next assignment are replaced by the ooohs and aaahs when I show them what Cully draws while he rides a subway in NYC.

It was such a thrill to discover that Jessica from XNIHILO gallery invited Cully to show right here in my hometown miles and miles from New Yawk City! (Thank You, Jessica)! Last night the "chef" and I went to the opening. Not only did I get to see Cully's fantastic drawings and meet him, but I discovered a new place in Houston with a food co-op and coffee house.

Of course I bought a drawing! The hard part was deciding which one to pick. Though all the portraits are stunning, we chose a composition with a pair of hands holding a prayer book.

From Cully's morning post, it appears Texas gave him a great big welcome and he'll have plenty to blog about!

2 comments:

Jessica said...

Sharon, it was such a pleasure meeting you last night. You and I were both introduced to Cully's work via the internet and I was pleased to bring his extrodinary talent to the Houston area for this amazing show. Don't forget to come back often over the next 6 weeks (and beyond, we have many more promising shows coming up!) as we reveal a few of the double sided pieces each week. With about 75% of the show being double sided, you'll be seeing a different show than we opened with by the end of it all!

Did you realize that there were over 115 pieces hung in the gallery and that 75% of those were double sided? That's a lot of sketches!

It was great to meet you, I hope to see a submission of your own grace my e-mail someday soon.

Jessica Martin-Weber
Xnihilo Gallery
2115 Taft Street
Houston, TX 77055
www.xnil.org
http://www.myspace.com/xnihilogallery

Anonymous said...

I'm so envious! The show looks wonderful. Thanks for a great report!