Hard Times

This week has not been a good one for me, a lot of stuff going on...


Some girl in a dotted dress on the L-train, I wanted to draw the big guy next to her but he was big and I was a little afraid that he would rip my book apart...it turns out he knew I was trying to draw him and I guess was looking forward to seeing the drawing. Alas, I didn't have enough time and it never came to be.


A couple on the A-train, I'm certain they knew I was drawing them.


This isn't a particularly great page but if I really like the drawing of the boy laying his head in his sister who was wrapped in the towel. It was suck a cool image that I just went straight ahead in drew him even though he was staring directly at me. He got off one or two stops after i started though, but ran to the window behind me as he got off to scope my drawing of him.


This guy towards the bottom was looking pretty stoic and awesome, but it was kinda hard to draw him so I didn't complete his drawing. Oh well.

After the fireworks

A sleepy ride home on the A train on the fourth of July.  I couldn't tell if she knew I was drawing her. She would wake up for a few seconds and I would keep my eyes on my paper until she dozed off again. I'm endlessly thankful the A train is running this weekend. 

Independance Rain

It rained all day in New York...what a holiday.

Anyway, more sketches to enjoy. Just to let you know from now on I'll be backlogging sketches and posting only a limited amount so I can update more often.

So, I'll be posting more frequently from now on...though there may be a little break sometime next month, but I'll explain about that as I get more details.




This guy was awesome. New York has a lot of interesting people to draw, but I often see the same type of people. Rarely am I blessed by such a visage of awesome.






...Most read book of all time on the subway, The Bible.

Summer Time and the Living is Easy

Alright, so I started a new sketchbook. I'm already about a quarter way into it, but I haven't been posting as much, because I have a few things going on that have been keeping me busy.

This time I'm back to plain white pages...the paper is a little thin for my tastes but it's about double the size of the previous one so I get to move my arm a little when I'm sketching.











More to come, with more regular updates soon...

A Formal Introduction

It's been a little while since I've posted, and I apologize for that. Things have been a little hectic for me as of late. Anyway, I haven't stopped sketching, so I'll be updating with some stuff soon.

But I would like to take this occaision to introduce this blog and the people that are a part of it.

Being in New York City...and not being a rich, since day one the subway has been an integral part of my lifestyle. I, myself, really have a love/hate realtionship with it as I'm sure many others do. But there's something special about it that, despite it's MANY MANY misgivings, separates it from every other subway/transportation system that I've been on.

I think that the nyc subway system is alive; a living breathing thing. Actually, not even that, more than other cities New York itself is a living being and the subway are it's veins transporting the people, its lifeblood throughout its body to keep things running the way they are.

Anyway, I'm fascinated with this specimin and it's inhabitants. There's always something interesting happening on the train, always a story to be told.

And as artists we have the ability to capture the moments, the stories, the personalities that we witness everyday. We, can capture the gritty beauty that is the nyc subway.

So, with this thought I made this blog and wanted to share this sentiment with others.

On this blog, we have other artists who are equally taken by the subway and use it for inspiration/practice/artistic material.

One of the first people I asked to contribute was Ami Plasse. He's an Illustrator/Artist who resides in Brooklyn. He draws in many a moleskin with a loose cartoon/graffiti style in what I can assume is mostly marker.

He has a real gift for capturing personality, and the man is a drawing machine. He seems to never miss a day of sketching. I'm in awe of his prowess.

He provides us with a sample of his work every now and then, but mostly posts to his main subway sketching blog located here.

Next, we have Cully Long. A graduate of SVA in New York City, he has a more realistic style in the vein of american style comic books, but it appears that he also dabbles in a manga style at times.

He actually has yet to contribute anything, but you can take a look at some of his sketches on his blog, located here.

Also, we have Cara Lynn Kleid a fine artist in New York who I met on the subway sketching. Her artwork is teaming with personality, and she really knows how to work a line. I really admire her work and I hope you do too. Her blog can be seen here.

Finally, we have Gerri Davis, I saw some of her work on her Flickr account and was quite impressed. I actually don't know too much about her, but I'm glad to have her aboard and hope that she'll be posting more work soon.

So, this is what this blog is about. I hope that in time we may be able to collect and publish something but that may take a little time...

Anyway, hope this blog has been enjoyable for those who have given us a look. Comments, suggestions or even a quick "hey" are always appreciated.

Also, I'm always looking for more people to contribute, your sketches/art don't have to be limited to the new york, but it is preffered. Please contact me through ajanioloye at gmail.com if you would like to join.

The End Draws Near

Almost finished with my current sketchbook...which is probably the slowest one yet. During my beak I was going through sketchbooks at an average of 1 per month, but I've had this one for about 8 months...not good.

Anyway, more sketches...





This guy was checking out a gaggle of teens towards the right of me who were being very loud and annoying...I hate riding the train when school gets out.

Back in Action

So, I was away for a while...a lot of things going on.
Interviews, birthday, freelance work, etc. I was stressed to hell so although I kept up with my sketching I didn't get around to scanning much.

Anyway, what matters is I'm back with sketches to show.

I forgot my brush pen a few times all except one were done with a ballpoint/gelpen.




A very nice pair, lately I've been a little more braver and just kept drawing even though they spotted me. I'm sure at this point I'm well known on the A-train and people just let me draw them without getting weirded out.




She was fidgeting with her phone...I'm not big on these super functional cell phones, but I'll probably be singing a different tune in a year or two.



From the 2 train. I went to the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum last weekend and this was on the way back.



Also from the 2 train. That guy near the top had such a great face, he probably would've been pissed if he caught me drawing him, but I'm so glad I had a decent view of him.



This was yesterday on the way home on the A-train.