A Line: Sketch Portraits From The New York City Subway

by Cully Long

A collection of ballpoint portraits drawn while traveling on the NYC subway. Sketches are presented at actual size. Everyone from the mayor to the homeless rides the subway and I am presented the opportunity to sketch a variety of types and characters and I try to capture as much of their personality and attitude as possible. From the "There is a paradox implicit in Long’s work between the traditionally intimate act of drawing a subject and the fact that his subjects are strangers...his work evokes that haunting feeling of loneliness in crowds. The majority… are of isolated individuals, candid moments of oblivion or reflection. When he does draw multiple figures, they are often unrelated, either unaware of the other’s presence or just indifferent to the crush of humanity around them. Somehow this isolation feels more natural than direct interaction. [The sketches] possess a casual, unstilted quality—something lacking in today’s high tech world of super polished imagery.

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2007